by Susan Hines-Brigger
Special to The Leaven
When we think of seasons of the church, chances are most people will automatically lean toward the big two — Lent and Advent. They are both exciting times in which we can tend to get caught up in the great celebrations of the events they precede.
And while those are very important seasons in the life of our faith, I would suggest that the days in between them are just as important — and maybe even more beneficial to the growth of our faith lives.
Just like in all aspects of life, sometimes we need to step back and take a moment to just sit with our faith and the many things it can teach us. Although most of us probably don’t, Ordinary Time is a perfect time for it.
Perhaps we tend to skim over this season because of its name. For most of us, ordinary means everyday, run-of-the-mill events, nothing special or exciting. There are no decorations in our churches, special hymns or colorful vestments. No, these weeks are, well, just ordinary. Because of that, we can tend to see it as simply a holding pattern between Jesus’ birth and death. After all, those are the important ones, right?
But Ordinary Time is actually anything but ordinary. First of all, the name “ordinary” in the context of the liturgical calendar comes from the word ordinal, which relates to the number of weeks of the season. This year, that consists of 33 weeks.
It is during this time that we hear the stories of Jesus’ life, teachings and public ministry. None of those are ordinary. In fact, I would argue that they are just the opposite — extraordinary.
For instance, this is the time when we hear Jesus preach the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.
And in Mt 25: 35-45, a verse we hear referred to often these days, Jesus reminds those surrounding him that what they do to others they are also doing to him.
Those are just two examples of the long list of his teachings and examples we hear during these weeks.
Those stories provide us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ words and examples and find ways to both internalize and live them out in our own lives. What do Jesus’ teachings mean to us? Even the green vestments used during Ordinary Time remind us that this is a time of growth.
Ordinary Time provides us with time to dive deeper into the ways that Jesus’ teachings are influencing the way in which we ourselves are living out those teachings on a daily basis. What are we being called to do? Or what are the ways in which we need to change based on what we hear in the Gospels each week?
We should take advantage of this gift we are given to soak in and reflect on what Jesus challenges us to do. During this time, we are reminded that each day of the year is a perfect time to grow our faith.
There’s nothing ordinary about that.
