This Sunday marks the first Sunday of Ordinary Time. There's little fanfare in this portion of the church calendar. No big feasts or big fasts. Some good stories to notice. Some things to pay attention to. This week's Lectionary selections contain a few beloved references, one being the instance where Christ and his followers were feeling hungry as they walked through a field; when they noticed the abundance around them they just began to receive it, to simply clasp their fingers around it and accept. Plus there's the bit from Deuteronomy about the Sabbath, which is its own kind of abundance, should you choose to receive it. Anyway, I think it's a good start for Ordinary Time, to ponder the commonplace, the abundance of love, the gifts lurking around wherever you happen to pass. Cheers.
Oh Lord, you are acquainted with all our ways,
You know when we sit down
And when we rise up,
You know our thoughts before we think them. (1)
You fill ordinary bellies
With ordinary bread.
And ordinary lungs
With ordinary breath.
At least, we are tempted to think this way:
As though each bite,
Each breath,
Weren’t a gift.
We are tempted to think that the unexceptional moments don’t matter
But you can be found anytime, anywhere.
We are tempted to think that mundane tasks have no value,
But you redeem all things.
Though our focus is often on what we lack,
With you, abundance is for receiving (2).
Though our faults and missteps are a dime a dozen,
With you, grace is commonplace.
In Jubilee
you rescue us from our distress.
In Sabbath
you give us reprieve from our work (3).
In the secret places
you test us (4).
In ordinary clay jars
you give us extraordinary treasure. (5)
May we live this day and every day,
In wonder;
Noticing opportunities to connect with the divine, the sacred,
In the ordinary.
Amen
1) Psalm 139:2,3
2) Mark 2:23-28
3) Deut 5:12
4) Psalm 81:7
5) 2 Corinthians 4:7