What time is it?

It’s Ordinary Time.

In the liturgical calendar, the seven weeks of the Easter season culminate in Pentecost Sunday.  Since Advent we have been following the trajectory of Jesus’ life, from expectant pregnancy and birth, to baptism and ministry, to crucifixion and resurrection. At Pentecost the Spirit is unleashed and comes in wind and flame and ecstatic language.  Jesus is no longer bodily present with his disciples, and so the Holy Spirit is on the lookout for bodies – bodies that will allow themselves to be animated by the same consciousness and energy that filled and moved Jesus of Nazareth.  No single body can do this alone, but together a new community forms, the body of Christ, the church.

We celebrated Pentecost last Sunday – so what’s next?  According to the liturgical cycle, we are entering Ordinary Time, and will remain here until Advent comes around again.  Ordinary Time is a recognition that the Holy is not confined to a single tradition or experience, but that the Spirit is in the process of re-making all things holy.  One need look no further than the ordinary gifts of each day – waking up with lungs full of breath, eating a meal, walking out into sun and shade, sharing a conversation with a friend or stranger.  Similarly, Buddhists have developed the lovely practice of mindfulness to attune their minds to the gift of the present moment.

A blessing to you in the ordinariness of your day and in the holy that awaits your attention.

Here is a simple and child friendly calendar of the church year.