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Ordinary Time: The Season of Growth
Ordinary Time: The Season of Growth
By Amy Peeler
The Fullness of Time series discusses the “riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar”: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Outside of these specials seasons are more days—a period between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday and another between Pentecost and Advent. This season is called Ordinary Time and is a season of growth. How do these days fit into the life of a Christian? According to Amy Peeler, an Episcopal priest and professor at Wheaton College, “Being grateful for what God has done—previewed in Genesis and accomplished in Christ—is a necessary step toward daily faithfulness. That daily faithfulness is when trust, even in the face of death, becomes our new ordinary.”
The first half of the book deals with many of the common practices of worship in traditional liturgical churches. Especially meaningful is her in-depth discussion of the Lord’s Supper. The Book of Common Prayer holds many declarations and prayers used to proclaim God’s grace and our unworthiness as we join together as children of God to remember his sacrifice with the bread (His body) and the wine (His blood) as he instructed his followers to do when they gathered.
The second half of the book starts at the beginning of Genesis with the story of Abraham and Sarah and how they grow in faith by seeing God and acknowledging that God sees them, which leads them to trust God. Next is the story of Hagar, a slave, and her son by Abraham who was named Ishmael. There are many lessons about trust, which leads to gratitude, in their story. During Ordinary Time, as in the other seasons, the Scripture readings, prayers, and hymns are all chosen to reflect the theme and, of course, to point to the Trinity: God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit.
Although short, Ordinary Time is not a book you will want to rush through. Its topics are practical, but the discussion reaches deeply into areas that could become perfunctory, but shouldn’t. I appreciated its accessibility while, at the same time, it went deeper, theologically speaking, than is normally expected from a brief book.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Religion, Spirituality, Theology
Notes: The Fullness of Time series is edited by Esau McCaulley. It is composed of seven stand alone books that can be read in any order: “Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.” Ordinary Time completes the series.
Publication: 2026—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
The Holy Spirit does not choose the worthy but the willing.
The shattering of the wafer recalls this defeat of death through death.
We might, as Hebrews instructs, meet a stranger who is actually an angel (Hebrews 13:2), but even if that surprising event does not occur, we can rest assured that every person we meet bears the image of God and should be treated as such. Jesus too instructs his followers to treat others as we would treat him (Matthew 25:34-46).
Advent–Hope and Repentance
Advent: The Season of Hope
by Tish Harrison Warren
I have almost finished reading Advent by Tish Harrison Warren for the second time this season. It is a small book that packs a powerful punch and is worthy of a reread.
In the Protestant churches of my childhood and most of my adult years, “advent” was a word I rarely heard. The focus was on Christmas and making sure the cultural aspects of the celebration (e.g. decorations, gifts, and parties) did not take prominence over the spiritual foundation: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” In more recent years, I have worshiped in Protestant churches that follow the liturgy found in the Book of Common Prayer. Warren’s book has helped me unravel the church calendar year which begins with Advent and to understand Advent itself.
This tiny book explains the three comings or advents of Christ. We celebrate His birth in Bethlehem at Christmas and look forward to what we refer to as “His Second Coming” when He will reign as King of Kings. Warren says there is a third coming which we currently experience when He dwells in our hearts as we are filled with the Holy Spirit.
There are many themes of Advent discussed in this book, but the ones that impact my heart the most are “repentance and hope” and “darkness and light.” Warren refers to four prayers composed for the Advent season in the Book of Common Prayer. In addition to talking to God, these prayers or collects lead the reader to a deeper understanding of Christian theology and what we believe as Christians. She explains eight practices of Advent for those who want to use this season to meet with God and draw closer to Him during the course of the four weeks of Advent that lead up to Christmas.
Perhaps my favorite chapter in the book Advent is entitled “Crying Out: Two Prophets of Advent.” Who prophesied most about the advent or coming of Jesus? Isaiah in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New Testament. It is a good beginning place if you want to learn more about prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament and prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled when Jesus comes again, not as a baby in a manger, but as the Messiah who returns to banish Satan and evil and rule on Earth for eternity with justice, peace, and love.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Theology
Notes: 1. “Each volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.” These are standalone books, each written by a different author: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost.
2. This is a choice for my book club and lends itself well to group discussion, but it is also perfect for devotion, study, and meditation for individual readers.
Publication: 2023—InterVarsity Press
Memorable Lines:
Advent comes each year and quietly asks me to pause, to remember that we do not bring the kingdom of God to the world through our own effort or on our own timeline. We wait for one outside of us and outside of time. We wait for our coming king.
Advent is training in hope because this season tells us that when things lie fallow they do not lie in waste; things that seem dormant are not dead, and times of waiting are not without meaning, purpose, or design. God is working, sometimes almost imperceptibly, deep beneath the surface of time. Waiting is part of his redemption. It is part of his gift to us. It is part of his grace.
The love of God is the blazing fire that purifies us, remakes us, and sets right all that is broken in us and in the world. The love of God brings us to repentance. The love of God sets the oppressed free and makes all things new. The love of God insists on truth and justice. The love of God reveals every hidden thing. And it is this love that is coming for us.
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