When you hear the word “ordinary,” what do you think of? Chances are, you think of such synonyms as common, usual, routine, regular, predictable. Maybe even mundane, boring, dull. Well, what would you say if I told you that in the church’s liturgical calendar, we are now in “ordinary time”?
The period of the church year following Pentecost is known as “ordinary time.” This term may not be familiar to Protestants, but is familiar to Roman Catholics. The naming actually refers to the fact that during this period, which extends from the Monday after Pentecost to the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent, Sundays are numbered sequentially. Ordinary, from the term “ordinal,” refers to this numbering of Sundays. Different denominations use varying terms, but generally number the Sundays during this period.
Despite not being regularly used by Protestants, I think our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters are on to something, that the term “ordinary time” has a certain relevance in our faith journeys. The first part of the church year is filled with a series of significant events, extraordinary events. We start with the Advent as we anticipate the coming of the Messiah, as well as his Second Coming. We then celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus. This is followed by the Feast of the Epiphany and the Epiphany season, looking at the various ways the Messiah is revealed in our midst. Then comes the penitential season of preparation known as Lent, which culminates in Holy Week - the commemoration of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed by the Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. Of course, the grand finale is Jesus’ resurrection on Easter, followed by a whole season of post-resurrection appearances. This culminates with Jesus’ Ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Lots of dramatic stuff.
But then there are no other major events between now and when we start all over with the Advent/Christmas cycle. The next six months, liturgically speaking, for lack of a better word, are pretty ordinary.
This period of “ordinary time” is not, however, uneventful, meaningless, or boring. During this period our Gospel lessons focus on Jesus’ earthly ministry of teaching, healing, and care for those in need or who are marginalized. We look at Jesus’ day-to-day life and learn lessons about how we are to live our own day-to-day lives. This period of “ordinary time” is quite appropriate, and essential, to our lives of faith because it is in the midst of our ordinary lives that we are called to live out our faith. It’s not just about celebrating the major events of Christmas and Epiphany, Lent and Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost. Living our faith is something we are called to do 365 days of the year.
It’s easy to be faithful a couple days a year. But it is in the rest of our lives, in the ordinary times of our lives, in the good times and the not-so-good, in the unexpected and the mundane, in the easy times and the hard times, where the rubber meets the road. That is when we really find out what it means to be people of faith. It is during these ordinary times when we are put to the test, in small ways and large, where we live life as it truly is. This is where we live our faith as it truly is. It is during these ordinary times when we truly meet the risen Christ in our lives, loving us, supporting us, and carrying us through these times which may seem, in the moment, not so ordinary.
We need the ordinary times of our life to help us remember what all the rest, all the extraordinary events of the church year, are really about. And while this is “ordinary time,” the gift of God’s love and His on-going presence in our lives, is far from ordinary.
May your “ordinary” times be truly a blessing!
