On Sunday, May 28, the church celebrated Pentecost, remembering the winds of the Spirit of God, which blew through the room and gathered the people together. It is the birthday of the Church! The following Sunday, June 4, we recognized Trinity Sunday. It is the first Sunday after Pentecost when we acknowledge the majesty and mystery of God.
After June 4, we enter the longest stretch of the Christian Calendar. It is referred to as time after Pentecost. In some traditions, it is also called ordinary time. It is the season of the Church Year, which focuses on the time in which we are always living.
The season of Advent anticipates the birth of Jesus, and Christmas celebrates Jesus’ arrival. Epiphany is the day the magi arrived to witness Jesus, and Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday remembers Jesus on top of a mountain. The season of Lent anticipates Easter, and Easter calls us to new life. But the time in which we are always living is time after Pentecost.
After Jesus was born, crucified, and resurrected, the Church was born. We are still living in the time after Pentecost, where the Church continues its journey of faith and listens for the calling of God. This is the time in which we live!
On the Christian Calendar, time after Pentecost is the longest season of the year, which is quite fitting because it speaks to our everyday lives. We continue our journey, and we listen for our calling. We give thanks for the gift of the Church and for a community of faith that walks alongside of us.
During this season of the year, we recognize how the life of the church intersects our everyday lives. We look for its virtues, celebrate its gifts, and tend to its growing edges. We treasure the ordinary time after Pentecost because it is where we find our lives and where we find the Spirit of God at work.
– Tripp Martin