Groundhog’s Day
Micah 7:8 Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.[1]
It is shaping up to be a long winter for some people on the upper east coast. Cold temperatures and record snow fall totals have begun to wear their patience a bit thin. Facebook abounds with memes[2] chastising the poor woodchuck for its forecasting abilities; and the police in Merrimack, New Hampshire have even issued a warrant for its arrest (though at least one of the state’s ski resorts has offered it asylum)!
A few years ago, actually a couple of decades ago (which shows how fleeting time is), Bill Murray starred with Andie MacDowell in the movie “Groundhog Day”. His character, Phil Connors, is stuck reliving the same day over and over again until he gets it right. Each “new day” he encounters the same people who issue the same greetings, to which he tries a variety of both comic and serious responses. I’m sure if it were remade today, the cameraman would issue the phrase “YOLO”[3] at some point!
What if we had to (re)live each day until we got it right? This thought came to my mind when I was reviewing the text to “Beauty for Ashes”[4], an Ash Wednesday arrangement by Stephen DeCesare. It sounds intriguing at first, but then I realized it was not the way I’d like to spend eternal life. In the song, the phrase “He gives me sunshine for my shadow” comes up again and again. At first I understood it to simply mean that Jesus provides light in my dark world. But then I discovered an even deeper meaning to explore.
The shadows (sins) of mine surround me all the time, even when the sun is not shining; stretching out to the horizon in every direction. These dark, faceless images only become visible when the light of Christ shines down on me. If I choose to dwell on them I, too, may become frightened and ashamed, and want to hide somewhere deep within the ash and soil.
But Christ didn’t come to create my shadow or simply call it to my attention. The Law of Moses did that. No, Christ came so that I can turn and walk towards the light. Yes, my shadow is still there and I cannot simply walk away from it. But the longer I focus on this Light, as dawn gives way to morning and morning progresses towards noon, something wonderful happens. As Christ becomes the center of my life, my shadows begins to disappear!
It is true that I cannot completely separate myself from my shadow while here on earth. If I pick up my shoe, I see it is still there. However, someday Christ will lift me up and I will leave my shadow behind. I will be with him “in” the light, the only place where there are no shadows.
Thanks be to God!
David Krueger