The holidays are over. We are in the long month of January—a new year, a new space. We are also in ordinary time in the church’s liturgy. Our Scripture readings today focus on the ordinary life of Jesus. He does not choose to hang out with the Jewish celebrities or the politically connected. We don’t see glitzy actions in the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. He visits Peter’s family. While there, he tends to Peter’s mother-in-law. Though not specifically stated, I am sure that Jesus lingers and socializes with Peter’s family and friends. Jesus is not interested in people’s adulation of him. He responds to their needs; he shares his talents to help people heal. No matter where he goes, Jesus heals, encourages, brings positive vibes to people. He allows Peter, his mother-in-law, and rest of the family to be themselves. He does not put expectations on them. In other words, Jesus is making the ordinary sacred.
Jesus’ immersion into the quotidian lives of people by responding to their relationships and to their needs is an earthy model for us to imitate as we are launched into 2025. Through our own prayer and participation in the sacraments, we can imitate Jesus in our daily routines. After the recent snowfall, I had that ordinary experience of goodness. I was clearing the snow from my car. A short distance from me, Vernon was doing the same with his car. He then came to help me clean snow from the top of my vehicle. A simple gesture. Yet, it is in those simple gestures that Jesus brings a sense of caring to other people. We let people know by our own body language whether we accept them. Isn’t that what Jesus does? He shows people he cares by welcoming gestures, kind words, and healing.
Oh, how easy it is to write these words! Yet, I think that we do not fully understand the resources that we have already received in the sacraments….
those earthly signs that invite and help us to love ourselves and each other—not superficially—but with the love that Jesus is communicating at the start of his public life. This is just the beginning. Yet, Jesus will continue to show us that what we do with our ordinary lives is far more important than one momentous encounter.
“The Master was never impressed by diplomas or degrees. He scrutinized the person, not the certificate. He was once heard to say, ‘When you have ears to hear a bird in song, you don’t need to look at its credentials.’” Anthony DeMello, SJ