Search For The Treasure
Drama
Lectionary Scenes
58 Vignettes For Cycle B
Theme
There is an ancient treasure that wise people have longed for -- communication with God. Jesus made that available to all people. The word of God is truth. The truth will last for all time. That is a treasure when people find it.
Summary
Two archeologists are digging for treasure in the ruins of an ancient city. They find a rock that tells of a time when God and man communicated.
Playing Time
5 minutes
Setting
The site of an ancient city
Props
Archeologist's tools, map, stone tablet
Costumes
Sturdy hiking gear
Time
The future
Cast
AILY -- an archeologist
BEA -- Aily's companion
AILY: (ENTERS ALONG WITH BEA, LOOKING AT MAP) This is the mountain.
BEA: I don't know.
AILY: I'm sure of it.
BEA: We're standing on an entire range of mountains. All of these mountains look alike to me.
AILY: But this one shows the scars of an ancient city, many times ravaged and many times rebuilt.
BEA: But is it the right city?
AILY: That, we will have to discern by what we can find here.
BEA: A lot of stones.
AILY: But stones shaped by hand.
BEA: Still a lot of stones.
AILY: Enough stones to build a city. The prophecy stated: "Evenly spaced twixt the salt and tide, mounts the treasure of the bride."
BEA: And you say this is the mountain that's evenly spaced between salt and ...
AILY: "Salt" could mean the lake of salt that lies due east, the one we discovered two days ago.
BEA: Then the "tide" is the ocean to the west.
AILY: Yes. Probably. The ocean would have been much closer then than it is today.
BEA: That would make this mountain equally distant between the two.
AILY: This is the only city ruin of the size we're looking for in this area that fits the ancient prophecy.
BEA: And then we can find the "treasure of the bride."
AILY: Yes. The "treasure of the bride." What do you suppose it is?
BEA: A treasure. It must be worth the search.
AILY: Many have searched before us and failed.
BEA: But we have the map. Do you really think it's accurate?
AILY: The shepherd boy that sold it to me had no idea what he had. It is of the correct vintage. We're the first expedition to have this map.
BEA: Unlimited treasure. What do you think it is?
AILY: We only know it is something that people have searched for for ages.
BEA: (PICKING UP A STONE TABLET) Look here. This might be something. (HANDING IT TO AILY) What does it say?
AILY: This has been inscribed. It's an important declaration of some kind. I can just make out the inscription, or at least some of it. Some of the markings are faded. "Pledge -- something -- city -- something -- something -- put on a garment -- something -- height power."
BEA: "Pledge -- city -- put on a garment -- height power." What language is it written in?
AILY: A very ancient language. Let's see. From the arrangement of the words this could be the ancient word "to sit."
BEA: "Sit down in the city"?
AILY: Hmm, "sit." What do you do when you sit?
BEA: It could be lots of things. I sit when I'm tired.
AILY: A person sits and makes judgments.
BEA: Sit and wait. People do that a lot.
AILY: That could be it. "Sit and wait for the height power." It probably means wait in the city. Maybe this city.
BEA: Maybe. "Height power." Something powerful. Maybe it's the treasure. Whoever controlled a treasure would have power.
AILY: Could be. Let's see. "Something -- height power." This is really hard to read. "Height power." Hmm. The words are arranged so that this could be a preposition. In that case it would be "power in the heights" or "power from a height." It's a small word. Maybe "out of." "Power out of a height."
BEA: So, what do we have? "Sit and wait for a power out of a height."
AILY: That might be it. Now this part -- "Pledge."
BEA: Read the entire thing again.
AILY: What have we got here? "Pledge -- something -- sit and wait in the city -- something -- put on a garment -- power out of a height."
BEA: What is this word?
AILY: Well, with its position in the phrase it could modify the word "pledge."
BEA: Then it could be a type of pledge.
AILY: Now that I look at it, I don't think so. It could be the ancient words for the "Pledge of the Father."
BEA: "Pledge of the Father"?
AILY: An ancient phrase meaning the inheritance.
BEA: "The pledge of the Father -- sit and wait in the city -- something -- put on a garment -- power out of a height." Is that it?
AILY: That's all I can decipher.
BEA: What's it mean?
AILY: It might mean we're on the right track. If the power is derived from the treasure that so many people have searched for, all we need to do is sit and wait.
BEA: Sit and wait! That doesn't make any sense. We didn't travel all the way to this God-forsaken land to sit and wait.
AILY: What did you say?
BEA: I said, why should we stop searching now when we think we've found the ancient city and maybe the treasure. We'd be crazy to stop now.
AILY: We're not going to stop searching. But you said, "God-forsaken."
