Over and Over

The book of Lamentations, chapter 3, reminds us that God is present throughout our lives and each day gives us the opportunity to experience His mercy. We can read:
22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.

We have been given the gift of time - every day - in order for us to experience the presence of God. If we're caught in the mindset of just trying to get to the end of the day, we might miss what He wants to do in our lives. If we feel trapped in routine and don't regard the uniqueness of each day we have been given, we cheat ourselves out of the joy that God wants to bring to us. We can live each day with anticipation of how God will meet us and what He will do.

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When we harbor feelings that we are trapped in a never-ending, day-by-day, routine that does not bring pleasure, we can turn to God to open up our thinking. Ephesians 5 says this:
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Other translations use the phrase in verse 16 that speaks of making "the most of every opportunity."

Happy Groundhog Day!  This is probably one of the most bizarre observances that we celebrate, involving the emergence of a small animal who is extended the status of temporary meteorologist - if the groundhog sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter; if not, an early spring.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

But the name of the day has acquired another meaning throughout the years - a meaning involving a sense of deja vu, or perhaps being stuck in some sort of time loop, in which every day is the same. Yes, I'm talking about the movie, Groundhog Day.  

In the movie, a weatherman, played by Bill Murray is assigned to cover the yearly ritual in Punxsutawney, PA, where the resident groundhog, Phil, is let out of a cage in front of a gathering crowd.  A visit to the city's website will show you it has become quite the party, it seems.  So, after Murray's character, Phil Connors does his report, he and his associates - producer Rita and cameraman Larry - depart to return to their home base of Pittsburgh, get caught in a blizzard, and return to Punxsutawney.  The next day, Phil wakes up, and it's February 2 again.  And, again and again.  

An article at ThinkChristian.net explores how an interpretation of the film could be consistent with principles from the Bible.  Writer Aarik Danielson states: "With its themes of mortality, free will, and fresh starts, Groundhog Day isn’t merely hilarious. It’s not merely anything, but rather wide open for spiritual and ethical interpretation." He referred to the analysis of Jonah Goldberg, which identified concepts found in various world religions, including reincarnation as taught by Hinduism or Buddhism. But, Danielson says, "I’d suggest Groundhog Day can also be read as a fable of Christian sanctification."

And, while each day starts out the same, with the alarm clock going off at 6:00 and Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe" playing on the clock radio, Murray's character crafted a host of different approaches.  Danielson writes: "he cycles through a number of responses." Examples: "He turns to hedonism, eating everything in sight with libertine pleasure and blurring the lines between manipulation and seduction. He dabbles in nihilism, including leading the police on a chase across a train track. He even attempts self-destruction, trying to end his life in almost every imaginable way. Echoing the book of Romans, he does what he wants, no matter how dangerous or dumb, presuming the grace of a new day. He can abduct his furry forecasting counterpart, a groundhog also named Phil, or lift the loot from an armored truck, knowing he’ll wake up free from consequence."

The Think Christian piece states, "Phil’s life only turns around once he begins to serve someone other than himself, loves without expectation, and stops trying to manipulate outcomes."  The afore-mentioned Goldberg says:

The point is that Connors slowly realizes that what makes life worth living is not what you get from it, but what you put into it. He takes up the piano. He reads poetry–no longer to impress Rita, but for its own sake. He helps the locals in matters great and small, including catching a boy who falls from a tree every day. “You never thank me!” he yells at the fleeing brat. He also discovers that there are some things he cannot change, that he cannot be God. The homeless man whom Connors scorns at the beginning of the film becomes an obsession of his at the end because he dies every Groundhog Day. Calling him “pop” and “dad,” Connors tries to save him but never can.

A man named Paul Hannam actually wrote a book about the film and its principles, called, The Wisdom of Groundhog Day. In a piece he wrote for The Guardian, he related three principles that have been meaningful to him.  They are:

Principle number one: practice makes perfect. Groundhog Day is a sustained, ingenious experiment in how to make the most of every day and live your life to the full.

Then, there's...

The second principle: improve the quality of your inner life. Groundhog Day is a story of self-awareness, self-improvement and ultimately self-transformation. Phil does not transform his character through attaining more power, wealth or status. He cannot change his place or time, so he has to change himself. He simplifies his life to the essence, to what is most significant – like being aware and caring for others.

Finally, "The third principle: appreciate that you have everything you need to be happy now."

I would submit that in order to embark on that journey of what the author calls "self-improvement," Phil really had to lose himself - and that's where I might say the movie intersects with Biblical theology.  Our desire to be better should be driven by our desire to please God and to obey Christ, and that does involve removing selfish motives. We have to die to self and live to Christ. And, the Bible teaches that no matter how many good works we do, we cannot save ourselves; Movieguide offers this caution:

Experiencing all that life can offer, Phil has a change of heart and becomes the ultimate moral human being: he saves lives, spreads cheer and acquires culture. He has learned the error of his ways–but is his goodness enough to save him?

Although GROUNDHOG DAY emphasizes that man desires not to be accountable for his deeds, it falsely implies that man can save himself from his sinful propensities. Even so, the film is humorous, lighthearted and fun though somewhat redundant. Thus, a discerning viewer will come out ahead as he learns “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Phil's time loop isn't broken until Phil recognizes that to be selfless is more rewarding than to be selfish. Then he is released from the trial.

We can be reminded that sometimes our trials might seem like endless repetitions.  But, we can believe that there is an end in sight - when we have learned what God wants to teach us.  And, we have to walk in a willingness to learn what the Lord wants to do in our lives.

I also think that we can consider that every day is a gift - we can make the choice: are we going to live for ourselves or for God?  We can be open to the opportunities around us to grow in the Lord and to walk in His love. We can become captive to routine at the expense of relishing God's presence.  We can break that cycle by recognizing that, as Lamentations says, His mercies are new every morning.