Not-So-Ordinary Time

We are in the middle of the so-called “dog days of summer.”  I never really understood what that meant.  Most dogs I know, including Casey, takes things pretty easy most days.  However, this saying seems to refer to long days, scorching heat, and (in the case of some of us) not enough time to get done everything we want to get done.  Whether it is a job or a house project, I hear so often during this time of year, “There just isn’t enough time.”

In the Church we refer to our current season as Ordinary Time, meaning that we are not in the middle of any particular season of fasting or preparation like, for example, Advent or Lent.  Yet Ordinary Time is not necessarily about simply coasting along.  This season invites us to relax for a few moments, to take things a bit slower than usual, and to (God-willing) apply that same mindset throughout the entire Church year.  If we do so, then we may find that this time is not so ordinary, after all, that the regular routine and the few moments of quiet and prayer can alter our lives and transform our relationships with God and those around us during the entire year and for our entire lives.

But for so many Ordinary Time is busy.  There are Vacation Bible Schools to attend, baseball games to play, vacations to plan, last-minute office work to handle, or college life for which to prepare.  Is this really what we hope is our “ordinary” way of life?  Is being so busy, so hustled, so hurried how we wish to be for the entirety of the year and our lives?  Jesus offers us a different way.  It is not about how much work we can cram into one day, but it is about our relationship with God and one another.  How is your relationship with God?  How is your relationship with your neighbor?  How have you cultivated these relationships during your Ordinary Time?

For Jesus the “ordinary” is not busy or rushed.  For Jesus the “ordinary” involves self-care and, above all, rest.  We need to find time to rest, time to refresh and relax.  We need to find time to talk to God and to one another.  Remember that Jesus often left the loud city of Jerusalem for the quiet of Galilee.  He even slid through the large, frenzied crowds so that he could go away to pray, to be with His Father.  You and I, in this crazy, busy Ordinary Time, are being invited by Jesus to go away and pray, to be with Jesus and with the Father.  The work and the games and the vacation planning will be there when we get back.  But for now, let us go away to a quiet place, to a still space, so that we may hear the voice of God calm us and relax us and remind us that "You are my beloved!  With you I am well pleased!"  When we do so, we can return to our work and games and vacation planning and be more in touch with God and with each other.  Simply put:  we’ll be in a better mood and will be nicer to others, and to ourselves!

So as you continue through this summer and feel beaten back by the heat or the insanity of work and planning, take the time to step back.  Take the time to pray and relax.  Jesus did.  And when you do so, I am betting you’ll find this season is not so “ordinary” after all.