Luke 10:38-42
We are blessed to have Pastor Ryan here at St. Matthew, and today is a special day we get to celebrate his ministry with us. We began the process of searching for someone like him in the spring of 2023. We decided we wouldn’t pursue an associate pastor because of the clergy shortage and instead built a job description for a Director of Christian Education. We spent that spring and summer and fall striking out in our search. We continued to pray for God to send us the right candidate. Many of you probably remember it was in the Prayers of Intercession every week for a while. And after many disappointing months there finally came an answer to our prayers, when last October a recent seminary graduate named Ryan Heckman emailed me about our job posting on the synod website.
Ryan and I had gotten to know each other during his internship at Emanuel Manchester. I knew that three months into his internship his supervising pastor left the congregation, and he assumed much of the responsibilities as pastor. He worked as their primary pastoral presence for the next eight months before Pastor Joanna was called. It was obviously a challenging situation for a seminarian to be, but Ryan worked through it, had the congregation’s support, and was baptized by fire into parish ministry.
So when Ryan reached out to me about the Director of Christian Ed position, I was thrilled. He explained that he was geographically restricted and there were no call openings in the area. And so we got the Christian Ed hiring committee back together and hired him to start the first of November. It wasn’t long before members of the congregation started voicing what I’d been thinking: how nice would it be to call Ryan as our second pastor? So after a few months of Ryan getting to know St. Matthew and St. Matthew getting to know Ryan, we began the call process. And this past spring the congregation voted unanimously to call Pastor Ryan. He was ordained in May at Emanuel Manchester and officially began in the role of associate pastor September 1st, even though we’ve been calling him Pastor Ryan since his ordination. And now, because I’m Brian and he’s Ryan, Rev Ryan has been catching on as a way to avoid rhyming confusion.
Rev Ryan and I have already had some good ministry adventures together. We’ve already been through Christmas and Easter together. We spent a weekend with our confirmation class at Camp Calumet. We also spent a weekend at Synod Assembly. And of course we travelled together with our youth group this summer to New Orleans for the ELCA National Youth Gathering. It has been a wonderful gift to have Rev Ryan at St. Matthew, and I look forward to what’s to come.
The scripture reading Rev Ryan chose for this service is one of my favorites, the story of Mary and Martha. Mary the contemplative, and Martha the active. Ryan shared with me that this passage was the focus of his spiritual direction for over a year while he was discerning his call to ministry.
And I think the story of Mary and Martha is quite appropriate for a pastor’s installation. Many pastors discern the call to ministry by listening for that still small voice, through much prayer and meditation like Mary. Those who feel called to seminary often have a strong appreciation for the spiritual journey and feel called to ministry to help others cultivate that spiritual sense as well. We enjoy sitting at the feet of Jesus and dwelling in God’s peaceful presence. And then, when we begin ministry, we find out that it can be a lot more like Martha a lot of the time. Like Martha, we may find ourselves running around frantic trying to get everything done. Like figuring out how we can have Sunday School, Confirmation, Adult Forum, and coffee hour all at the same time. Or like planning five different services in a weekend. Or trying to think ahead in case our youth group’s layover in Charolette turns into an overnight stay on our way home from New Orleans.
Now don’t get me wrong, active ministry is not all hectic. A lot of it is quite enjoyable. Building relationships with the people you serve as pastor. Eating together, praying together, exploring scripture together. In this coming month we’ve got a lot of special things like the Blessing of the Animals, the Pennsylvania Dutch Harvest Dinner, and our annual Trunk or Treat event. It’s all good stuff. But being a pastor is definitely an active life. And sometimes it can feel like we’re running in a hamster wheel with Martha.
That’s why this story of Mary and Martha is so important. Because I think that ministry for all Christians, whether you’re an ordained pastor or not, is about balancing the presence of these two sisters in each of us. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ and serving his church is about balancing the active life of Martha and the contemplative life of Mary.
Many theologians, like the Franciscan priest Richard Rohr, talk about the balance of action and contemplation. It’s important to experience the peaceful stillness exemplified by Mary sitting in Christ’s presence. It's important that pastors and all Christians take time to sit at the feet of Jesus, cultivate that inner stillness, encounter those sacred moments, and continue to grow on the spiritual journey. This is what grounds Christian disciples and empowers us to do what God calls us to. The work the Holy Spirit inspires in us will be different for everyone, but it all will be an expression of the holy activity Martha represents. Tradition holds that Martha learned not to be frantic and frustrated in her actions, but learned to balance the active life with mindfulness and rest. In the same way, Pastor Ryan is called to balance the spirituality of Mary with the hospitality of Martha. The inner contemplative life, with the active outer work God calls him to.
As Christians we are all called to this. To balance the ways these two sisters followed Jesus, one active and one contemplative. We do this not because we have to in order to earn God’s favor or grace, but because we have been so touched by God’s love and grace that we genuinely desire to sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary, and to work and serve like Martha. That is our Christian calling. To pray like Mary and to serve like Martha. To make time for sabbath rest and spiritual nourishment. And to dedicate ourselves to serve God, the church, and a world in need. We are all called to seek to deepen our relationship with God through prayer and meditation. And we are all called to the sometimes busy, sometimes stressful, yet always meaningful and fulfilling work of the church. This is the life God has called Rev Ryan to. This is the work God has called every Christian to. May God empower Pastor Ryan his ministry among us, and may God empower us all to do the ministry of the church together.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pastor Brian | September 29, 2024 | Rev. Ryan Heckman's Installation Service
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