A Narrative Experience

Have you ever wondered about our fascination in movies?  Even with ticket prices where they are, we still flock to the cinemas to watch new releases and box offices giants.  But why?  I’m sure there are number of reasons but I think it’s because of the “narrative experience.” 

We get thrown into a world.  We escape reality, escape space and time.  We become a player in the movie.  We feel with the characters, we hurt and cry, sympathize and hate; we attach ourselves to the storyline knowing the protagonist is going to make it, he’s going to save the day, get the girl, stop the bomb, hit the homerun and escape death all the while never messing up his hair or getting seriously injured, yet we still get anxious when danger’s lurking. 

And it’s happening on more than a physical level; it becomes something more, something from down deep.

That’s why people go to live performances and concerts.  For the human connection.  The narrative experience.  I’m still convinced one of the most authentic worship experiences of my life was at a Bon Jovi concert in Phillips Arena five years ago.  Bon Jovi said “Raise Your Hands,” and we did.  All 20,000 of us in unison!  The whole three hours was emotional and gripping, it moved us. 

Even though we know we’re not actually in the movie or performance or concert, we still have a role to play.  We still accept or deny the energy of the moment.  And when we engage it, it leaves impressions on us that are hard to forget. 

During seminary I went to the Fox Theatre and watched the Broadway play Rent.  It’s mainly about raising awareness to the mistreatment of poor, homeless, aids-stricken outcast, and disenfranchised.  And it follows the life of a group of ho-hum friends.  Some of them are poor, transvestites, homeless, and addicted to drugs.  But as the story moves along, you stop judging them for their outward nature and you start to see them for who they really are – you start to fall in love with their sense of humor, their quirky decorating style, and their ability to express their inner anguish through the majesty of song.  You realize you too have inner anguish and are dissatisfied with life.  You too feel alone in the universe and wish for once someone would notice the veneer you carry. 

In just two short hours, you’ve found yourself in their character plot, and learned to weep when the characters weep, laugh when they laugh and truly feel sorrow when one of them dies.  It’s moving.  It’s gripping. 

Scripture has everything that live concerts, movies and shows have – there are characters, plot development, conflict and resolution – the only difference is our engagement. We read scripture as if we’ve already heard it.  We listen to scripture read but we’re really thinking about lunch or our grocery list.   We aren’t picturing, feeling and allowing scripture to grip us emotionally. 

And I know this to be true because I’m guilty of it too.  But what if we changed it? 

It’s time that we start taking the biblical narrative seriously.  It’s time we let it wash over us, and it’s time we start finding ourselves in the story.  Because the reality is the biblical text is alive and moving.  Jesus is speaking to us from the Word of God.  We must start identifying with characters in the story because the reality is we’re one of them.