Heaven in Ordinary

You may have seen recent reports of hospital workers overwhelmed by relentless work, physical and emotional exhaustion. Maybe you are one of them, or know someone receiving their care.

Running on empty is such a hard situation to find yourself in. Human resources do run out. And the joy can go out of life for all sorts of reasons, especially when burnt out, ill, or bereaved, or simply because we are weary of staying at home in lockdown. 

One of the things keeping me going is the odd moment of joy in ordinary life: a blackbird singing; the snowdrops in our garden about to flower; in heavy rain, several woodpigeons using our flat garage roof as a spa facility. Even this morning, when it was snowing while we were out on a walk, the fallen snow made the ordinary and family seem more beautiful.

When we notice such things, they can become what the poet George Herbert described as “heaven in ordinarie”. Herbert was talking about prayer, which is one of the ways God’s heaven breaks through into everyday life. Prayer transforms the everyday. It can be as simple as “thankyou for the snowdrops” or “I’ve run out of resources, help me!”

There is a story in John's Gospel about Jesus who transforms the ordinary into a sign of God’s kingdom breaking through in a difficult situation. You may know the story of the wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus, his mother Mary and his disciples were guests at a wedding feast. Suddenly, Mary said to Jesus, “they have no wine”. It wasn’t time for the party to end, but it would be over if the wine ran out. The bride and groom would be greatly embarrassed by a shameful failure in hospitality.

Jesus told the servants to fill to the brim the big stone water pots used for washing. When they’d done that, they followed Jesus’ instructions to draw out some water and take it to the chief steward, who tasted it and told the bridegroom “you have kept the good wine until now”. The party could go on. People could enjoy a very generous amount of good wine. In John’s gospel, it was Jesus’ 1st miracle. That story (John 2: 1 – 11) is one of the signs of the kingdom of heaven. It shows how generous God always is. It reminds beleivers that because Jesus is God, Jesus can transform our failing resources. And often does that through ordinary people or things.

There are times when we can’t help ourselves, but Jesus is able to help. In John 10:10 Jesus says,

‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’

Jesus is able to meet our drained resources with his generosity. Even strong people run out of energy and strength. Only God does not run out and only God can supply all our deepest needs. And yes, he may do that through ordinary people and things. Have you experienced that?

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