Ordinary Time

Pause

Stop! Listen. Can you hear it?

God is calling you.

Probably not by words in your ear
or by writing in a letter
or by signs seen by your eyes –

Instead, God calls to you
through the rhythm of your life,
through the love of people who support you,
through the opportunities to share grace that surround you.

Stop! Listen.

God’s voice is calling you to love and serve!

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 love a good plan. My calendar is written and color-coded. When someone asks me about my five-year plan, I’m ready. The problem with planning, though, is that at some point you have to move from planning to action. For me, a person who loves to plan, this feels jarring!

In today’s text, we see a transition from a plan to action. God always intended to redeem creation, but here we learn, the wait is over. Jesus, the Redeemer, has come. He announces the Good News, crying, “Now is the time!”

As numbers in U.S. churches decline, Christ-followers spend a lot of time talking about who is the future of the Church. (Hint: not children or teenagers, because they are already the church now.) It’s an understandable concern, but we can’t plan what Church will look like in the future. What if, instead, we focused on being Christ’s hands and feet in the world today, building God’s kingdom of justice and peace? The Good News has already come. Grace has already been given. God calls us simply to share it.

Jessica Tidwell-Weinzierl

Pray

God who redeems, thank you for becoming incarnate and redeeming all of creation. You have already given us the Good News. Strengthen us as we continue to pray for and work towards your kingdom coming and your will being done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Go

You are a child of God, deeply beloved, and you have great purpose in God’s kingdom. Go, and do what is yours to do, in the love of Christ, our Redeemer! Amen.