Extra Ordinary Time

Following the season of Christmas (which ended with the Baptism of the Lord) the Church enters into what is called “Ordinary Time”. The word “ordinary” means plain, mediocre or unexceptional, but there is nothing ordinary about the time between the feast seasons (Christmas & Easter) and the weeks of penance (Advent & Lent). In the liturgical meaning, “ordinary” comes from the Latin word ordinalis, which refers to numbers in a series. The weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered weeks with carefully chosen readings all pointing toward the life of Jesus and his ministry.

Prophecy

In the Gospel of Luke for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we read a story from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Filled with the Spirit he returned to Galilee and began teaching in the synagogues. His popularity began to grow. When he entered a synagogue in Nazareth he read about his own prophesy in a scroll (Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus was sent to bring the good news to the poor; bring freedom to victims and to empower the weak. Almost two thousand years later it is up to us to continue the work of Jesus. There is a prayer from St. Teresa of Avila called, “Christ has no body.” It goes like this: “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.” In the Gospel (Luke 1:1-21) we hear the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words.

Homework

As the body of Christ, we are called to fulfill this prophesy today. In this “Ordinary Time” as we journey toward the season of Lent (March 6) let’s invite Jesus to walk with us and transform our life. There is nothing “ordinary” about that. Karen Curjel