Ordinary: The Regular or Customary Condition or Course of Things







Last Sunrise of 2011





“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 NIV

"Ordinary Time comes from the term ordinal and means “counted time.” You might call it the “season between the seasons”—the weeks between the main events on the church calendar (like Lent, Pentecost and Advent)."

Sarah Arthur

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12 KJV

Each year I not only follow the calendar on the wall, but also I try to observe the church calendar or the liturgical year. It is Ordinary Time and it has been since January 7th. This time will continue until Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

My life has been quite out of the ordinary this year. On the first day of Ordinary Time, our two grown sons moved into an apartment together, leaving our nest empty. Within a week, the nest was full again with the liveliness of four young children. My sister and her kids stayed with us, while arrangements were being made for the kids to enroll in school. Two Saturdays after we had moved the boys, we moved my mom, my sister and the kids into a house right around the corner.

I haven’t had any time to experience ordinary life, until this week. May I grumble for a moment…I don’t like regular days. I yearn for excitement, purpose and activity. It is hard for me to rest. At the beginning of Ordinary Time, I proclaimed a sort of Sabbath rest for myself and so far my observation of this rest has been a little off or at least different than I had imagined.

It helps to know that Ordinary Time is not just to be suffered through; it is to be numbered and counted. It is the time to look forward to the next feast. I like how Peter and John were considered ordinary. Their ordinariness was marked by the miracle of Jesus healing presence in their action and words. They were with Jesus.

While it is good to look forward to feasts, I am reminded to enjoy the moments of daily resting in the Presence of Jesus. It seemed easier to contemplate Him in the manger. Now I ask myself, will I contemplate His journey to the cross with just as much awe? To walk with Him through these seemingly ordinary days, while looking for glimpses of His mysterious presence and workings in this world and in my soul, this is the aim of Ordinary Time.