This week in the Church calendar we entered ‘Ordinary Time,’ the name given to those periods of the year when we aren’t marking a season such as Advent, Lent or Eastertide. Candlemas last week marked the end of 40 days of Christmastide, which includes Epiphany. On 17 February we will mark the beginning of Lent, so this spell of Ordinary Time is rather short. We will have several more months of it after Trinity Sunday later in the year.
The seasons of the Church calendar help us to give an intentional focus to aspects of the life of Jesus - his birth (Christmas), revelation (Epiphany), trials in the wilderness (Lent), passion and crucifixion (Holy Week), resurrection (Easter). These times give us a structure to journey with Jesus through his life and ministry. It also gives us some notable feast days and holidays (originally the word for holiday was ‘Holy Day’).
Ordinary Time is rather different. There is nothing distinctive about it. It is marked by neither fasting nor feast days. It’s a time for the day-in day-out business of life and following Jesus. This last year, however, it feels like we’ve been living a lot more Ordinary Time than usual, as lockdown and restrictions have inhibited our worship together and daily life has been stripped of many of the things which enrich us. But Ordinary Time has its own purpose, for life is made up of the ordinary: those day-to-day routines and chores. And when we care to attend to them we will see that they are shot through with their own moments of grace. Whether in lockdown or Ordinary Time, these are the days given to us to practice noticing the presence of God.
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