Ordinary Time
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O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
- this Sunday’s collect
Now that the Feast days of Pentecost and Trinity Sunday have passed, we begin to settle into the longest season of the year - ordinary time. We will be in ordinary time from now right through the season of Advent at the beginning of December. At St. James, our ordinary time liturgy has two parts. The first is our summer worship. During the summer, our services are more casual than any other time of the year. You’ll notice that the liturgical ministers do not wear robes and the prayers are simpler. This fits well with being outside, and summer is also a great time to listen to different styles of music and to try new things in worship. Those who like trying new things are delighted with the summer services
The second part of our ordinary time worship starts on the Sunday after Labor Day, when we return to the building. In the fall, our liturgy is the most traditional of the year. The liturgical ministers and choirs all put their vestments back on and we process into the church. We use the standard and very familiar Eucharistic prayer A in the prayerbook and well known service music. Those who like the service to be familiar and like they remember it from long ago are delighted with the fall services.
Ordinary time has someting for every kind of disciple!
But both in the summer and in the fall, the lectionary readings in ordinary time all focus on discipleship and faith. In Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter, the readings and liturgical elements focus on all the amazing things God has done for us. In ordinary time, the readings and liturgical elements turn to focus on our appropriate response to these divine acts as disciples. And the collect for this Sunday expresses this well. The prayer asks that by God’s inspiration we will be able to think right thoughts, and by God’s merciful guidance we will be able follow through on those thoughts and do good things with our words, our actions, our gifts, our resources and our lives.
May we enter into ordinary time remembering that it is, indeed, from God that all good things come, and may we begin this season by together joining in prayer to ask God for help in responding to God’s love for us with deep trust and love as faithful disciples.
This Sunday’s readings are here. This Sunday we are using track 1, and so will be reading Genesis and Psalm 33 in the service.
