Joy in the Ordinary

Reflecting on how we can make Jesus part of the order of our days, Liesl Schiavone considers how to transition from the Christmas season to Ordinary Time.

Our family gets a huge Christmas tree. It’s more thanten feet of evergreen beauty and every year it’s breathtaking. It’s covered in a variety of meaningful ornaments and red sparkly ribbon, and it lights up our entire upstairs. I love it—but it takes up a large part of our living space. Our family of eight lives in a modest sized house and the tree sits between our already tight living room and dining room. It’s perfect for the season, but it can make every day living feel cramped. When January 6 comes around and we take down the tree, I’m always sad to see it go but I’m grateful to have the space back. I’m glad to return to the ordinary.

As the holiday season draws to a close, it serves us well to contemplate the Ordinary. We’re approaching that short period between Christmas and Easter that the Church calls Ordinary time. This year it’s just short of six weeks before Lent begins, and Ordinary Time resumes the week following Pentecost. I think about the enthusiasm with which we celebrated the Advent Season and the joy surrounding Christmas, how we “go big” for the holidays from the food to the decorations and gifts. How do you keep enthusiasm during a season that is labeled “Ordinary?”

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The word Ordinary comes from the Latin ordinarius, meaning “regular, of the usual order.”

About a year ago, my husband and I started watching The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins’ drama about the life of Christ. We’re on our second time through the series and we’ve enjoyed it so much. Although there are varying degrees of controversy on the artistic license taken and how some details fall short of Catholic theology, we have found the series to be beautifully done and thought provoking. I love seeing a story of the life of Jesus that draws focus to the personalities and relationships of Jesus and His apostles.

Though these are just artistic representations, we are reminded of Jesus’ humanity and that the apostles did have personalities, just like you and me. We recall that in believing in the fullness of Jesus’ Incarnation, we believe that He entered fully into the human experience. He developed friendships, enjoyed fellowship, and encountered difficult people. He enjoyed a good meal but sometimes experienced hunger; He danced but He also wept. The apostles were called, but they were not perfect. They had good days and bad days; they had disagreements and distractions; they had real life happening to them while they were following the Messiah. They often struggled to understand the big picture of what Jesus came to do.

In watching The Chosen, I’ve learned to consider more deeply what it means to be a friend of Jesus and to walk beside Him throughout His ministry. I can ponder what it’s really like having Jesus as part of “the usual order” of my days, in the way the apostles did because of the Incarnation. I think about what it was like to share a meal with the Messiah, or walk beside Him on a journey, or be a neighboring guest at a friend’s wedding with Him.

Jesus loves you beyond the depths of your imagination. Like a good friend, he wants to spend time with you and know you. He wants to rejoice with you in the joyful moments and comfort you when you’re tired (or angry!) or burnt out. He wants to celebrate with you on the good days and carry you through your suffering on the bad days. He wants to be part of the usual order of your life.

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As the holiday season draws to a close, it serves us well to contemplate the Ordinary. How do you keep enthusiasm during a season that is labeled “Ordinary?” #CatholicMom

During this Ordinary Time, let us invite Him into our homes. Let us have Him stand beside us in our cooking and our cleaning. Let Him sit next to us as we fold our laundry and drive the kids to dance class and sit on the sidelines of the soccer field. Let us have Him lead us as we help with the homework and show our children how to seek what is good, true, and beautiful in all that we study and discover. Let us allow our Savior to become part of the order of our days. 

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