So for those of you who do not know, the Church has this thing that is called the "liturgical calendar." It is divided into seasons. Some of these you know because they are part of popular culture: Advent and Lent come to mind. But there are lesser known seasons, like Epiphany.

And even more esoteric is that the season of Epiphany (the days between the celebration of the arrival of the three wise men and Ash Wednesday), is also called Ordinary Time. This Ordinary Time is link to the long season of Pentecost (which runs summer through the fall).

I bring this up because I was stunned the other day when "Pray as You Go"* announced that Monday was the first day of ordinary time. The first day of ordinary time. It just kept ringing in my ears: ordinary.

Now, northeast Ohio in January is fairly ordinary. I was driving to work as I was listening: also ordinary. I had normal Monday things on my docket for the day: ordinary. I was thinking earlier about when I was going to get to the grocery store: ordinary.

And yet, something about that word ordinary in the beginning of prayer time struck me.

I think that it struck me because anytime that God is involved things are far from ordinary. Anytime that I open myself up to the voice of the Holy Spirit I am transported to the extraordinary. And when I am walking with others who are showing me the grace and mercy of God in the flesh, that is not ordinary.

I think that I just don't think that ordinary days are just ordinary, and this Ordinary Time can be, and in many ways already is, extraordinary.

Maybe it comes down to what we expect. If you and I expect just a Monday, just a commute, just a grocery trip, just an ordinary season - that is probably what we will see.

But God is always about extraordinary things even in the midst of Ordinary Time. And so I pray that you begin to expect this Extraordinary God to work that in your life.

Peace this week,

Bishop Barbins

*A word about "Pray as You Go": If you do not know about this app, you may want to. It is a great prayer resource to help you experience scripture and the Word of God is a new way. And yes, you can find it on the web also, if you prefer not to use your smarty-pants phone.