Ordinary Time

Pause

It happens to us every day. Every hour. We have to respond. We have to respond to the car that cuts us off on the road. Respond to the text that just arrived. Respond to the person who is calling our name.

Some of our responses are automatic, and we don’t even think about it. Some are conditioned by our experiences. For some, we have time to breathe and think and pray.

And in the midst, God continues to call… How are we prepared to respond?

Listen

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, saying, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”

Mark 1:14-15

Think

I don’t know about you, but when the alarm goes off in the morning, it is so easy for me to hit “snooze” and roll over and head back to sleep. But we’ve all had those times when hitting the snooze button was not an option. We have some place to be. We’ve got to get up and move.

We’ve also probably all had those times when we’ve pressed snooze when we should not have, and then we suddenly woke up an hour later in a panic, knowing that we would miss whatever we were supposed to be waking up for.

Jesus is saying to the people that the alarm is buzzing. The time has come. It’s not a time to roll over and hit the snooze button. It is time to get up, to turn, and to respond to the great news that is being enacted before them.

Edward Goode

Pray

Buzz…buzz…beep…beep.

God, wake me from my slumber and help me to jump up and follow you. Amen.

Go

Stop.

Take a few breaths. Take a few more.

Listen.

Wait.

Pray.

Respond.