In the movie, Groundhog Day, Weatherman Phil Connors woke up 13,395 times to find he was still in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, forced to repeat the same day over and over. Every day was—still Groundhog Day!
Whether it’s 10 years worth of days or, as Director Harold Ramis later said, “more like 30 or 40 years,” that’s a really long time to be trapped in a repetitive nightmare.
In his endless holiday repeat, Weatherman Phil works his way through various stages. The first few times, he’s just confused. Eventually, though, he steals, acts maliciously, exploits those around him, cheats at Jeopardy, indulges every whim and vice. He even kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog), leading authorities on a high speed car chase. And then, after who knows how many thousand Groundhog Days, Phil becomes depressed. He is so depressed at his inability to break free from the shackles of this seemingly endless redundancy that he attempts suicide.
Over and over and over.
That’s where the semicolon comes in. When writers decide it’s time to pause, but aren’t ready to end the sentence, they use a semicolon. It’s a way of letting the reader know there’s more to come.
Recently, some who have attempted suicide are getting a semicolon tattoo inked onto their skin, often at the site of their last unsuccessful attempt. They wear that tattoo to send a message that this is not the end, to declare they have chosen to continue on. They want to make something clear to everyone, especially themselves.
There’s more to come.
When Jesus encountered the invalid in this week’s Gospel of John passage, that man needed a semicolon in his life. He was living on the edge—literally, on the edge. He was near the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda, but not right by the pool. That distance, small as it was, meant he could never make it to the water in time to be healed. He had been suffering like that for 38 years. That means he woke up every day for about 13,880 days facing the same horrible existence. He faced all this, alone. He had no one to help him get to the pool. So, 13,880 occurrences of never being healed.
That’s a very long time to be stuck in what surely seems like an endless loop. A person would likely become depressed. This man had been living this way for something like 14,000 days, relief just a few feet away. And yet, it might as well had been miles away for all the good it did him. He could not break out of his endless loop.
Is it any wonder he couldn’t give Jesus a straight answer when asked, "Do you want to be made well?"
That happens to a lot of people. They have lived so long in their struggle, they no longer recognize hope when it appears before them. After so many days, weeks, and years of no relief, their faith has worn thin.
For this man, though, Jesus inserted a semicolon.
Jesus did not just heal the man. He sent him on his way. The message was clear. The man was not to linger at that location any longer. His situation had changed. He was to continue on. After 38 years of endless days, there was, suddenly, more to come.
There’s a message here for us, too. Regardless of our circumstance, Jesus brings a semicolon to our lives. We are to continue on.
There is definitely more to come.
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PHOTO (and the story of semicolons and suicide):
A great little article “The Sanctifying Silliness of Groundhog Day”:
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Please join us for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast, Friday morning. We meet online on Zoom** and in person at Our Breakfast Place. It’s a quick hour from 8:00 to 9:00. It includes breakfast we order from the menu, scriptures we read aloud, and unfettered discussion. We say what we think, and we grow from listening to each other.
And there’s laughing.
Blessings,
Steve
**Contact me for the Zoom link
NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera and microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.
SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK
Acts 16:9-15
Psalm 67
Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
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