It's Just Ordinary

It’s July, and I am reminded of lines from a poem by Benedictine Sister Grace Malaney of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, KS: “We are saved, we are sanctified, and now we are ordinary.” As we enjoy the summer months, we either think of this season of the year as a time of relaxation and a time away from seriousness or as a time for completing unfinished tasks or beginning new projects.

For many of us the month of July brings visions and memories of family barbecues, family reunions, the celebration of our country’s birth, extended vacations or a time for personal growth and reflection. Yet in our church, from Pentecost until the first Sunday of Advent, we are in “Ordinary Time,” a time when the church is void of extra festive days and celebrations – no manger scene or visitation of The Magi; no Baptism, no Resurrection or Ascension Day; and no Visitation of The Holy Spirit. Just Ordinary days! So how do we Episcopalians go about making the most of the Ordinary Days?? The possibilities for individuals as well as for St. Philip’s are endless, but here are some worth noting. 

A Celtic Cross

If you are a follower of social media, you know that much attention lately has been focused on self-help/health. Many of us do not immediately think that self-help includes taking care of one’s faith. Nevertheless, during this Ordinary Time is a good time to consider taking opportune moments to grow in one’s faith, both personally and within the church community. “Devout meditation on the Word is more important to soul-health even than prayer. It is more needful for you to hear God’s words than that God should hear yours, though the one will always lead to the other” (Frederick Brother Meyer). During this “mundane” time, one may choose to focus on what makes up the ordinariness of our spiritual health. Ordinary rituals like daily prayer, in-depth studying of the scriptures and even exploring the writings of lesser-known faith writers can help us to develop healthy ways to grow more in Christ. This growth in Christ results in the development of our faith, and this faith deepens our relationship with God.

This Ordinary Time also gives us a chance for more study of the scriptures about the life of Christ and his teachings about life. At St. Philip’s we have an excellent, on-going Bible Study Program which is a vital component of our Christian Formation that we can collectively participate in. On the other hand, during this Ordinary Time we could individually or communally learn more about the core Christian tenets upon which our church/faith is built and which we “recite” daily as individuals as well as together. What does The Lord’s Prayer really say to us and what are we saying when we pray “THY KINGDOM COME”? What are we asking when we pray for daily bread? How does praying this prayer pertain to others and how does it shape our understanding of our needs and our relationships? Additionally, we might compare/contrast the Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed and their histories.  We may seriously consider how these creeds help us in our faith health and journey and answer how can these creeds be a guide for Christian living. 

Most of us are familiar with the Parables of the Prodigal Son, of the Sower, and of the Good Samaritan, but how many of us already know that there are somewhere between 30 and 40 parables that Jesus taught and many say over 100 parables throughout the entirety of the Bible. How fun would it be to just study those parables and understand the symbolisms and lessons! How even greater would it be for us as a community to come together and see how Jesus is speaking directly to St. Philip’s through these parables and most of all, how superb would it be that as a unified church we applied those lessons to our mission as a church family as we collected the seeds of our harvests, cooked the fatted cows and seriously tended to the ills of what prevents St. Philip’s from prospering and growing to the fullest extent of our potential. These are mundane, Ordinary Times; what better time is it for us to do ordinary things like really listening to each other and feeding the needs of our church family individually and collectively. 

Especially today, Jesus’s teachings could help us, our church and our community apply those teachings to contemporary situations. What can we do as individuals, as a church and as a community to help those who are in poverty or poor in spirit? How can we spread the word for those who are hungry for righteousness or help those who are unaware of their thirst for extending mercy to others? How can members of St. Philip’s learn to focus on our personal internal attitudes and character traits that may need refining rather than the external deficiencies of our physical structure or the lack of peace in the larger community itself? Moses gave the Israelites external laws; Jesus demands that we deny ourselves, that we love our neighbors, that we forgive our enemies and ourselves and that we leave judgment to Him. 

During this Ordinary Time, let us remember the Parable of the Talents and our individual and collective talents to help benefit not only our community, but also St. Philip’s family. Let us truly study Jesus’s teaching, especially the parables, so that we can understand them and their discernment. As we do so, let us also reflect on their relevance to our lives and the lives of those around us. We can set our goals on living out the truths of the parables and in so doing St. Philip’s Church can grow and truly understand what we mean when we pray “Thy Kingdom Come; thy will be done”… at St. Philip’s.