Constancy v Consistency in Ordinary Time -- Lamentations 3:22-32; Hebrews 13:1-8 (Rev. Grace Hyeryung Kim, preaching) (16th Sunday After Pentecost)
- Scott Clark
- Sep 27
- 9 min read
This month, Pastor Scott's sermon theme is 'Ordinary Time.'
Literally, the word ordinary means something usual, regular, plain, common or expected — It is not special or exceptional. So, we may feel boring during the ordinary time because nothing special and every day looks the same. That’s why we sometimes long for something unique or special—like visiting a new place on vacation or trying a new restaurant and tasting new dishes. Yum! So exciting!
Do you like Halloween? We enjoy Halloween to get costumes because we don’t usually wear. My kids love picking theirs every year. This year, Siha decided to dress as a movie F1 car racer. And of course, the kids love Halloween because they get permission to eat lots of sugar that day!
How do you feel about selling your old car and purchasing a new one?
It’s bittersweet to let go of an old car, because it’s familiar and holds many memories.
Goodbye, my old car. But then, you drive home in your new vehicle. You forget the old one, and you are so excited about the brand-new ride- same things, new phone, new computer, new place, new food - they make us so excited.
On the contrary, let’s think about ordinary things:How about breakfast, you eat usually same Manu every morning. Maybe two boiled eggs. Maybe avocado toast. Maybe an apple with peanut butter. I usually have a cranberry bagel with cream cheese, and a cup of single-shot Americano. I eat them this morning too.
Or think about walking through the same neighborhood or shopping at the same grocery store. Most items are always in the same aisles, so you don’t need to search. Even if you haven't been somewhere in a while, but you don't need GPS because the place is familiar to you.
At Marin Coffee Roasters in downtown San Anselmo, I’ve seen the same group of people for many years. When I first came in here, I thought they had just met that day.
But later, when I went to that cafeteria, - they were there. I’ve been seeing that group for over ten years now. I wonder how they always manage to gather at the same time, in the same place, every morning. And my second wonder is this: how do they look so happy, every time? They laugh all the time, even though they see the same people, in the same place, every single morning over 10 years.
These things may seem ordinary, maybe even trivial.
AND they carry gifts—the comfort of the unchanging, and the peace that comes from being steady with ordinary people, ordinary times, and ordinary places.
Recently, I read the book How Emotions Are Made by Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett. I also gave a lecture on it in my Clinical Pastoral Care Education program at CPMC Sutter Medical Center.
-----> Dr. Barrett is a highly respected neuroscientist and psychologist—among the top 0.1% most-cited scientists in the world. She has written many books, and I chose her book, How Emotions Are Made because my job involves caring for people’s emotional well-being. And I wanted to know about how the brain and emotions interact.
---> Dr. Barrett explains that emotions are not fixed or universal but created by the brain. The brain combines past experiences, bodily signals, and context to form emotions. Our brain learns from life events and makes meaning from the patterns we experience.
The brain is not a simple machine, so we think the brain enjoys complex problems and solving difficult ones.
However, brain researchers have found that the brain becomes tired and stressed when it faces decisions—big or small, simple or complex: new experiences, unexpected events, new learning. Because the brain re-conceptualizes and re-categorizes new things or decisions. And all these processes require a lot of energy, and the brain feels stressed.
That’s why the brain prefers routine. Familiar patterns. And the ordinary.
But don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean we should drift through life without making choices or solving problems.
Our minds, thoughts, and habits can change and transform through reflection, consideration, and decision. Especially when we sincerely pursue valuable things, think deeply about them, and decide to act on them consistently, it can help us develop better habits and minds.
Today's sermon title is "Constancy versus Consistency During Ordinary Times."
Let's find out what the meaning of constancy and consistency is.
Constancy means something that remains unchanged. It is firm, enduring, unshaken by circumstances. When we use the word 'constancy' in theology, it refers to the fact that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God's love does not falter, God's promises do not expire, God's mercy does not wear out. This is the Constancy of our God—eternal, unchanging, always faithful.
Consistency means regularity and reliability. It is not acting just once, but doing repeatedly and continuously, but not required to be perfect or unchanging, as the word 'constancy.' Consistency is being or doing consistently with diligence and sincerity.
As some writers point out,
Constancy describes being.
Consistency describes doing.
Constancy belongs to God. God is unchanging in God's being.
Consistency belongs to us. It is our steady doing, our faithful response to God's unchanging love.
Constancy is God's nature.
Consistency is our response to God.
I will give an example with those words,
God is constant; we are freed to be consistent.
We don't have to be perfect because God's perfection never changes.
We don't have to fear, because God's love never fades.
We read this scripture Lamentations today.
Prophet Jeremiah wrote the lamentation.
----> The Book of Lamentations is a poem about the tragedy that occurred in 586 BC, when the Babylonian Empire destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple of Israel.
This book reflects the national trauma and tragedy, including the loss of the Temple,
the people's lives, and the destruction of Jerusalem's walls and identity.
Still, Jeremiah consistently mentioned God's covenant.
Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 to 32, reminds us that God's mercies are new every morning. It shows regular return of mercy. It is not only something spectacular once in a while, but an ordinary pattern, and steady gift consistently.
In our daily lives, we can create space for God and feel God’s faithfulness.
This allows us to continuously experience God's mercy and grace not only on special days but also in the ordinary moments of each day.