BEA: Well, just look at it. It is God-forsaken.
AILY: It looks that way, doesn't it? But maybe it just looks that way. Maybe we are the God-forsaken ones.
BEA: What do you mean?
AILY: Listen to this: What if the "height power" is power from God? That would be power out of height, wouldn't it?
BEA: God? An almighty being? No one believes in God anymore. That ancient belief is as old as the tablet.
AILY: Exactly. As old as this tablet. Exactly. The "pledge of the Father." "The inheritance of the Father." Don't you see? The inheritance of God is the power from the height.
BEA: But there is no God. We learned that in school.
AILY: Of course we did. We learned what we were taught. Just because it was carefully taught and we cleverly learned it doesn't make it true, does it?
BEA: Well, no. I guess not.
AILY: As scientists haven't we learned that facts are not facts until we can prove them?
BEA: Yes, right. We have discarded many theories. We have discovered many facts.
AILY: Right. The ancients might have found out about truth. Maybe it has been buried along with the artifacts.
BEA: So how would we sit and wait for this treasure so that we can put on the garment of the power out of the height?
AILY: There must be something we can do. No! Nothing. The garment is put on us. That's what the tablet says.
BEA: Sitting and waiting doesn't seem like something two scientists should be doing.
AILY: How about praying?
BEA: What's that?
AILY: Praying is an ancient concept whereby the people of the earth can communicate with God.
BEA: It seems so archaic.
AILY: It is, but look at it this way -- if there is a God wouldn't he want to communicate with humans?
BEA: Why would he?
AILY: So he could give them the power. The ancient pledge.
BEA: The treasure!
AILY: The treasure for which people have been searching for ages.
BEA: That has to be it. Power is a treasure. Why would God want to share his power with humans?
AILY: I don't know. Maybe for them to do his work.
BEA: Why would God need someone to do his work for him if he is all-powerful?
AILY: He wouldn't really, but he might want to share it with them so that they could share in his joy in whatever he does.
BEA: It's beginning to make sense. Let's try this praying. Do you know how?
AILY: I've translated some ancient prayers. We'll try it and see what happens.
BEA: Communicating with God could be refreshing. I'm frankly getting bored with humans who think they have all the answers.
AILY: Well, as we're digging we can pray.
BEA: That way we just might "dig up" some treasure.
AILY: "Out of the height."
There is an ancient treasure that wise people have longed for -- communication with God. Jesus made that available to all people. The word of God is truth. The truth will last for all time. That is a treasure when people find it.
Summary
Two archeologists are digging for treasure in the ruins of an ancient city. They find a rock that tells of a time when God and man communicated.
Playing Time
5 minutes
Setting
The site of an ancient city
Props
Archeologist's tools, map, stone tablet
Costumes
Sturdy hiking gear
Time
The future
Cast
AILY -- an archeologist
BEA -- Aily's companion
AILY: (ENTERS ALONG WITH BEA, LOOKING AT MAP) This is the mountain.
BEA: I don't know.
AILY: I'm sure of it.
BEA: We're standing on an entire range of mountains. All of these mountains look alike to me.
AILY: But this one shows the scars of an ancient city, many times ravaged and many times rebuilt.
BEA: But is it the right city?
AILY: That, we will have to discern by what we can find here.
BEA: A lot of stones.
AILY: But stones shaped by hand.
BEA: Still a lot of stones.
AILY: Enough stones to build a city. The prophecy stated: "Evenly spaced twixt the salt and tide, mounts the treasure of the bride."
BEA: And you say this is the mountain that's evenly spaced between salt and ...
AILY: "Salt" could mean the lake of salt that lies due east, the one we discovered two days ago.
BEA: Then the "tide" is the ocean to the west.
AILY: Yes. Probably. The ocean would have been much closer then than it is today.
BEA: That would make this mountain equally distant between the two.
AILY: This is the only city ruin of the size we're looking for in this area that fits the ancient prophecy.
BEA: And then we can find the "treasure of the bride."
AILY: Yes. The "treasure of the bride." What do you suppose it is?
BEA: A treasure. It must be worth the search.
AILY: Many have searched before us and failed.
BEA: But we have the map. Do you really think it's accurate?
AILY: The shepherd boy that sold it to me had no idea what he had. It is of the correct vintage. We're the first expedition to have this map.
BEA: Unlimited treasure. What do you think it is?
AILY: We only know it is something that people have searched for for ages.
BEA: (PICKING UP A STONE TABLET) Look here. This might be something. (HANDING IT TO AILY) What does it say?
