Trinity Sunday
While there aren’t any big celebrations during Ordinary Time, there are some special days. The first Sunday in Ordinary Time is Trinity Sunday. Instead of the usual Ordinary Time green, churches on Trinity Sunday will often use white to represent God. “Trinity” is the word used to describe the mystery that God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit are all one God—three different persons in the one person of God. Is that confusing? That’s because it is a mystery. We cannot really understand how amazing and complex our God is, so we worship with wonder and awe. This God of mystery invites us to ask questions and to look for ways to grow in knowledge and understanding of God, such as going to worship or reading the Bible. We can delight in the fact that our God is beyond anything we can even imagine and rejoice in awe and wonder that God is so big that, no matter how old we grow, there will always be more for us to learn about God.
Trinity Shield
The Trinity Shield is a Christian symbol that helps us understand what it means to worship one God in three persons. What colors would you use to represent each of the persons of the Trinity? Color the shield with those colors.
Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is, well, ordinary. There are no big holidays or special celebrations. But have you ever thought about how most of Jesus’ life was ordinary time? He spent so many days of his life doing the normal things that you and I do—things like eating, sleeping, learning, playing, cleaning, working, and resting. Ordinary Time is good news for us because it means that our everyday lives matter to God. God is with us always, and there is nothing in our lives that the Holy Spirit cannot use to make us more like Jesus. Ordinary Time’s color is green to show us that we are growing, just as plants do, as we live out our faith in the small moments of our lives. That is also why some churches call this time “growing season.”
Living Your Faith
During Ordinary Time we are reminded that we need to live out our faith by becoming more and more like Jesus. Draw a picture of what it looks like for you to live the faith in your life at home, at school, with your friends and your family, with people who are like you, and with people who are different from you. Share this picture with someone. Ask them what living the faith looks like in their life.
Christ the King Sunday
Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time. The color for Christ the King Sunday is white because it is a time to celebrate Jesus being King over all the world. We have many kings, presidents, and rulers in our world, but none is as powerful, perfect, or loving as Jesus—they’re not even close!
Song of Praise
There are lots of songs full of praise for Jesus the King—songs that remind us that Jesus reigns and has a crown. Can you think of any? Even though the book of Psalms in the Bible was written before Jesus was born, the writers looked forward to the day when there would be a perfect King. Psalm 93 is one example. Can you write your own song or poem about Jesus, the only true and good King of the whole world? If you can’t think of a whole song, just write some words that describe Jesus as King. Will you share what you’ve written with someone?
Bonus: Do You Remember?
Christ the King is the very last day of the Christian year. Do you remember what season the Christian year begins with? You can find the answer on the Christian year wheel.