In retrospect,      I see the ways that my passion for spiritual formation particularly ignited with a reading of Brent Curtis & John Eldredge’s The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God, back in 2001.  No, it’s not real academic in nature.  But, it themes resonated deeply in my heart then – echoing strongly still to this day.

Looking back now, I can see how several of our “explorations” have their roots here (and in attending workbooks and conference audios).  And, then there’s a host of great quotes from others that they share [as, e.g., Buechner’s words about our “original shimmering selves getting buried so deeply”]–nuggets that find themselves playing in a wide variety of our discussions.  They (Eldredge and Curtis) most certainly sent me onto a host of books to read, movies to watch, and listening playlists.

Two explorations especially come to mind as I think of The Sacred Romance:

• Curtis & Eldredge’s incorporation of cinema and contemporary music in their presentations is clearly the basis of what has become “Reel Theology: Focused Discussions at the Intersection of Hollywood and Divine.”  A basis of the movies we review and discuss in this offering is found in Eldrege’s words:

I believe we need to hold the creeds in one hand and our favorite forms of art in the other. These are films, books, poems, songs, and paintings I return to again and again for some deep reason in my heart. Taking a closer look, I see that they all tell me about some part of the Sacred Romance. They help wake me to a deeper remembrance. As Don Hudson has said, “Are is, in the final analysis, a window on heaven.”  (Eldredge, The Sacred Romance, p. 204)

• Or again, their lining out the “acts” of the Biblical metanarrative [grounded as much in Dante as it is in the Scriptures] is the basis of the emerging online course (via BeADisciple) which is “Exploring Spiritual Formation: Mapping Our Journeys Back Home to God.”  When they lay out these movements in the story–

Act One: God’s Eternal Heart (for Us),

Act Two: God’s Heart/Love Betrayed,

Act Three: God’s Heart on Trial
(with “scenes” of haunting, arrows, and pursuit), and

Act Four: Heaven…

Are these not, in fact, the acts and scenes every man and woman’s journey back home to God?

These two threads came together a few years ago – when I melded some of my favorite movie scenes into a “Sacred Romance” montage.  Admittedly, it’s a bit choppy and jumpy…  Not real polished.  But still, it “works.”

There’s a movement in the progression of the clips (for those who care to follow).  Maybe you can see (or feel) the sequence as you watch:

from first suggestions of the power of story and metanarrative
to our original, innocent beginnings
to a sense of disorientation and alienation and disharmony… being stuck
to a sense of wakening (or the promise of such)
to a sense of finally “stepping out”—journeying, fighting the fight
to a sense that, behind it all, there’s a Love and Truth pursuing
to a sense of triumph and victory and freedom [now and coming]
to a sense of final consummation and coming home

[Click here if you’d like to see a more detailed storyboard for this montage.]

So grab a cup of your favorite beverage.
Kick up your feet.
Enjoy, yes.  (I hope.)
But, more deeply, prayerfully ponder your place in the Sacred Romance.

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As you have reactions or impressions, I’d love to hear from you via comments, here below!