Beloved in the Lord,
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This Sunday marks the beginning of the long season of Sundays after Pentecost and Holy Trinity Sunday and before Advent that we call Ordinary Time. The feast days are behind us, the calendar slows, and the flames of Pentecost have settled. But make no mistake, even though those flames have settled, God has not.
During this season we’re not walking away from the Spirit’s work. No. We’re walking deeper into it.
These weeks may not seem as dramatic as Easter morning or as awe-filled as Christmas night, but they’re still incredibly important. Why? Because this is where discipleship takes root. This is where faith is stretched. This is where Christ is formed in us. Not every step of faith is going to be dramatic, but every step is decisive, because the Church doesn’t grow by chasing flash and fireworks. It grows by planting seeds.
And that’s exactly what God is doing.
Week by week the work is done, the fields are plowed, and the seeds are sown by faithful preaching of the Word and administering of the Sacraments. Week by week, faith is nourished. Week by week, the Spirit continues His work, not with a show, but with substance, not with noise, but with truth. After all, as Scripture reminds us, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17)
That means that when we gather for worship, something eternal is happening, even when it feels ordinary.
Because worship, at its heart, isn’t some event we attend and it’s not just some box we check off on our weekly to do list. It’s not a performance to evaluate or a tradition to maintain. It is a holy encounter.
Worship is the living God drawing near to serve His people.
As we come together and gather as His saint’s it’s Christ Himself who speaks as the Scriptures are read. It’s His voice that calls, convicts, comforts, and restores. It is His mercy that is poured out when sins are confessed and forgiven. It is His strength that upholds the weak, His grace that feeds the spiritually hungry, His peace that stills the restless heart.
Worship is not about what we bring to God. It’s not about what we get out of it. It’s about what God gives to us: Himself. And all of it, every last bit of it, is done by His promise, not by our effort. None of it is by our merit. It is by His mercy.
That’s the blessing of ordinary time as we are reminded of something very basic, very fundamental. This is, namely, that the Kingdom doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it sows.
That’s what makes this season so important. It’s not loud, but it’s lasting. It builds strengthens us as disciples as we focus our hearts and our minds on the work of the Church and the great Commission of our Savior.
So if you feel like your faith is slow-growing, don’t lose heart. God doesn’t wait for the extraordinary. He works through the ordinary. He is faithful in the long days, the quiet weeks, and the hidden places of our lives. God is there, and He is moving in His time and in His way, through His Spirit that we may grow in our faith and in our witness, in every step of our daily walk. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9)
Our job then isn’t to try and generate spiritual highs, it’s to remain rooted. It is to listen, to walk and to trust.
So gather throughout this Ordinary time, let’s not look for novelty. Instead, let’s expect spiritual nourishment. Let’s gather around the Word, knowing that the same Spirit who lit the fire at Pentecost is still forming hearts, still calling sinners, still creating faith in our lives through His appointed means.
And let’s walk confidently in this season, not because it’s loud or flashy, but because it is faithful.
Because God is faithful.
And He’s not finished with us yet.
Lord, grant this unto us all.
Now may the peace of the Lord that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting.
In Him,
Pastor Wyatt
