But this would not be an ordinary Groundhog Day for Phil Connor. He would soon discover that this day would be
set on auto repeat – at least for him – and he would be stuck on it until he
figured out how to grow out of it. What
started out as horror turned into opportunity.
He realized he would not suffer the consequences of his actions the next
day, so he went wild. Ate whatever he
wanted. Punched whoever he wanted. Slept with whoever he wanted. Died however he wanted. Only to wake up the next morning on the same
day, with all the experiences in his memory.
Sounds kinda cool, right? In
control of your destiny – and at least the daily experience of everybody you
meet, too. God like.
In short order, however, the opportunity turned into agony. He could not get off the train, no matter how
hard he tried.
The movie strikes a chord here.
I’ve come across many people who feel like they are just living the same
day over and over and over again. Their
basic needs are met. They have a lot of
stuff they want. And yet they are
bored. They don’t look forward to the
next day – what’s the point, anyway?
Some people have the same experience when it comes to their faith. They’ve been going through the same motions
for a long time, and each day brings the same experience of dullness. After a while, it’s pretty easy to throw in
the towel, or at least stop trying.
The Bible bears witness to the fact that this phenomena occurred throughout
its history, which implies to me that this is a human condition issue. We struggle with the monotony of the daily
routine repeating itself ad infinitum.
And yet there are many occasions where people break through to a new
understanding of life and God.
King David, for instance, is credited with writing Psalm 15, which asks
and answers the question of who has access to God? He seems to speak from experience, indicating
that those who essentially align themselves with what is sensed to be God’s
character have access to intimacy with God.
Hundreds of years later, the prophet Micah witnessed the crumbling of
the nation of Israel, and tried to call her back. Israel was apparently thinking that they
needed to do something more to wins God’s favor and redemption – greater acts
of worship, bloodier sacrifices, etc.
But that’s never been what God is really up for. God – at least as witnessed in the Bible –
seems to be much more interested in a relationship with humanity than BBQ’ing
more lambs, goats, and bulls. Micah, as
if speaking for God, says it plainly: do what is right, love mercy, and walk
humbly with God (Micah 6:1-8). These are
the things that align us with the Almighty and pull us out of our routine misery.
Jesus pipes in as well, hundreds of years after Micah’s input. Speaking to a crown of severely poor people
who had no hope of overcoming their Roman oppressor, he spoke of an alignment
that seemed to favor his audience. Apparently,
God comes close to those who are poor, are in mourning, are humble; those who
long for justice and righteousness, are merciful, are pure in heart, are
peacemakers, are persecuted for the sake of God (Matthew 5:1-12). Why would these people sense God’s blessing? Because they are more likely to be aligned
with God by virtue of their difficult circumstances. Extreme poverty and sorrow have a way of
stripping people of the prideful, self-centered arrogance that causes us deny
our need of God for anything at all.
After some unknown period of time, Phil Connor got bored with his vain
pursuits. His attention went from
basically shallow pursuits to deeper passions.
He shifted from being satisfied with essentially anonymous sex to
desiring love. He moved from fun and
games to saving people from harm. He
began to become a better, more humane Phil.
A Phil that was hiding beneath his very normal and self-serving
pursuits.
Early in the story, Phil had no problem flaunting his ego wherever he
wanted without concern for others. Most
of the recipients of his self-absorption let him know that he was a serious
jerk, including the woman he would eventually fall in love with. But at that stage, concern for others who
could not further his personal agenda seemed a fruitless pursuit. Why care what other people think? What business is that of his?
The Apostle Paul recognized this same attitude at work when he wrote
the church in Corinth somewhere around 55 CE.
Probably from personal experience with audiences he addressed, he
discovered that the way that Jesus taught – and especially the way he died –
was absolute foolishness to those who were wrapped up in the world around
them. The way of Jesus was founded on
the same principles that Micah spoke of and David proclaimed. A way of being and living that sought
alignment with God, the very source of life itself. A way which requires those who trek upon it
to be humble, to look out for those who suffer, and to live in mercy. These are the ways of being that fosters an
intimate relationship with God because this way of being is the way God chooses
to be. To quote Henry Blackaby of Experiencing God renown, we experience
God when we go where God is already at work.
God is at work where redemption is needed, where mercy is required,
where love is longed for.
When Phil pursued his True Self (thank you, Thomas Merton), he
blossomed. He became who he was created
to be, and he thrived. He became a joy
to all who knew him instead of a pain in the neck. He learned to love and be loved. When he did, he fell asleep, only to wake up
to a truly new day.
I think everybody is up for a new day.
I think we have good news in these texts, because they point us in the
right direction. They encourage us from
the perspective of a thousand years of history and different voices. These witnesses tell us to go deep and close
to the God who redeems, who gives rest, who loves, who made us to be more than people
of drab routine.
So cherish and pursue this news, and embark on the path that invites
you to move toward God and toward the person you were really made to be. There are markers along the way. There are vistas that let you know you’re
still on the path. They include moments
of personal sacrifice, seasons of extraordinary beauty, stretches of personal
mountains to climb and dark caverns to examine.
And they all generate the same kind of God fruit that Paul spoke of:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. May you get off your respective Groundhog Day
repetition, and find yourself more alive than you have yet been.
No comments:
Post a Comment