Ordinary Time: The Season of Growth

The Fullness of Time

by Amy Peeler

Discover the Beauty and Depth of Ordinary TimeMost days in Jesus' life were ordinary. Most of ours are too. And that's exactly where the power of Ordinary Time lies. It reminds us that normal is necessary, and routines are for things that matter—things worth repeating.Ordinary Time by Amy Peeler invites Christians to see the beauty and significance in the longest, yet often overlooked, season of the church year. Far from being mundane, this season is a vital time for spiritual growth and maturity—a time when the routine helps sustain and nurture faith. This time in the church calendar isn't just a placeholder—it's a vibrant and essential season in its own right.Amy Peeler skillfully explores the history and deeper meaning of what the church has historically called Ordinary Time, unpacking how this season fosters both personal and communal transformation. With pastoral wisdom and scholarly insight, this short but profound volume enriches understanding of the church calendar and inspires readers to engage deeply with their faith.In Ordinary Time, Peelerexplores the history and practice of the season, inviting readers to engage more deeply with its observance, highlights how Ordinary Time fits within the larger context of the church calendar, and shows how the rhythms of the season teach us how to live faithfully in both the "normal" moments as well as the highs and lows of life. Whether you've long walked in the rhythms of the church year or are just beginning to explore them, Ordinary Time will open your heart to the quiet, steady growth God invites us into every day. Get your copy today!About the SeriesEach volume in the Fullness of Time series invites readers to engage with the riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar.

Genres: Church, Christian Living, Faith, Christian

143 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 27, 2026

About the author

Rev. Amy Peeler, Ph.D. is the Kenneth T. Wessner Chair of Biblical Studies and Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, IL and an Associate Priest at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Geneva, IL. Peeler researches, writes, and speak on the relationship between women and men in the Christian faith, particularly through the lens of the incarnation. She received her BA in Biblical Languages from Oklahoma Baptist University, M. Div. and Ph. D. in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, and served as a Senior Research Fellow with the Logos Institute at the University of St. Andrews. She is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature, Institute for Biblical Research, and a Fellow with the Center for Pastor Theologians.

Reviews

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars (between okay and good)

The first half was just okay (2 stars), but in the last 3 chapters Peeler provides some interesting and insightful exposition of Genesis 18-22 on Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Isaac which I really appreciated. Although this was not my favorite entry in the Fullness of Time series, the series overall is quite worthwhile.

Here’s a passage I found especially good. I hope this is not an unfairly large chunk to copy into a review:

God's choice to bless Sarah is a bit unsettling. Both before and after this event she treats Hagar horribly. It does us no good to gloss over those hard truths, to try to deny them like Sarah denied her laughter. She's married to a slave owner and treats Hagar as a slave. She's caught in the matrix of a sin common to her time, and she willingly participates in it. She uses Hagar's body and then becomes jealous of the birth she orchestrates.

Shockingly, at the same time, she is a princess in God's kingdom. Sarah truly gets to live out her name. It is not just through Abraham (who himself is a mix of good and sinfully frustrating actions) but also through her that the covenant comes. She is the mother of the covenant, a distant great-grandmother (we can add many more "greats" to this) of Jesus himself. To state it bluntly, Sarah does not deserve the good she gets. If I were choosing, I'd choose someone more worthy.

This story about God miraculously and undeservedly blessing Sarah really drives home the point of Romans 5:8, the epistle reading for the same Sunday in Ordinary Time: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." As a theological data point this sounds beautiful, and I can give my full assent. But when it becomes personalized, it gets real, and therefore I feel my resistance to it rise. Sinners like Sarah? I need to think about that a bit more to see if I approve. The more I study Old Testament exemplars of the faith, the less I like them, the more I see their warts, and the more I wonder why God chose them.

But who could God choose? There are no perfect people. Everyone has some ugliness because everyone is caught in and culpable for sin. No one is deserving of what God gives. But instead of leaving us in our mess, God comes to save us and to bless us. God begins the line of redemption instead of leaving humanity on our own, and God begins it even through people like Sarah. God is willing to show grace to her, and that teaches us that God is willing to show grace to everyone. The imago Dei, the image of God, in every single human, no matter how limited they might be, no matter how dastardly, is the perpetual reminder of God's ever-present and unconditional grace. When we face the truth that we do not deserve God's blessing and yet God gives it anyway, we can more easily celebrate and cultivate God's image deposited in all those around us, those strangers I don't know and the friends I know too well, who also unassailably bear the image of God.

