It made me think about the seasons of the church year for we have just entered what we call ‘ordinary time’, the Sundays between now and November. In some sense, this time is quite ordinary. There are no major festivals, no weeks of penitential preparation, just ordinary, plodding along Sundays. And that is good. We do lead quite ordinary lives and much of our time is filled with daily tasks that just need to get completed and much of life is just getting on with the next thing that needs attention.
But interestingly, this season sometimes goes by another title, the ‘Sundays after Pentecost’ and put that way, they are anything but ordinary! Jesus has been raised from the dead and his people have been filled with his Spirit—how could anything be ordinary after that?
In our readings this week, the Apostle Paul tells his story, how he encountered the Presence of God in Jesus and his life was completely changed. We also read the story of the widow of Nain whose life was changed when Jesus raised her son from the dead. They still had to live ordinary lives after that, but I expect that ordinary looked quite different for them after they had experienced the power of God in such dramatic ways.
Most of us live pretty ordinary lives. Yet we come here week after week to be reminded of something extraordinary—that the living God is with us and his Spirit is changing us into the people he wants us to be. Over the next few months, as we plod along through the ‘Sundays after Pentecost’, don’t expect to live in constant Pentecost ecstacy--wildly exciting is not necessarily our new ordinary! But do remember that our ordinary lives are filled with His Spirit, whose gives us the power to respond to the challenges of life as God’s people on earth.
What we do here on a Sunday is pretty ordinary-- we sing, we listen and learn, we speak, we eat and drink. But what we do here is also quite extraordinary. We sing in worship to the living God, we listen to the Word and expect God to speak to us and change us, we pray and expect the God of the universe to hear our prayers and respond. We eat bread and drink wine and trust that we can participate in Jesus’ death and resurrection and look forward life with him in His Kingdom.
As you leave this worship service today, remember that the Sprit is with you, all the time, even throughout your ordinary week. Don't forget that this is life after Pentecost, God has not left us alone, but has given us His Spirit –thanks be to God!
Rev’d Beth Spence