Brothers and sisters,
We are entering an interesting time of the church year this coming Sunday. We are entering Ordinary Time. Now, you may read that and think, “What is he talking about?” Basically, the church year is divided into two halves. Starting on the First Sunday of Advent and running through Trinity Sunday, the church calendar is in a pretty consistent rhythm of anticipation and celebration. Advent anticipates the celebration of Christmas. Lent anticipates the celebration of Easter. There are a few Sundays between the end of Christmastide and the beginning of Lent, but for the most part, that first half of the church year is spent in those two modes: anticipation and celebration.
Now, however, we enter the second half, a long stretch of Ordinary Time that, this year, ends with Christ the King Sunday on November 22nd. On a practical level, that means the paraments on the pulpit and the communion table will be green through November 15th (Christ the King Sunday gets white paraments). On a pastoral level, that means that I’ll have a little more freedom in what kinds of sermon series I want to preach and which passages I want to preach from.
But, you may read the name for this season, “Ordinary Time,” and think, “Well, that just seems condescending. Yes, Christmas and Easter are special, but ‘ordinary time’ makes this part of the year just sound…boring.” While there is some debate on where the name came from, the most common explanation is not that the church thinks these Sundays are “boring”. Rather, they are “ordinal” numbers, that is, they tell us how long it’s been since Pentecost. So, for example, this Sunday, June 7th is liturgically known as the “Second Sunday after Pentecost.” That continues until November 22nd, the “Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost” aka “Christ the King Sunday”. These numbers keep track of where we are in the church calendar.
Now, what that means for us as individual believers is simple—this time of the year is one meant for exploration. There’s no pressure to be preparing for Christmas and all its celebration. The quiet reflection of Lent and the pomp and circumstance of Easter Sunday have faded. We are entering a time of the church year when we can meander through Paul’s letters if we want to. We can spend some time reading stories about Abraham or Moses or David. We can challenge ourselves with some of Jesus’ harder teachings (think the Parable of the Dishonest Manager). And in so doing, we have the unique opportunity to draw closer to God in ways that feel uniquely personal. Where is God leading you during Ordinary Time? Which books, which passages, which characters is the Holy Spirit guiding you toward? Or, which part of Jesus’ life is compelling you these next twenty-five weeks? If you’ll seek God’s guidance, this time will be anything but ordinary.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben