Extraordinarily Ordinary

In the Church calendar we are now in Ordinary Time, a long swath of weeks where there are no festivals and major celebrations, at least in most Protestant traditions. So it is time to attend to what Kathleen Norris calls “the quotidian mysteries,” the way we meet and serve the Holy in small, daily encounters. Ordinary time encompasses the summer months, which for many who are calibrated to the academic year, are more spacious, leaving room for exploring, savoring, pondering, delving, ranging far and wide without tight and heavy schedules. I am anticipating with joy these next months of ordinary time. I am offering  myself to the Spirit’s wind to bear me with open eyes and eager heart to nooks and crannies of life in which I can see, hear and sense anew the presence and action of the Holy in all things.

• dwelling in my house and neighborhood: how can I make my home more hospitable? what neighbors can I get out to see in the light of summer evenings? what gifts of God in the my back yard can teach me more about trust and praise of the Creator?
• letting go of what used to be: who can be blessed by receiving things I can easily hand off? what might a clearing in the clutter afford my body and spirit? can I find an action of ending grief that both remembers, honors, and lets go?
• welcoming the new: who might want or need an invitation to tea? what new idea compels and energizes my faithful living and working? what mini-festivals can I celebrate to affirm and  comfort those who need to sing and dance?
• striking out into the unknown: where will my travels take me in Spirit? how will my understanding of the Mystery be amplified? who will come into my vision as part of God’s worlds of people God loves? what can I learn about peace in the face of fear?
• being still, knowing: in the quiet of my daily life, how will I notice the Presence of God, the Peace of Christ, both the Comfort and Fire of the Holy Spirit? and how will I invite them to keep transforming me?

Welome, Ordinary Time! Welcome, Summer! Welcome, Trinity of Love!