[Jacob Padgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtfully beautiful

[Kendra Grove · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had the pleasure of hearing Amy Peeler speak a few times and as I read this book, I heard her voice clearly. She is such a joy and that came through in her writing as she explored “Ordinary Time” and how this season of the liturgical calendar directs our hearts toward God. While not strictly a devotional, the way she explores the topic leads you to participate in reflection and gratitude. This is the first book I read in the series, but now I am eager to read the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Xavier Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is currently Ordinary Time, the part of the Christian liturgical calendar I must admit I often find dull or boring. But Amy Peeler has done an amazing job explaining the beauty of this season of green in this devotional (though the series editor does not think the books in this series are devotionals, but rather, "are theological and spiritual reflections"). Ordinary Time is the season of growth, "the time in which the good of God's creation grows into greater maturity in Christ." (p 26) At the same time, the length of the season instils patience and hope – "Just as it takes time for plants to grow and change, God's work on a corrupted and willful creation takes a long time. It takes patience to yield as God molds us more fully into the image of Christ." (p 28)

Peeler next meditates on the Feast of the Visitation (31 May), which falls in the middle of Ordinary Time, where the Church remembers Mary's visit to Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-56 and the Magnificat. Peeler reflects on how "By exalting the humble and dismantling pride by the revelation of Jesus Christ, God is magnificent" (p 39), and how "something ordinary, the ordinariness of women talking, transforms into something extraordinary because they are talking about God's work in Jesus Christ." (p 40)

Given that Ordinary Time begins with Trinity Sunday and the weeks of the season are referred to as 'X weeks after Trinity' (at least, in the Anglican, Methodist, and Lutheran liturgical calendar; I think Roman Catholics count Ordinary Time differently), Peeler next reflects on the Trinity. She observes how "Ordinary Time repeatedly gives worshippers opportunity not only to learn about and mentally assent to, but also to confess the triunity of God" (p 47), from joining the cherubim and seraphim's "Holy, Holy, Holy" to acknowledging that it is only by God's triune power that we can "continually be given to good works" and "love what [God] command[s]" (collects for the 17th and 14th Sunday after Trinity), and much more that I am unable to summarise here without diminishing the beauty of Peeler's thought and prose.

Peeler also touches on the liturgy of the Lord's Supper, remembering that Christ gives Himself as a gift in the Eucharist (pp 57-60) and, as she observes the breaking of the host – mourning the division of the Church as an effect of sin, yet such sin and death is defeated through Christ's death (pp 68-71). As one goes forward to receive the Eucharist, kneeling before the cross, they go "Just As I Am" – honest of their need for God and into God's grace and open arms (pp 71-74).

The readings in Ordinary Time include the calling and family of Abraham, and Peeler comments on these passages as she sees how God meeting Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac "in the mundane events of life" similarly show how "God meets all of us, both subtly and shockingly, and asks for our faith." (p 81) She traces Abraham's call (Gen 12), his hospitality of God (Gen 18), God's promise to him and Sarah, Sarah's driving of Hagar and Ishmael out and God's calling and seeing them (Gen 21), and the binding of Isaac (Gen 22). As she comments on the narratives, she points to God's faithfulness, His promise, and the right response of gratitude – both for the sign in Abraham's life, "previewed in Genesis", and the reality, "accomplished in Christ" (p 127).

Peeler concludes where Ordinary Time concludes – Christ the King. As Ordinary Time draws to a close, the focus shifts from the here and now to the future, as the Church proclaims Christ's sceptre and throne with triumphant hymns. Against the vitriol of the world, from wars to politics and division, the Church proclaims Christ as the true King, both "King of glory now" and the hope that some day, "all wreaths of empire [will] meet upon his brow." (p 133) And with that, we move into Advent – a season of hope and confession that Christ has conquered, amidst the groaning and the waiting (p 134).

A beautiful, hopeful read. Highly recommended.

Ordinary Time releases on 27 January 2026. I am grateful to Netgalley for an advance copy.

[Lghiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fullness of Time series discusses the “riches of the church year, exploring the traditions, prayers, Scriptures, and rituals of the seasons of the church calendar”: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. Outside of these specials seasons are more days—a period between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday and another between Pentecost and Advent. This season is called Ordinary Time and is a season of growth. How do these days fit into the life of a Christian? According to Amy Peeler, an Episcopal priest and professor at Wheaton College, “Being grateful for what God has done—previewed in Genesis and accomplished in Christ—is a necessary step toward daily faithfulness. That daily faithfulness is when trust, even in the face of death, becomes our new ordinary.”

