What Easter and Groundhog Day Don’t Have in Common
Tony Cooke
Our non-American readers might need some clarification here. Every year on February 2nd in the State of Pennsylvania, a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil is used at a fun and festive event to “predict” the weather. If he sees his shadow at dawn, there are supposed to be six more weeks of winter. If Phil doesn’t see his shadow, then Spring will come early.
For those with analytical minds, Punxsutawney Phil only has a 35-39% accuracy rate. In other words, you could get better weather predictions by flipping a coin. However, there is a lot of merriment and fanfare associated with the event, even garnering national television coverage. It is noteworthy that practically no one (with the possible exception of those who live in borough of Punxsutawney) think about Phil the other 364 days of the year.
In contrast, Easter (or Resurrection Sunday) is the day when Christians around the world celebrate Jesus’ triumphal and glorious over victory death. After his crucifixion, death, and burial, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). In many congregations, church attendance soars on Easter Sunday, and I am thankful for that — it is awesome when many who don’t regularly attend church get to hear and have an opportunity to respond to the gospel.
There are other contrasting points. Punxsutawney Phil has a lousy track-record of accuracy. I can’t imagine anyone being too disappointed by that, after all, he’s just a large rodent, and the “legend” surrounding him is based on a fun myth as people from that northern state come out of what often has been a hard winter.
Jesus on the other hand, is 100% factual and true. He really was God manifested in the flesh, who came and fulfilled every promise, prediction, and prophesy that had been “written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). His pre-existence was real. His virgin birth was real. His sinless life was real. His substitutionary death was real. His resurrection was real. His ascension into Heaven was real. His seating at the right hand of the Father is real, and so is the “blessed hope,” when we will behold “glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
But here is my point. It’s fine if people don’t think about Punxsutawney Phil only one day of the year, but that’s not the case with Jesus. The Lord doesn’t make an annual appearance one day of the year, only to disappear until the next year. Jesus was not raised so that we could merely have an annual holiday. He was raised so that we can have life and power every day. Jesus did not come so that we could live a religious life, but so that we could live a resurrection life.
I wrote a book entitled Lift: Experiencing the Elevated Life. The premise of the book is that while resurrection is an absolute historic fact (based on Jesus being raised from the dead), there’s more to resurrection than what many know or experience. In the book, I make the statement, “Resurrection is a historical fact to be celebrated, a future event to be anticipated, and a current reality to be experienced.”
I recently received a text from Pastor Scott Millis, whose church (Living Word Family Church in St. Joseph IL) is using this book for small group study. Scott wrote:
Lift just keeps getting better. Our small group loves it, and we never really have enough time to fully discuss each chapter. We just finished the Gideon chapter Wednesday night. I don’t know how far we will make it through the book before this “semester” of small groups ends in May, but this has been the best small group material we’ve used up to this point.
Here’s a more extended quote from Lift.
Most believers know that forgiveness and the new birth is available to them through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but what if Jesus’ resurrection releases much more to us?
What does “lift” look like when it is operating in our lives?
When we have yielded to the power that flows from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we may be surprised at how pervasive and practical God’s influence in our lives can be. Resurrection power can drastically affect our overall attitude toward life and our attitude toward others. We can see hope where others see none. We envision possibilities when others have given up. Encouragement rises inside us even in the midst of discouraging circumstances. We reject pessimism, cynicism, and fatalism.
We are empowered by a confidence that does not come from this world. Resurrection life provides a wellspring of joy and peace from which we draw and by which we are sustained. We don’t see the end of this temporal, mortal existence as the end of life. Rather, we have an eternal perspective of our own lives and of life itself. Everything and everyone takes on greater value because of how and why God created us. “Resurrection” is not just a past event or a future promise; it affects us dynamically in the here and now.
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If you’d like to order “Lift” please visit the TCM Bookstore or call 918-645-9120.
