June 3, 2015

“Just right.”
Josh

That was the favorite exclamation of Josh, the owner of one of the bars I used to frequent.  Whenever something went exceedingly well, or whenever I said something he particularly liked, he always said, “Just right.”

We have just come through what some people call the Liturgical Season – the period of time that runs from Advent through the Day of Pentecost – and have moved into the Season after Pentecost – also called Ordinary Time – which stretches all the way to the end of November and Advent.

I have a saying that really needs to be on a bumper sticker:  Episcopalians read the dirty pages.  You can walk into any Episcopal church in any part of the country, pick up any prayer book in any pew, and you will find a thin, dirty line of pages running from 355 to 365.  Those ten pages are, obviously, the most used pages of the BCP in any church and encompass Holy Eucharist.  This really isn't surprising; it's just one of those common things that everybody does and, when pointed out, can make you laugh.

A long time ago I decided that we need to use more of the BCP on Sundays than is traditionally the case.  So I sat down and created a system that utilized every Eucharistic Prayer on a regular basis.  During Advent and Lent, I use Prayer B because I think it has a more somber tone and (more importantly) has the line, “For in these last days,” a phrase appropriate for those two seasons.  At Christmas (and for services in which there are baptisms or a renewal of baptismal vows) I use Prayer D – at Christmas because of the strong reference to the Virgin Mary, and at baptisms/renewal because the Prayers of the People are incorporated into the Prayer.  And during the Easter season I use Prayer C because of its greater congregational participation and theme of new creation.

We have now entered the long, green Season after Pentecost/Ordinary Time.  This is the season of growth, hence the color green.  This is the season that focuses on the ministry of Jesus.  This is the season where we focus on discipleship.  This is also the season where we can/should focus on our own ministries.  And this is the season where I use Eucharistic Prayer A.

We used Prayer A for the first time in a long time this past Sunday.  As I presided over Holy Communion, the familiar words and acts flowed through the service without missing a beat.  As I glanced out over the congregation, I noticed how many parishioners either didn't bother to open their prayer books or, if opened, simply held it open out of habit without actually looking at it.

Prayer A is familiar to us.  It's like meeting up with a good friend we haven't seen for years and picking up the conversation right where we left off as if we were never separated.  Prayer A is like that comfortable old sweatshirt that you rarely wear, but when you finally slip it on, you say, “Oh . . . this is nice.”

Yes, the Season after Pentecost seems to last forever.  Yes, Prayer A will eventually feel old and tired.  But for now, Prayer A is just right.

Amen.