ordinary time

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him. - Mark 1: 15-21

Today (the day after the feast of the baptism of Jesus) begins the Church's season of "ordinary time". I am excited because this, for me, is when the rubber hits the road. Christmas has passed, and now we're called to live into the day-to-day reality of the miracle that we have just celebrated: God is with us-- and calls us to holiness within, not despite, our humanity.

The Gospel today says it so clearly... the time is now to follow Him. Andrew and Simon (Peter), James and John are living their ordinary lives doing their ordinary day to day things when Jesus walks towards them on the Sea of Galilee. No angels announce his arrival, no star lights the way overhead. Jesus simply comes to them, right where they are in the midst of their lives, with the simple, life-altering invitation that is anything but ordinary... 'Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.'

A reflection I read today by Eileen Burke Sullivan (I definitely recommend reading the whole thing) explains it so well--

"One of the earliest and most persistent heresies within Christianity is the exclusive focus on Jesus’ divinity. It is precisely within his human nature that Jesus is able to save the created order. It is the human Jesus that the fishermen are called to follow... Not in some ideal future, rather we are called now, in the midst of fishing, or teaching, or at the market, or in the operating or board room to become the disciple who assists in disclosing the reign of God already unleashed within humanity. ... (If) we take up the Gospel and hear the human Jesus ask us to drop everything to follow him now in our current situation, today is the first day of... God’s reign in our ordinary life in this New Year."

God calls the most ordinary people doing the most ordinary things to a life that's anything but ordinary. Why? Perhaps it's in the ordinary moments of our lives when we are most real, and most likely to give Him an honest answer.

One last thought-- I also just learned that the term ordinary in this case does not mean common or plain, but is derived from the term ordinal or "numbered." So happy ordinary time. Let's not just count the days, but make the days count...