Meeting the Moment: An Ode to the Ordinary

A Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Recently here at the novitiate we hosted a series of conferences on the History of the Religious Life. And, like most of human history, it is a story marked by ascent and decline, growth and decay, life-risking creativity and stagnant self-satisfaction. And it always seems that right at the lowest point possible in the story a person arises who instills a new depth of commitment, dedication, and sacrifice. Whether it be a St. Benedict, a St. Bernard, a St. Teresa of Avila, or a Mother Teresa of Kolkata, someone arises to meet the moment and inspire something new.

Now, I would imagine if we took the life of any of those great personages I just mentioned and placed them under the microscope we would discover that they only met the great moment because they cultivated a life courageous enough to meet every moment no matter how obscure, ordinary or small. We can’t be there for the big moments if we don’t know how to be there in the small.

In our first reading today from Proverbs we hear about the “worthy wife.” Yet the Hebrew words that are here translated “worthy wife” are esheth hayil which is translated: “Woman of valor.” And where is it we find this woman of valor? Is she fighting lions? Defending the city gates? Speaking truth to power? No! She’s tending to the small matters of the given moment that make up a life in both freedom and fullness. She’s practicing how to be here now, no matter how ordinary or obscure, so she can be there when she is called to respond to a greater invitation.

And notice too in our gospel passage, the servant in question is not rejected because he didn’t go out and make a ton of money for his master. He is rejected though because he failed to be faithful in small matters. He failed to meet with courage the ordinary and obscure moment that would prepare him for the greater responsibilities into which the master invites the other servants.

St. Paul tells us: “For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” So if we want to be ready to meet the “thief” we need to cultivate a life that is ALIVE to every moment; a life that traces the subtle movements of that “thief” day in and day out under all circumstances no matter how mundane or seemingly tedious.

And it is fair enough for us to ask: Why is valor necessary to meet the ordinary, obscure moment? Why is courage necessary for fidelity in small things? I think Thomas Merton touches on a possible reason when he writes:

“For when we come face to face with ourselves in the lonely ground of our own being, we confront many questions about the value or our existence, the reality of our commitments, the authenticity of our everyday lives.”

Now who willingly wants to confront such questions? Does my life matter? Am I really faithful to my commitments? Is my existence authentic? They are troubling questions; that threaten to unmoor us from a safe, stagnant life. But fidelity to small matters requires valor or courage to face those questions in faith because only there is new life possible and only there are we prepared to meet the greater moments that arrive in our lives.

It really is just this simple: We can’t meet the great moments without cultivating the courage to meet every moment; attentive to the movements of the thief, ready to act when suddenly he is upon us!

Just like human history, every human life cycles through times of ascent and decline, growth and decay, self-risking creativity and stagnant self-satisfaction. But we are Christians. We shouldn’t be surprised! We call it the Paschal Mystery. At the lowest point possible a person does arise. And that person is you and I in Christ. It is only by fidelity in small matters, where we face the existential questions, that we come to realize after every death and resurrection we truly are made new. Only then are we prepared to meet the greater moments, the greater responsibilities into which God is inviting us.

We are moving to the end of Ordinary Time. In this Eucharist today let us be mindful of the ways the ordinary is already extraordinary as it teaches us to cultivate the kind of courage necessary to meet the needs of our world. It is fidelity to small matters that teaches responsibility in the greater ones. It’s the valor and courage to meet the ordinary moment that has the power to transform the world.