Groundhog Day - August 2
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 80; PM Psalm 77, [79]; 2 Samuel 7:1-17; Acts 18:1-11; Mark 8:11-21
One of the classic movies from my time growing up was Groundhog Day, a fantasy movie about a newscaster named Phil, played by Bill Murray, who has to travel to a small town to cover the annual Groundhog Day celebration. Phil is pretty arrogant and rude, and as he is preparing to leave his news station for a larger market, makes his contempt known for his assignment to travel to the small town of Punxsutawney.
A terrible winter storm hits the town of Punxsutawney and Phil is forced to spend the night with the very people he despises. When he wakes up in the morning, he finds that the day is happening just as it did before, unnerving Phil. Eventually, he realizes his life is stuck in some bizarre time loop where each day repeats, and it is always February 2.
Now if one was to wake up every day with it always being the same day, I suspect that the trajectory would be similar. Phil goes from angry to angrier. Then reckless, irresponsible, depressed, and then at some point, things shift and he begins to take advantage of the situation. He learns how to play the piano, learns French, and finally towards the end of the movie, this news anchor who has only been in Punxsutawney for one day, knows the stories and lives of everyone in the town, has embraced the community that he once despised, and even fallen in love. As Hollywood would have it, it is also pretty predictable. When he finally falls in love and fully embraces the community, the cycle is broken, and February 3 finally arrives.
Last Thursday, when I sent the email out with the Bishop’s request to return to wearing masks during worship, I received a response referencing this movie. I had been pretty frustrated, not necessarily about the mandate itself, but the whole situation we are in, and just that little movie reference, changed my whole perspective. All I could do was laugh and smile, and wonder. It feels like we are stuck in our own time loop and I’m ready for the next day when we are freed from this tragic Covid loop of life, but in some ways, on our best days it does feel like we are really working to learn something new, find new ways of being community, communicating, sharing our stories, being compassionate and mission-oriented. In the words of Winston Churchill, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Are we be given some opportunity to learn how to love more deeply?
Today’s Gospel reading has an element of this same idea. The disciples have witnessed over and over Jesus doing remarkable things. He has continued to tell them who he is and yet they do not understand. How many times must they watch someone being healed, or thousands fed, or received instructions on how to care for others. Our reading ends with Jesus turning to the disciples and saying, “Do you not yet understand.”
Flash forward and it will take several more days on repeat before they do. They have a lot to learn. But they are also the ones responsible for carrying on the mission and vision after Jesus’s death and resurrection. It’s ok that it took them a long time to figure out, because it means we are given the same opportunity. Maybe it has something to do with grace.
Tomorrow might feel like today, or yesterday, or the day before. But we still get the opportunity to love and learn. And maybe that is the best opportunity we could ask for.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: How are you different today than you were one year ago? What have you learned? How have you changed?
Daily Challenge: Pick one thing you would like to learn to do before the diocesan mask mandate is over and begin working towards that. Some ideas: the basics of a new language, musical instrument, or hobby. I’ll buy you lunch if you write me to tell me something new that you are going to learn and how it is going to change your life.