By R. Kevin Johnson
This series so far has addressed the first three seasons of the structure of devotion known as the Christian or liturgical year. It follows the life of Jesus beginning with the words of the prophets during the season of Advent. Christmastide and Epiphany follow as seasons with a kind of “built-in” meaning to encourage devotion and spiritual growth.
The weeks after the Epiphany and Pentecost are referred to singularly as Ordinary Time. This season, also called Common Time, accounts for over half of the year. It deserves particular attention by worshipers who wish to continue to celebrate the “Paschal mystery” — the exciting hope of salvation promised through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The days during Ordinary Time are intended to challenge Christian devotion. With prescribed seasonal considerations set aside, the individual believer is left to an “over-the-counter” approach to devotional self-medicating.
It is during Ordinary Time that extraordinary things can happen in the hearts and lives of God’s people through the exercise of daily faith. This season is by no means dull, boring or routine as the name “Ordinary” suggests.
During this first ordinal season — wedged neatly between Epiphany and Lent — Christians around the world follow a lectionary cycle that bring deeper understanding to Jesus: the man, his teaching and his mysterious ways.
First, Jesus gathers his disciples. He chooses disciples who will walk with him and provide support throughout his ministry. Perhaps they were a strange and eclectic bunch. Jesus knows, however, that they were perfect to be his helpers.
Second, Jesus teaches with authority. He dares to establish himself as a true rabbi and tells strange tales in the process. He preaches a sermon that blesses the least. He uses “hard words,” yet his message was quite simple: “Repent and believe.”
Third, Jesus performs miracles. He begins with the first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee. He heals common folk with a touch of his hand. He is kind to children and the outcast. He is the divine healer!
Fourth, Jesus gains the interest of others. Word spreads quickly about this man called Jesus and everyone wants to be able to be near him. Jesus shakes souls, mystifies the masses and angers the political powers that be, all of which make him worthy of pursuit. Nobody knows what he was going to do next, and everyone wants to be able to say, “I was there!”
“I was there when Jesus healed the blind man!” “I was there when Jesus talked to that Samaritan down at the well!” “I was there when Jesus fed the five thousand. In fact, I was one of the ones he fed!”
They didn’t yet understand that eventually they would have to say, “I was there when they took Jesus away, and I was there when they crucified the Son of God,” testimony that turns modern Christians to the solemn disciplines of Lent.
The challenge during Ordinary Time is to light daily the fire of faith that burns within each of us, and to prepare ourselves to keep a Holy Lent. The result is a restored discipline of worship and intentional devotion throughout these longest seasons of the year.