We have now entered the time of year in the church that is called Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time simply means that it isn’t the Christmas or Easter seasons. But doesn’t Ordinary Time sound so boring and unexciting?
An enormous amount of focus is put on Easter and Christmas in the church. And rightly so…after all these are the celebrations of our Savior’s birth, death, and resurrection. But I’m afraid we spend so much energy on these celebrations that we tend to see the ordinary time as non-important. This could not be further from the truth.
If you go to thefreedictionary.com, you will find that the word “ordinary” means “commonly encountered; usual.” If we apply this to the term ordinary time as Christians, we can understand this: ordinary time, the time between Easter and Christmas, is a time for us to encounter Christ as we should under normal or usual circumstances. This is not a time to take a break from Christ or ministry. This is a time to work and live as Christ which should be an automatic or common occurrence for us as believers.
The ordinary time provides us with the opportunity to spend more time in discernment. It provides us with more time to look more closely at the ministries of the church. It provides us with less busy-ness so that we can be more about the Father’s business. The ordinary time is a time when we can look more in-depth at how we are serving others.
The month of June has less “things” on the calendar than any other month so far this year. That does not mean that it is time for a break. What it does mean is that we, as a congregation and family, have more time to devote to prayer, time to listen to God’s leading, and time to determine how we move forward in ministry. During the ordinary time, please continue to pray with the Elders and I the prayer that was shared with you in last month’s newsletter.
“Gracious Lord, we give you thanks for the direction you have given our church over the decades. We now come before you again asking for guidance and discernment. You have told us in your word to wait for the Lord and to lean not on our understanding but to trust in the Lord. We trust and wait on you now. Please mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you and grant that we may know and understand what things we ought to do. Give us the power of your grace so that we may hear your divine instructions. Remove any barriers that keep us from drawing near to you. Open our hearts and clear our vision so that we may follow your path and accomplish your will. In Christ’s holy name we pray. Amen.”
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Kim
