The following is the Reflection given by Moises Gutierrez at the Evening Prayer service, May 5, at the 2010 graduation of the Institute for Leadership in Ministry:
By Moises Gutierrez
Who has seen the movie “Groundhog Day”?
This movie is about a weatherman for a local news station, named Phil Connors (played by comedian Bill Murray), who wakes up to the same day, over and over again, as he covers the “Groundhog Day” festivities in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
Phil is not a pleasant man. He hates the town, its people, and the local holiday he is working on. Phil seems to have some chronic anger issues and has a dark and sarcastic sense of humor.
Phil does not like his work. Phil does not like his co-workers. Phil doesn’t like himself. Living through the same story every day, Phil finds himself “boxed in” by life.
The same thing has happened to many of us. It sure has happened to me: the days pass and we feel as if nothing new ever happens. You know those days – when life appears stagnant and sad.
To make matters worse, if we are brave enough to watch the evening news these days, it may also feel as if joyful moments are few and far and between. The economy is tough. There are no jobs. People continue to lose their homes. Life appears to be predictably difficult.
But life need not be boring and sad. We just have to pay attention, look around, and see the goodness of God in our surroundings and in each other.
In the case of our friend Phil Connors, he is able to escape the vicious circle of living the same day over and over again, once he finally learns that life becomes much more interesting, joyful and meaningful when we work on becoming better human beings and reach out to others.
In sharing his own experience of life with the Philippians, St. Paul teaches us that life is joyful and well worth living when we do so with purpose and passion.
Therefore, if I could summarize the meaning of tonight’s reading, I would argue that it represents a footprint on how to live our lives beyond ourselves. I believe Paul offers four key points:
• We should not take ourselves too seriously. We must acknowledge that we are only human and not perfect. It is important to learn from our mistakes and use those circumstances as opportunities to grow.
• We all need a worthwhile goal. As Christians, we believe in a loving God who wants nothing but the best for us, many times despite ourselves. Essentially, we have to keep our eyes on the prize – ultimate union with God – and form our value system and behavior accordingly.
• While we should not take our past for granted, we must live in the present moment and look to the future, with hope and joy. The life that God wants for us is too beautiful to live enslaved to our past, no matter how painful or carefree it may have been.
• We need to act. We need to exercise our discipleship with energy and passion. This could mean bettering ourselves by going back to school, taking care of our health, and doing our work with pride and a smile on our face.
But most importantly, this should entail the sharing of our talents and resources with others, particularly the most needy in our communities. Now, as always, and I would argue more than ever, our Church needs each and every one of us, ordained and lay people alike, to bear witness to and advance the good work that Christ Jesus began.
Tonight, we gather in prayer and gratitude to celebrate graduation from the Institute for Leadership in Ministry. I invite you to make good use of what we have learned, keep our sight looking forward, and reach out to our brothers and sisters in need: the hungry, the depressed, the unemployed, the undocumented immigrant.
As the late Pope John XXIII once affirmed, “We must run the risk of living with hope.” No, not all the days have to be the same.