The Sovereign Love of God

Ordinary Time in the ChurchYear Is Anything But Ordinary Time A s the dawn follows night, so our Lord will surely appear in power and glory to gather his own to himself, to make an end of war and sin, and to restore creation under God’s will. This is a season of the hope of Christ’s soon return. The Season after Pentecost (Kingdomtide) is a season of celebration, recognizing Christ’s headship; a season of soul winning, affirming our role as laborers in Christ’s harvest; and a season of expectation, grounded in the hope of Christ’s return. In one sense, this Season after Pentecost is anything but what it is usually referred to in Church-Year-celebrating circles: “Ordinary Time.” Dan Connors in his wonderful little book, The Liturgical Year , explains the meaning of “ordinary” in this designation of the Church Year’s final season. The word ‘ordinary’ in Ordinary Time doesn’t mean ordinary in the usual sense. Remember “ordinal” numbers – first, second, third? That’s what ‘ordinary’ refers to here. The numbered Sundays of the year outside of the special seasons. Yet ordinary time does seem rather ordinary, it doesn’t bring any strong images to mind the way the other seasons do. In fact, the Sundays of Ordinary Time don’t all fall during the same time of the year. To understand Ordinary Time, we need to understand the Church Year as a whole. We need to remember the essential meaning of all the other seasons and then think about the rhythms of time.

~ Dan Connors. The Liturgical Year. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2005, p. 39.

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