March 6, 2011 (Mt. 7:21-27)
Ordinary Time. That’s what Catholics call this time of year, Ordinary Time. The priest wears green vestments and there’s nothing very exciting going on. Everything is just – well – ordinary – one day following another, Sunday after Sunday. That’s actually where the word came from. We call this Ordinary Time because these Sundays are numbered, from the root word ordinand. For example, this Sunday is the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Sometimes our lives feel like that. Ordinary, one day following another, nothing very exciting happening, no prophesying or driving out demons, no “mighty deeds” (unless you count making it to work on time!), just one day following another, Sunday after Sunday.
But wait a minute. Let’s look again. According to Matthew Jesus isn’t really all that interested in prophesying or driving out demons. In fact, Jesus doesn’t even seem to be overly impressed with people who do “mighty deeds”! “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” It sounds like Jesus just wants us to do two very ordinary things: (1) listen to His words and (2) act on them.
“Wait a minute,” you might be saying, “just where am I supposed to hear these words that Jesus wants me to listen to?” Actually Jesus talks to us all the time. The reason we don’t always hear Him is because it seems so – you know – ordinary. For instance, when the alarm goes off on Monday morning and the last thing you want to do is get up and go to work but you know that you have to in order to support yourself and/or your family so you do – you’re listening to Jesus’ word and acting on it. Or when the client calls with yet another change in the blueprints that you’ve spent weeks preparing and you want to scream but instead you remain patient and incorporate the change. Not exciting enough, you say? Nothing out of the ordinary? Maybe that’s the point. Maybe, just maybe, all those ordinary days aren’t really all that ordinary after all!
Vinal Van Benthem, sfo
