New Every Morning

Maybe you’ve seen the film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. In the movie, the protagonist, Phil Connors, is a weather reporter whose life is pretty much stuck in a rut. He’s less than enthusiastic when he is assigned to cover Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He manages to get through a horrible day, only to wake up the next morning and discover that it is Groundhog Day all over again! Phil discovers that no matter what he does throughout the day, he’ll wake up again and have a chance to do it all over. Finally, Phil decides to use his strange experience as an opportunity to better his own life and those around him. After a full day of living life to the fullest, Phil finally wakes up the next morning to discover that it is, in fact, the next morning!

This film prompts us with an intriguing idea: what would you do differently if you had a second chance at today? How would our conversations be different? What opportunities would we seize today?

Of course, we won’t have a second chance at today. But the resurrection of Christ offers us opportunities to experience new life every day. We are Easter people; part of the Christian experience is waking up each morning with the chance to embrace the work of Christ within us. As we sometimes sing, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow!”

Blessings,
Pastor Paul Cook