Of course, God's mercy and love are special.
Look at the world that God created.
God has placed the sun in a regulated orbit, making morning and evening.
The seasons repeat.
While this may seem ordinary, it is a manifestation of God's wondrous and special providence over nature. And we exist within the regular rhythms of this world, which God has made special and beautiful every day, every morning with God's constancy, not occasionally. Because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It is not only a spectacular moment. But as a daily pattern. And this is God’s steady gift to us.
I ask you this:
What will you consistently do in your daily life?
I ask same question but focus on the spiritual aspect,
What meaningful and valuable things will you constantly pursue in your ordinary day?
------> Thomas Keating was a Trappist monk and priest. He often spoke about the human condition, namely that we all carry wounds, a false self, and anxious desires that distance us from God. Thomas Keating believed that God's presence is constant and always with us, whether we are aware of it or not. He mentioned that our call is to practice consistency in prayer—primarily through Silence and stillness— so, we can become aware of God's unchanging love.
I often carry this small book in my bag. It is thin and light but filled with deep and profound thought about the human condition and relationship with God.
---> On the very first page, he writes it, and I will read it for you,
"Where are you? This is one of the great questions of all time. It is the force of the first half of the spiritual journey. It is a revelation of where we are. All the questions that are fundamental to human happiness arise when we ask ourselves these excruciating questions: Where am I? Where am I in relationship to God, to myself, and to others?
These are the basic questions of human life."
I’ll reflect on these questions for you, and I will ask you again.
Where is God in this moment?
Where are you with your God?
What mercies has God given you?
And how can you live in gratitude for God’s unchanging love?
These questions resonate within us as we seek meaningful and valuable things, in the moment, during the ordinary times, consistently with God’s constancy.
Last week, Pastor Scott mentioned morning prayers, and the congregation encouraged him about evening prayer.
During the children's message time, Pastor Scott asked, " When do you pray? "
Evrett answered, "Anytime."
These practices such as a short prayer in the morning. A devotion at night. A moment to look up at the sky with gratitude. The consistency of these small acts makes ordinary moments sacred. When we are faithful in ordinary tasks, we begin to discover that every moment is truly special, because God's presence is with us at every moment.
An early Christian theologian and bishop in North Africa. One of the most influential Church Fathers in both Catholic and Protestant traditions.
---> Augustine mentioned it in his book, "Confessions:
"Life isn't divided into 'big' holy moments and 'small' ordinary ones.
Everything we do—whether it's working, eating, resting, or even the little habits of everyday life—can be turned toward God. "
-----> Karl Barth is a Swiss Reformed theologian, and later, other theologians often referred to him as one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the 20th century. I especially like Barth's theology because his work, in the Church Dogmatics,
he constantly returns to the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.
----> I will read this quote for you, Barth described "Christ as 'God's Yes to humanity'—
God's unwavering affirmation of God's love and covenant made once and for all in Jesus. This "Yes" is constant and unchanging, no matter the circumstances of human life— whether in times of triumph, trial, or the ordinariness of daily living."
I want to conclude my sermon.
We live in a world filled with crisis, confusion, despair, and wounds. Destruction did not only occur in the time of Jeremiah. The world still has poverty and violence, and it is filled with grief and loss.
Nevertheless, the God who is unchanging and steadfast in love shows us,
in Jeremiah's era, 400 years ago, 10 years ago, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and to every generation and forever.
Today's Scripture, from Hebrews, tells us to live a life of love, hospitality, compassion, purity, and generosity. Faith, compassion, and love are not only for extraordinary moments—these are for being and doing in ordinary time. And these aren't one-time acts, but daily practices that shape our meaningful and valuable lives.
Lamentations offer the foundation of God's steadfast love.
Even in the destruction of Jerusalem, the poet affirms God's Constancy; God's mercy renews each day, not just in crisis, but also in the slow rhythm of ordinary mornings.
These scriptures show us, God’s mercy and grace, we consistently pursue, finding meaningful and valuable moment with love, hospitality, compassion, purity, and generosity in our ordinary lives. This is life.
And we can learn about the life from Jesus' life.
One day, when I was going to go work, I imagined that Jesus may have worked 8 hours a day, like a full-time employee; I did not think about it before, but I was working as a full-time employee, clocking in at 8:30 am and clocking out 5:00 pm, I was thinking about Jesus's daily, Jesus job description.
The Gospels often describe Jesus' daily rhythm: teaching, healing, showing compassion, withdrawing to pray, and returning to serve. And at 4:30 or 5:00 pm, he clocked out, and he had his Time for Silence and prayer. He consistently maintained a relationship with God in his daily life.
We can adapt Jesus's daily rhythm into our daily.
We can learn about life from Jesus, but we cannot do what Jesus did all the time, because we are human and imperfect.
But no worries about our weakness. Because Constancy belongs to God.
God's steadfast love. God's eternal faithfulness. God's promises do not fail.
God's mercies never come to an end— They are new every morning.
When we are always awake, reflecting on and pursuing meaningful and valuable moments and are willing to do so consistently, such as company, hospitality, generosity, and love during our ordinary day, God will help us with God's constancy.
God’s mercies are new every morning. Christ's love, compassion, justice, mercy, and grace to us is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and forever. Amen.
© 2025 Rev. Grace Hyeryung Kim
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