Ordinary Time

by Fred Vilbig


Upon the passing of Epiphany, we enter into the Ordinary Time of the Church year. The Gospel readings at Mass cover the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the calling of the Apostles. The stories include the first miracles and the astonishment of the Jews. Jesus casts our demons, and they testify as to who He was. His fame spread far and wide because of all of this. I don’t know about you, but to me, this does not sound much like “ordinary” time.

For me, the “ordinary” time of Jesus’ life would have been the time when Jesus lived in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. The Gospels say nothing about that time other than that after they found Him in the temple, Jesus was obedient to Mary and Joseph. Luke tells us that He advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man. Luke 2:51 – 52. Other than that, those 30 or so years with the silent years, the “ordinary” time of Jesus’s life.

It’s interesting to speculate (and that’s all it would be) about that time in Jesus’ life. From the moment of His conception in Mary’s womb, He was fully God and fully man. As a man, I assume he would have grown in His awareness of who He was. At the same time, he would have helped Mary with chores, and when he was older, he almost certainly would have helped Joseph in his carpentry shop.

We would have to assume that Jesus would have been patient and loving in all that He did. In addition, I would think that He would have done the best job He could possibly have done to help His mother and Joseph. Although He was waiting for the time when He would begin His public ministry, that time was not wasted. Simply by living His daily life, He sanctified all of those common, day-to-day tasks that each one of us do on a regular basis. He made those ordinary things extraordinary.

I think we sometimes think that we are in a rut, or that the things that we do day-in and day-out don’t really matter. But that isn’t true. Performing those ordinary tasks for the glory of God makes them extraordinary. Just do your best and offer them to God every day. If you do that, you will never be in “ordinary time”.