Go Forth!

On this 2nd Sunday of Lent, what I hear loud and clear is the call of Abram in Genesis: “Go forth.” God invites Abram to move from all that is familiar – family, homeland, lifestyle – to something else, something totally different from everything he knows. God promises to make his name great, and (spoiler alert) he becomes Abraham, a great name for Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. So, we see how Abram responds to God’s call, and God makes good on a promise.

 Abram makes it look so easy, doesn’t he? When God tells me to go forth, though, it almost never feels easy. Years ago I left a teaching ministry, which was familiar, to become a campus minister. I came to love that ministry, but at first I had no idea what I was doing, and that felt intimidating. The call to enter religious life was definitely a go forth kind of call. It meant leaving everything I was used to and moving into the total unknown. As it turned out, God showed up and all-things-new soon became sort of familiar, but the movement of going forth was daunting. Truth be told, I love being comfortable. However, the spiritual life doesn’t seem to be about being comfortable, and God keeps sending me forth.

Have you ever felt that call from God to move from the comfortable into something new? What does that look like for you? Maybe like getting a new job or starting your own business or moving to another city away from friends and family? Maybe like starting a serious relationship or ending a toxic one? Or like having a child or adopting one – or teaching one to drive or moving one into a college dorm. I don’t know if the call to go forth is as hard for you as it is for me, but I do know that if it’s really God’s call, God always shows up and makes good on promises. I hope that’s been your experience too.

I also think the call to go forth can be a communal one, not just an individual invitation. In the Gospel reading, when Peter, James, and John see Jesus transfigured before them, they want to stay there. “Let’s build a tent!” says Peter. God bless Peter for being so unfiltered! He probably says what the other two are thinking. I’m not sure if they are aware of what is to come, but things are about to get ugly once Jesus is arrested. Why not just stay up on the mountain and bask in the glory of the Lord instead? It’s good there. And easy. However, the call of the moment is not to stay but to go forth. They need to come on down the mountain and deal with life. At least they have each other.

Like Peter, James, and John, we are called to go forth together as followers of Jesus today, and often that looks like doing service. That’s certainly true of my religious community. Going forth is so important to us that we’ve written into our mission and made it a special focus for the next few years. We believe that “God's love becomes real in us as we go out to be Providence to others through the works of mercy.” I find this call energizing, especially when I think of it in the ideal. Go out to be Providence! Give me a cape, because it kind of makes us sound like superheroes. And yet, as I’ve experienced it, doing the works of mercy is not a glorious undertaking. It involves the very basic tasks of feeding, clothing, instructing, visiting, and praying. I’m sure you are aware that all of us, not just sisters, are called to go out to do the works off mercy. That kind of service is mostly ordinary – on the ground rather than the mountaintop. It keeps it real. And yet, like following any call from God, service brings us in touch with God’s very self, present in other people and present in us.

Going forth is not just a movement of the feet; it’s a disposition before it’s an action. Before going forth translates to a step forward, it’s an opening of the heart. It’s an energetic movement, one that opens us to others in love and relationship, one that calls us beyond what’s comfortable to risk something new. Going forth can be a hard call to follow, and yet, when we do, God comes with us. We never go anywhere – to the mountain top or downhill – without God.

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, meaningful conversations, and hiking — either up the mountain or downhill. :)