Worthy of the Call You Have Received
/What really touched me from the Readings on this Feast of the Ascension is where Paul says in his Letter to the Ephesians, “I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received.”
What does that mean – to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received? What does it mean to be worthy?
Feeling worthy can be kind of a sticky wicket. I’ve heard people express feelings of unworthiness before God. Feeling unworthy can actually lead people away from God, making us shrink away instead of opening to God. If we sit around and wait till we feel worthy, though, we’ll never have a spiritual life! Honesty, I don’t think anyone is truly worthy before God. Each of us is limited and imperfect. God doesn’t call the worthy — because if God waited around till we were worthy, God would never be able to call anyone. No one is worthy on our own merits, but we’re good enough because God makes it so. And God just loves us. I don’t think God cares that much about worthiness.
People care about worthiness, though, don’t we? My personal challenge is not so much about whether God thinks I’m worthy but worrying about how other people think about me. Or worse, much worse, I struggle with being worthy of the standards I set for myself. I sometimes think I need to get my life together, work my issues out, and meet all my goals before I’m worthy. Like, all these things need to happen, and then I can really live. That attitude is not about living in a way worthy of God’s call. In fact, that’s not really about God’s call at all. It’s more about my own perfectionism.
Fortunately, even though I have this drive in me to work toward worthiness, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t have to wait to be worthy to follow God’s call. Thank goodness! Because if I had to wait till I was worthy, I might never follow any invitation from God. But as it is, call comes first. Maybe we become worthy of that call and maybe we don’t, but we grow into the things that God calls us to do and to be. And that’s not really about worthiness either. I think God gives us what we need to do the things to which God calls us. It’s just not really about me; it’s all about God.
When I look back at this line, I don’t think Paul is telling us we have to be worthy, but he’s inviting us to live into this call to follow Christ. And what does living into the call look like? It seems to look like living community well, getting along and loving each other. He says we must live “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.”
When I think about the early church, the members of the Body of Christ did not wait until they felt worthy to live into their call. They just lived it. Sometimes they lived well, and sometimes they argued about how to live the call, who was worthy of the call, and what rules to follow. Sometimes they were unified and sometimes they didn’t do such a great job of keeping the peace. But they didn’t let that stop them. They just kept living and growing into their call. And Christ must have been okay with that. After all, he ascended. Although he was still deeply present with the community, he let the leaders lead and allowed each person to live out their call in the best way they could.
And here we are today. I would not say that we’re doing a great job of living peacefully together. God has given each of us the grace to do what we’re called to do, and we’re called to do different things. I wish we could celebrate the diversity of gifts, the diversity of perspectives, rather than being so contentious about so many things. Why is it so hard to trust that God is doing a good work in another person when I experience God doing a good work in me? And if I have a sense of my own unworthiness but also that I’m loved by God, why is it hard to extend charity to someone else who may be unworthy but also loved? If no one is really worthy but we’re all deeply loved, doesn’t that level the playing field?
We humans are a complicated bunch, aren’t we? For us, there is so much emphasis on who’s worthy, who can belong, who gets to be inside the circle and who’s out. And God doesn’t care about any of that. God just loves.
Ironically, there’s a strong, clear invitation here to not consider the worthiness of each other as we live in a way that’s worthy of our call. Right? What if instead of wondering if someone is worthy, we focus on being humble, knowing that we’re not perfect either? What if we live with patience, trusting that we’re all just doing the best we can? What if we were to bear with each other in love instead of judgement? And what if we didn’t even judge our own worthiness? Because why should we? God doesn’t.
Maybe the call is not to wonder if we’re actually worthy but instead to live as if we are, because God makes us so. Worthiness is not the same thing as entitlement. Entitlement says I deserve the best, but holy worthiness says I’m good enough because God made me and I’m doing my best. Trying to grow into the fullness of our being and loving others wholeheartedly is living in a manner worthy of the call we have received. We can’t really do this on our own. We need God for all of it, and we have God for all of it. Thanks be to God.
For reflection
Have you ever struggled with feelings of unworthiness? What brought on those feelings? What people or events or situations tend to trigger feelings of unworthiness in you? How is God present with you when you feel unworthy?
Have you ever accepted a challenge or taken a risk or followed a call from God to find that God equipped you for it or helped you to grow into it? What was that like? How was God with you?
Do you ever judge others for their worthiness or their actions? Do you ever struggle to have gentleness and patience, to bear with others in love instead of judgment? What helps you in that struggle?
Maybe you could take some time and reflect with God on all of this and just see what God has to say to you.
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 Board of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, dancing, meaningful conversations, and this present moment.