Scripture ~ “But [God] already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love. And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. Micah 6:8 The Message
Spiritual Focus ~ “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” The Rev. Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident
Breath Prayer ~ I am grateful
Devotion ~ Growing up, being ordinary was not highly valued. We were rewarded by parents, teachers, and peers for excelling at whatever we chose to focus on. In recent years, we have begun to reward children with “participation awards”, for being ordinary, although that has sometimes drawn criticism. For whatever reason being ordinary is not enough by society’s standards, especially in U.S. American culture. Religion, like many other institutions, has set its own standards for excellence relatively high, almost unachievable for the average person of faith. The doctrines of the church, meaning that which has been given official status to be taught as true and dogma, sometimes known as “the rules that cannot be questioned”, have created as many barriers to spiritual seekers as they have opened doors. To simply be an ordinary person of faith one really only needs to read today’s scripture. Micah 6:8 is God’s straightforward response to the question of how we as ordinary people are to live a life in relationship with God.
There is a time in the life of the church where we step back from the high holy days, enter an ordinary time, and simply retell the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry. This time in the liturgical calendar is called Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is the season that happens around the holy times of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and other holy days. Ordinary Time stories look at Jesus through the lens of human nature. Many of the Sundays in Ordinary Time happen during the summer, a perfect time to sit back, relax, and be ordinary.
For the month of August, Yogadevotion will have guest writer, Heidi Green, for our weekly devotions. Heidi is the co-author of the book Yogadevotion: Practicing in the Presence. Heidi will guide us through the final weeks of summer, lifting up the intersections of faith and yoga for ordinary people, during ordinary time, as we hope to return to a new normal, post-pandemic life. May we all be grateful to be ordinary.
