Have you noticed how much green we have here in Missouri this time of the year? No, I am not talking about dollars or cash, but how much color is in the landscape. Six months ago, in the dead of winter, everything was brown and dead. However, toward the end of June, we have had our spring, and everything has been blooming and is green. It is no secret around Biehle and Apple Creek that I despise winter. You are lugging around in all of these layers of clothing, you are cold, you cannot drive very well in snow or ice, and, did I mention the cold? I understand that a lot people prefer the cold to heat and humidity, but I am definitely not one of them. I prefer green to brown.
As you drive through the countryside, you can see the fields have come back to life. The corn and the soybeans are all sprouting and growing. The trees are leafing out and the lawns are green. I understand that with hot, dry weather everything can start turning brown, but God will provide. The weather gives us something to complain about, pray about and some days, even brag about.
In the church, we have returned to wearing green. This past weekend we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. As Catholics, we believe this is truly the reality of Jesus Christ, his gift to the church on the night before he died for us. But this week we return to wearing green. A color that signifies ordinary time, not ordinary as in the mundane and common, but ordinary in terms of growth and fulfillment. During Ordinary time we strive to celebrate the mystery of the reality of God in all of its splendor, majesty and power. Various times of the year we look at a particular aspect, such as Christmas time — we delve into the mystery of God taking on human flesh and becoming one of us. During the Easter season we turn and celebrate the Resurrection with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we celebrate that our salvation is made a reality. But with ordinary time, we look at the totality of the gift of salvation.
