Nothing ordinary here

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today marks the beginning of “Ordinary Time”. This time is not ordinary in the sense of banal, but is “ordinal” in that the days and weeks are counted. The texts come from the first chapters of the Gospel of Mark and the letter to the Hebrews. The authors have different audiences, Gentiles for Mark and Jews for Hebrews, but both proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. This message in Mark is also complemented by images of the humanity of Jesus. The first disciples are called, in today’s episode, not by clever persuasion or the dictates of a Law, but by the invitation to a relationship with the person of Jesus. These texts present the core of Christian understanding of Jesus as fully Divine (Son of God) and fully human (living among and with the working people of Galilee). The understanding of Jesus as a member of a Divine Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit) always in existence and the force of Creation (Spirit moving on the water) establishes relationship as the essence of the Divine. Jesus moves among his fellow humans and draws them into the relationship which is both human and Divine through the resonance of the indwelling Spirit with the Spirit of the Trinity. The psalmist proclaims the greatness of God!