Season of Pentecost: Ordinary Time

On Sunday June 8, we celebrated Pentecost Sunday.  It is the day marking the birth of the church in the power of the promised Spirit of God.  It is a day of celebration; a day of rejoicing in the powerful potential of the Church of Jesus Christ which is equipped to speak words of truth, healing, and life to the whole world as nothing else can.  It is also a day in which the church prays for a fresh renewal, an outpouring of that same Spirit which came at Pentecost to be made real and alive to us today.  

However, the power, the renewal, the promise of life isn't restricted to just Pentecost Sunday.  It should be our desire to receive a fresh outpouring of the life giving Spirit everyday.  Our church year helps to remind us of the importance of having this prayer at the centre of our lives.  Until the middle of November we will be in the Season of Pentecost (only interrupted by a few Festival Sundays).  Spending so much time in the Season of Pentecost, also called Ordinary Time, can leave us feeling complacent and well, ordinary.  Much of the season takes place during the summer months when church activities slow down and many people are away on holidays; it can start to feel kind of dead around here.  And yet, over the next 23 Sundays, we will focus on the life of the church; its hope, its promise, its mission in the world.  The excitement and power of Pentecost Sunday carries forward to each day of our lives as the Holy Spirit draws us into a new relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.

So while we may be in the season of Ordinary Time, it is my prayer that our time would not just be ordinary but that it would be a season of refreshing, renewal, and of life as we set our eyes on Jesus eagerly following where He leads.