Pastor's Pen: Ordinary Time

Our lives are dominated by calendars. We know the twelve months of the year. We are now in the month of June with thirty days, and on June 20, we will be transitioning from spring to summer. However, we have other calendars as well. We have work calendars, school calendars, and our kid’s baseball schedules. In the church, we also have a calendar.

Presbyterians don’t talk much about that church calendar. Our Puritan forefathers thought that special days or seasons could lead to distraction. They argued that our focus should be on God rather than a particular holiday. They felt the whole idea of “holy days” was false. Shouldn’t every day be dedicated to God? In fact, many Puritans jettisoned Christmas and Easter along with the rest of the calendar in the name of faithfulness.

We don’t go that far. We still tip our hat to the church seasons and the holidays, but we are pretty quiet about it. Sadly, our reticence means that most of us are unaware of the meaning behind the calendar. Every year, the church rehearses the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, continual presence, and eventual return of Jesus Christ. Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost recount the significant events in Salvation history.

Even with this outline, unclaimed times remain in the church calendar. The church has traditionally named these misfit days and seasons “Ordinary Time.” Here, between Pentecost and Advent, we are in the middle of Ordinary Time.

Personally, I like Ordinary Time. It may not have the bustle of Holy Week or Christmas Eve. Still, I like knowing that God is at work, even in the ordinary. Cutting the lawn, commuting to work, or enjoying a quiet lunch with my wife are times that Jesus has redeemed. Even the rare open space on your day planner is God’s time.

The church has traditionally associated Ordinary Time with the color green. That color symbolizes life and growth. God uses the ordinary stuff of life to bring growth. We don’t have to wait till Christmas or Easter to encounter God.