The first half of the book deals with many of the common practices of worship in traditional liturgical churches. Especially meaningful is her in-depth discussion of the Lord’s Supper. The Book of Common Prayer holds many declarations and prayers used to proclaim God’s grace and our unworthiness as we join together as children of God to remember his sacrifice with the bread (His body) and the wine (His blood) as he instructed his followers to do when they gathered.

The second half of the book starts at the beginning of Genesis with the story of Abraham and Sarah and how they grow in faith by seeing God and acknowledging that God sees them, which leads them to trust God. Next is the story of Hagar, a slave, and her son by Abraham who was named Ishmael. There are many lessons about trust, which leads to gratitude, in their story. During Ordinary Time, as in the other seasons, the Scripture readings, prayers, and hymns are all chosen to reflect the theme and, of course, to point to the Trinity: God, the Father; Jesus, the Son; and the Holy Spirit.

Although short, Ordinary Time is not a book you will want to rush through. Its topics are practical, but the discussion reaches deeply into areas that could become perfunctory, but shouldn’t. I appreciated its accessibility while, at the same time, it went deeper, theologically speaking, than is normally expected from a brief book.

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Peeler reports, “I have now been trained to see the blessed opportunities for growth in the gift of every normal day. I have learned that this season is not without the excitement of change, but that it is of a different kind, a slow but enduring kind of transformation. That kind of transformation is deeply, if not dramatically, exciting.”

Easter, Pentecost, Advent, and Christmas all have their unique focus, and they carry us forward like beckoning signposts. Then, during Ordinary Time, we are free to lean into the mundane rhythms of growth, to thank God for the promise, mercy, forgiveness, and welcome of the gospel.

In seven chapters, this little book introduces the key motifs of the season and explores several of the biblical readings from this time of the church year. I was especially encouraged by Peeler’s retelling of Abraham’s story in context with the entirety of Scripture. When God tested him, he knew that Abraham’s faith was “not blind; it was based on many miraculous interventions in his life before this moment.” My small response, then, becomes a daily faithfulness, a pressing in to this season of growth, knowing that even in the face of death, God will show up with power and provision.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect from this final book in the Fullness of Time series. Ordinary Time is the longest liturgical season and yet the least celebrated. Peeler writes about how her selection of themes and topics from this expansive season were selective, with a goal of "encouraging and empowering" those of us living through many ordinary days and seasons. She mines the depths of liturgy to give insight into how to approach these days. My favorite chapters were three where she reflected on readings from the lectionary cycle that focus on Abraham and his family. Ordinary is often complicated, but she reminds us that these days train us "in the ways of trust and gratitude." A fitting end to an excellent series.

Review based on a DRC from NetGalley.

[Kacey/Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ordinary time is a time during the church calendar that gives us time to reflect of the normalities of day to day life. This book brings us to an understanding of how important this time is. Highly recommend.

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous read that helped me appreciate the ordinary in ordinary time even more!

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been excited to read this final book in the Fullness of Time series, especially from this author. As someone with interest but not experience in more liturgical traditions, I have appreciated how this series introduces the reader to the concepts of each season. (Emilio Álvarez's Pentecost book was especially helpful at showing how various traditions celebrate the season.) These books have sat in a good place–neither liturgical handbook nor quite devotional meditation.

Each author in this series has made different choices in how to outline the chapters. Ordinary Time is especially tricky, because it seems like the absence of a season. The first four chapters highlighted seasonal themes (Green, Bold, Triune, and Feast), then the final three chapters followed the Scripture readings about Abraham to highlight growth in three areas (Image of God, Trust, and Gratitude.)

I felt that the final three chapters were the weakest point. Peeler didn't explain why she selected the three Abraham stories from the many options during Ordinary Time. It's hard to see Abraham's life as an example of ordinary—Abraham and Sarah certainly had long stretches where they learned to trust God, but the highlighted stories focus on when exciting things happened in the narrative.

The introduction (The Ordinary Season) and conclusion (Christ the King) were the strongest points. Although the term “ordinary time” is relatively recent, its origin comes from the ordinal numbers of the weekly Proper prayers. These prayers are trinitarian and focus on how we can live faithfully in the ordinary.

**received early access via NetGalley from the publisher**