My June, 2015, column for The Bellringer, my internship congregation’s monthly newsletter. Connected to my Pentecost sermon.
Ordinary Time
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. -Hebrews 10:24-25
This is it! We’ve made it to the end of another school year. College students are home or busy with summer plans, Sunday School is over for the year, and children are eager for summer vacation. Personally, I’m wrapping up my internship at St. Peter and starting to think about summer plans and fall classes back at Wartburg Seminary.
In the church calendar, we’re moving from the busy times of Lent, Holy Week, and the Easter season into Pentecost. After Pentecost, the Sundays go from having a seasonal designation to the bland-sounding “Time after Pentecost.”
On some church calendars, these Sundays after Pentecost are known as “Ordinary Time.” This season is called “Ordinary” because we have at least somewhat of a break from religious holidays and special services. In a sense, we’re living in the in-between time.
This in-between time, this ordinary time, might be when we need each other the most as the church. The writer of Hebrews calls on us to encourage one another, to continue to meet together as followers of Christ, and (my favorite one) to provoke one another to love and good deeds.
I think that’s a great description of what the church ought to be about. It’s easy to get excited for holidays and special events going on, but we need each other just as much during the ordinary time, in everyday life. This summer, let’s keep encouraging each other, keep meeting together, and even provoking and challenging each other to grow in faith, love, and good deeds.
In Christ,
Daniel Flucke, Pastoral Intern
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