We are well into the season of "Ordinary Time" the post-Pentecost season that extends until the start of a new liturgical year with the first Sunday of Advent. I will be honest, I always struggle with Ordinary Time. The rest of the Christian year centers around events - mostly events in the life of Christ. From preparation for His coming at Advent and the celebration of the incarnation to the preparations for celebrating his death and resurrection through Lent, Holy Week and Easter; it seems most of the Church year centers around either preparing for or celebrating some significant event...and then there is ordinary time when I find it hard to figure out what to preach on, musicians find it hard to pick music - everything is so, well, ordinary. 5 or more months of doldrums...

In life I often find myself musing internally or aloud, "I wish I could get through this or that and get back to 'normal life.'" Or, "I wish things would slow down and get back to 'normal.'" This has been an uncommonly busy season for these kinds of thoughts. I had a cycling accident which left me with a broken elbow and a chipped tooth and this right at the climax of a major bathroom tiling project. Then our fourth child was born a month ago. And there have been deaths of friends and parishioners, and births of 3 nephews and the list of major events goes on and on. (Parenthetically - this is why I have not blogged in so long - with all that has gone on I find it hard to make the time to get essentials done much less things like posting to a blog). My dear wife has been very good about pointing out to me that 'normal life' is a myth. I keep waiting for the slowdown and it never comes...this right here, right now is real life. This is 'Ordinary Time' - living with Christ in the midst of births and deaths accidents and tragedies such is the "stuff" of the life we lead...

And so it is that this year I find the very concept of Ordinary Time to be a true blessing. I have come to understand that in her great wisdom the Church calls us each year to the reminder - this is life, this is where the real spiritual journey happens. Yes the celebrations and the events of the rest of the year are life changing and significant - but they are the celebrations of past history. And these historical events are so significant that they inform our lives - in the midst of our present, ordinary times. But we cannot live in the midst of the feast every day. Yet the feast informs how we are to live the everyday. As I am fond of saying, the mountaintops are nice (and as a mountaineer I have a fanatical passion for standing on them) but you can't live on the mountaintops, the valley is where life happens - it is where growth can occur.

Walking with Jesus in the midst of birth, death, bathroom projects and broken bones - that's real life. This is Ordinary Time.

Job 1.21 And [Job] said,"Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."