Liturgy of the Ordinary: Book Review

Most of the moments that make up our days are, well, quite ordinary. Where is God in the mundane tasks? How do they fit with his purposes for our lives? And what if our faith feels even a little boring at times?

If any of those questions resonated, then Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren is a book written just for you. Each chapter unpacks a seemingly ordinary part of the day—from checking your emails to brushing your teeth, and losing your keys to talking with a friend—and shows how all of it is part of what God is doing to form us into people who mirror Jesus more fully.

Here’s a favourite quote of mine from the opening chapter: ‘If I am to spend my whole life being transformed by the good news of Jesus, I must learn how grand, sweeping truths—doctrine, theology, ecclesiology, Christology—rub against the texture of an average day. How I spend this ordinary day in Christ is how I will spend my Christian life.’

I love that Harrison Warren takes the glorious heights of these theological riches and seeks to ground them in the small moments of each day. We can often overlook what God is doing in the present because of our desire for ecstatic experiences or feelings. But reading this book helped me to pay attention to how God is forming me in the ordinary as much as the extraordinary.

No matter your age or stage in life, I think Liturgy of the Ordinary will help you to notice God’s hand in the simple moments of life—and most helpfully, it will give you practices to do it.

If you pick up a copy, I’d love to hear how you find it! You can find it here.