God Calls the Unlikely...
but He makes ready those He calls
The big headline this past week, of course, was the election of a new Pope. I am not Roman Catholic but nevertheless found it very interesting to follow the story as it developed over the course of the week. I happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch the livestream of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV stepping out onto the balcony for the first time to be introduced to the world. As the crowds in the square below clapped and cheered, the cameras zoomed in on his face.
I watched as he swallowed once or twice, clearly trying to control his emotions. I found myself wondering what it might be like to be in his shoes, what thoughts might be going through his mind. I wondered if, when he had entered the conclave a couple of days before, he had ever imagined this was what was coming next for him? (As I understand it, he was a less-likely candidate.) When I was preparing for my own ordination – and again when I was preparing to preach for the first time – I had lots of people ask me if I was “ready”. This is really a rather absurd question because is anyone ever really ready to step into the weighty task of caring for the souls of others? I certainly was not “ready” – I am all too aware of the weight that comes with putting on that collar and the authority that comes from standing behind a pulpit. My own calling to serve in an Anglican parish of less than 100 people is considerably smaller than the task of being the most visible leader in the entire Christian world, tending to a flock of over a billion people. How is one ever “ready” for something like that? I don’t want to read too much into what I saw in Pope Leo’s face on that livestream Thursday afternoon, but I can’t help but wonder if he was feeling the weight of stepping into this new calling.
As I watched all this and pondered my own experience, I got to thinking about the way that God calls the unlikely, and the ways that He makes ready those who He calls.
Take, for example, the apostle Peter: brash, eager, and overconfident. It’s Peter who thinks he can walk on water (Matthew 14:22-33). In the account of the Transfiguration, it’s Peter who suggests they make three tents for Jesus and Moses and Elijah “not knowing what he said” (Luke 9:33). In John 13, when Jesus washes the disciples feet, Peter at first insists that Jesus “will never wash his feet”….and then immediately switches tune to “wash all of me!” (John 13:8-9). And later on that evening, before Jesus ventures out into the Garden of Gethsemane to go to his death, Peter asks him where he is going. Jesus tells him that he can’t follow where he is going – at least not for now. Peter pushes back: “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” Jesus’ response? “The rooster will not crow until you deny me three times.” (John 13:37-38)
And this is just exactly what happens. In the moment of duress – during Jesus’ trial and crucifixion – Peter denies three times that he knows Jesus.
I guess he wasn’t as ready as he thought he was.
But this isn’t the end of the road for Peter either. After his resurrection, Jesus gives Peter a particular commission: to feed his sheep and tend his lambs. And he also predicts that the time will come when he does follow Jesus in his own death by martyrdom. He calls him to follow. (John 21:15-19). What Peter wasn’t ready for before, he was ready for now: not because of anything in himself, but because Jesus made him ready.
This same rash Peter who denied that he knew Jesus goes on to write the beautiful exhortation to shepherds and leaders found in 1 Peter 5:
Lead boldly, but with humility.
Lead with authority, but without domineering.
Humble yourselves so that God can lift you up.
Cast your cares and anxieties on him because He cares for you.
Be sober and watchful against the snares of the enemy.
Stand firm in your faith – even when that leads to suffering – because God will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Peter knows that of which he speaks because Jesus had restored, confirmed, strengthened and established him.
In his little book The Name of God is Mercy, Pope Francis offers some powerful thoughts on this:
“The more conscious we are of our wretchedness and our sins, the more we experience the love and infinite mercy of God among us, and the more capable we are of looking upon the many “wounded” we meet along the way with acceptance and mercy.”1
Perhaps Peter’s rashness, his denial – and the work of redemption that God worked through them – were the very things that prepared him for the powerful ministry he carried out. He knew who redeemed and empowered him. He knew it was Yet Not I But Christ in Me.
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Esau McCaulley spoke to this in his podcast last week as well.2 In response to a question someone had posed about what they should do about feeling “stuck” in an unfulfilling job and missing out on their “big dreams”, McCaulley suggested that the best path forward in that kind of situation is not to go hunting for a bigger and better job, but rather to focus on “being the kind of person who can be useful to God wherever He puts you.” He went on to explain that if you keep the focus on this, you can’t fail because “God is glorified in a life that reflects his character.” Sometimes we just aren’t ready to step into that thing we really want to do. Those periods of waiting along the way can serve to redirect us – to show us that maybe we were meant for something else entirely. Or else, those times of waiting are what grow us into the thing that is coming next. (I have a mentor who calls this “formative waiting.”) None of the things that we do along the way are wasted. They are the very things that are making us useful and developing the courage and integrity to stick with something for the long haul.
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This has absolutely been true in my own life. When I began this journey towards ordained ministry in 2019, I thought I was “ready.” It’s been frustrating and at times painful that my path hasn’t been straightforward. I’ve had a church close on me. I’ve had people call my leadership ability into question - sometimes rightfully, sometimes just because I’m a woman. I’ve been placed in situations where I had to come face-to-face with my own temptations towards pride, self-sufficiency, and a competitive spirit. I’ve had people tell me they would have given up a long time ago if they had been through some of the things I have been through, and others that they hope this doesn’t happen to them. But all of these things have served to shape me - and indeed have shaped me in more powerful ways than my seminary education and practical experiences in church ministry could have done on their own. I can tell you that 2025 Jen – while still feeling the weightiness of the call – feels far more confident in it than she did in 2019. None of it has been wasted.
I will never really be ready. But I know the One who called me is Faithful, and He will do it. (1 Thess 5:24)
Until Next Time,
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus forever and ever.
Jen
Bits and Pieces
Reading/Watching/Listening: I read this piece by Lore Ferguson Wilbert over at Sayable a couple of weeks ago:
When I read it, I knew that the Spirit was nudging me that this was a challenge I needed to take up. It’s been a full year since I graduated from seminary, but I’ve made very little dent on the rabbit trail reading and projects that I had hoped to tackle post academia. Some of that was just life, but some of that is also my bad scrolling habits. Here’s hoping for a life-giving summer!
Taking Delight: I had only Child #2 home with me this week, while my husband and Child #3 went to pick up Child #1 from college and bring her home for the summer. That meant personal ice cream pints - it’s tradition when only one child is left at home for some reason. :)
Thinking About:
“Being teachable shapes us. But it also gives others the gift of sharing out of their own lives. ‘A teachable life,’ writes biblical scholar Donald Guthrie, ‘is a life lived in wholehearted response to God’s provision for the sake of others.’ To be teachable, then, is to allow someone else to love you.”
~AJ Swoboda, A Teachable Spirit3
Pope Francis, The Name of God is Mercy, 67
The Esau McCaulley Podcast, Help Me Help You. Airdate: May 8, 2025. The segment I am citing here begins around the 23 minute mark.
AJ Swoboda, A Teachable Spirit, 30