Weekly Reflection - 6/1/2023
St. Mary's Reflection: The Rev. David Erickson
“The Extraordinary in Ordinary Time”
He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. Mark 4:26-28
Welcome to ordinary time! What is that you say? Ordinary time is the part of the liturgical year that is not included in the major seasons of the church calendar. While there is a brief period of ordinary time between Epiphany and Lent, the longest period is between this coming Sunday, Trinity Sunday, and the beginning of Advent. It may be referred to as the “green season,” because green is the usual liturgical color for this period of the church year, and the primary emphasis is on the growth and discipleship of the Christian community, encouraging believers to live out their faith and apply the teachings of Christ in their everyday lives.
I love Jesus’s parables of things growing. Especially the parable above. Growth is something that takes time, it cannot be forced, but through patience and persistence, and a hopeful perspective, growth happens. I am reminded that God’s grace and loving persistence in my life is active and present with me, even when I don’t “see it.”
And while I love the intensity and fanfare of the major seasons of our liturgical calendar, there is a beautiful opportunity to experience and explore Christ’s grace when “nothing special is going on.” How do we grow in Christ’s love and grace in our everyday lives? What possibilities are available to us if we only slow down, look, and receive?
This morning I was going to take the bus to work, but I discovered that walking was going to take the same amount of time. On my walk I was intentional to pay attention to the world around me, one that is usually rushing by past my car window. I noticed a small wood house surrounded by giant stone buildings, a probable testament to a family that didn’t want to let go of a family residence, perhaps. I encountered a small garden on a school campus with blooming flowers and their delightful aroma, and I noticed the many people and small conversations I passed along the way.
As we entering the season of ordinary time, I invite you to be present and aware of God’s presence that surrounds us always. It is my belief that, when we become more aware and present to the love and grace of Christ in which we live and move and have our being, just that much easier, joyful even, we can share it with others and manifest it in our everyday, ordinary, extraordinary lives.
The Rev. David Erickson