AILY: This has been inscribed. It's an important declaration of some kind. I can just make out the inscription, or at least some of it. Some of the markings are faded. "Pledge -- something -- city -- something -- something -- put on a garment -- something -- height power."
BEA: "Pledge -- city -- put on a garment -- height power." What language is it written in?
AILY: A very ancient language. Let's see. From the arrangement of the words this could be the ancient word "to sit."
BEA: "Sit down in the city"?
AILY: Hmm, "sit." What do you do when you sit?
BEA: It could be lots of things. I sit when I'm tired.
AILY: A person sits and makes judgments.
BEA: Sit and wait. People do that a lot.
AILY: That could be it. "Sit and wait for the height power." It probably means wait in the city. Maybe this city.
BEA: Maybe. "Height power." Something powerful. Maybe it's the treasure. Whoever controlled a treasure would have power.
AILY: Could be. Let's see. "Something -- height power." This is really hard to read. "Height power." Hmm. The words are arranged so that this could be a preposition. In that case it would be "power in the heights" or "power from a height." It's a small word. Maybe "out of." "Power out of a height."
BEA: So, what do we have? "Sit and wait for a power out of a height."
AILY: That might be it. Now this part -- "Pledge."
BEA: Read the entire thing again.
AILY: What have we got here? "Pledge -- something -- sit and wait in the city -- something -- put on a garment -- power out of a height."
BEA: What is this word?
AILY: Well, with its position in the phrase it could modify the word "pledge."
BEA: Then it could be a type of pledge.
AILY: Now that I look at it, I don't think so. It could be the ancient words for the "Pledge of the Father."
BEA: "Pledge of the Father"?
AILY: An ancient phrase meaning the inheritance.
BEA: "The pledge of the Father -- sit and wait in the city -- something -- put on a garment -- power out of a height." Is that it?
AILY: That's all I can decipher.
BEA: What's it mean?
AILY: It might mean we're on the right track. If the power is derived from the treasure that so many people have searched for, all we need to do is sit and wait.
BEA: Sit and wait! That doesn't make any sense. We didn't travel all the way to this God-forsaken land to sit and wait.
AILY: What did you say?
BEA: I said, why should we stop searching now when we think we've found the ancient city and maybe the treasure. We'd be crazy to stop now.
AILY: We're not going to stop searching. But you said, "God-forsaken."
BEA: Well, just look at it. It is God-forsaken.
AILY: It looks that way, doesn't it? But maybe it just looks that way. Maybe we are the God-forsaken ones.
BEA: What do you mean?
AILY: Listen to this: What if the "height power" is power from God? That would be power out of height, wouldn't it?
BEA: God? An almighty being? No one believes in God anymore. That ancient belief is as old as the tablet.
AILY: Exactly. As old as this tablet. Exactly. The "pledge of the Father." "The inheritance of the Father." Don't you see? The inheritance of God is the power from the height.
BEA: But there is no God. We learned that in school.
AILY: Of course we did. We learned what we were taught. Just because it was carefully taught and we cleverly learned it doesn't make it true, does it?
BEA: Well, no. I guess not.
AILY: As scientists haven't we learned that facts are not facts until we can prove them?
BEA: Yes, right. We have discarded many theories. We have discovered many facts.
AILY: Right. The ancients might have found out about truth. Maybe it has been buried along with the artifacts.
BEA: So how would we sit and wait for this treasure so that we can put on the garment of the power out of the height?
AILY: There must be something we can do. No! Nothing. The garment is put on us. That's what the tablet says.
BEA: Sitting and waiting doesn't seem like something two scientists should be doing.
AILY: How about praying?
BEA: What's that?
AILY: Praying is an ancient concept whereby the people of the earth can communicate with God.
BEA: It seems so archaic.
AILY: It is, but look at it this way -- if there is a God wouldn't he want to communicate with humans?
BEA: Why would he?
AILY: So he could give them the power. The ancient pledge.
BEA: The treasure!
AILY: The treasure for which people have been searching for ages.
BEA: That has to be it. Power is a treasure. Why would God want to share his power with humans?
AILY: I don't know. Maybe for them to do his work.
BEA: Why would God need someone to do his work for him if he is all-powerful?
AILY: He wouldn't really, but he might want to share it with them so that they could share in his joy in whatever he does.
BEA: It's beginning to make sense. Let's try this praying. Do you know how?
AILY: I've translated some ancient prayers. We'll try it and see what happens.
BEA: Communicating with God could be refreshing. I'm frankly getting bored with humans who think they have all the answers.
AILY: Well, as we're digging we can pray.
BEA: That way we just might "dig up" some treasure.
AILY: "Out of the height."
