The Seasonless Season.

It is not uncommon for those of us in the Euro/American tradition to organize our spiritual lives according to current, dominant cultural principles. This is a departure from the way western traditions formed during Christendom organized themselves. Even during times of behavioral and doctrinal incoherence cultures which emerged during the centuries of Christian consensus shared the same sense of time. The basis for our experience of the passing of followed the Christian year which flowed from Advent—>Christmas—>Lent—>Easter—>Pentecost—>Ordinary Time. While  this approach was not perfect it did help to keep everyone on the same page before the invention of mechanical representations of time (clocks) and dates (printed calendars) both of which required the rare skill of literacy. 

Now, the seasons which form our comprehension of time are not reminders of spiritual milestones nor do they draw us back into the scriptures. Now the passing of time is dictated by socially dictated breaks from labor and the beginning and ending of organized entertainments and distractions. Now, I relish Memorial Day as the first real three-day weekend since New Years as much as anybody else. And like you I long expectantly for that first College football game and mourn then end of the Baseball season. Yet the comings and goings of those seasons do not dictate how I understand the world and value my place in it. 

For some, however, things have changed and their understanding of the world has been shifted. Rather than ordering their lives through understanding the scripture and seeing the world through eyes of faith they have become culturally attuned to the new rhythms articulated by a secular society. They  have not abandoned Christian faith yet they experience a discomfort which they cannot clearly voice. They feel out of step. Their timing is off. Christmas was blessed. Easter was joyful. Now they must live through the Seasonless Season. 

Too many Christians mostly just wait from Easter to Christmas. They are the poles by which Christian experience is organized and around which it orbits. Yet they are not the whole experience. Holy as these seasons may be we should not feel bereft when they pass or consider all the sacred time between as wasted or unfulfilled. 

Easter is past. Jesus still lives. Opportunities for growth and service are still to be found everywhere. In fact, because the “holy seasons” (is there any other kind?) are past and the  familiar texts and memorable stories have been read again—perhaps the Seasonless Season is the best time for a renewed commitment and focus on Scripture. Maybe this is the right time to recommit to worship. Maybe now you can think more clearly about your personal ministry opportunities. 

Christmas is coming. Long before that we have lengthening days. Lingering moments. Fleeting opportunities. Each of us is given the same gift of time and every believer is called upon to redeem that time in focused living, the days are evil and you must be a sanctifying presence within the passing of time. And there is a lot of time between now and Christmas. 

It is time for us to stop organizing our time around games, vacations, diversions, and distractions. Ordinary time is sanctified by God’s people living rightly in a bent world. We can hardly be a part of the unbending if we only serve Jesus in the time between  the cradle and the cross.