Reflections for Sunday
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 18, 2004
Ordinary Time
After the season of waiting for the Lord and preparing our hearts to receive him, and the joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas, liturgical tradition returns to ordinary time. But for those of us who have accepted the Lord and set out with him on the journey of faith, time will never be ordinary again.
In the encounter of faith, God calls us by a new name. He makes us a new creation, and our life becomes a new reality. Never again will we walk in darkness. Never again will our days be ordinary. For now God is with us.
God loves us so much that he was willing to take on our humanity and live among us as a man. He was willing to suffer human pain and loss and disappointment, to feel what human anguish is like, and even to undergo human death, so that we could know what God's love is. God became man to show us that we are never alone, that he is always with us and for us, and that his love is without end.
God delights in us as spouses delight in each other in the springtime of their love. When he enters our life and we come to know him, we experience a wonderful new love. We are never the same. Every moment of every day is filled with grace and opportunity. Life is never ordinary again.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the love of my life. I live for you alone. Take my heart and shape it according to your will. Show me the path that leads to you. Keep me strong in faith until I reach the end of my journey and rest in your love.