As a young woman, I saw the 1975 musical A Chorus Line. Set on the stage of a Broadway theater, the musical provides a glimpse into the personalities of 17 Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on the chorus line as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers. I loved the collaboration in the dancing and resonated with the song “What I Did for Love.”
This is not a romantic love song but rather a song about the profound love for one’s passion and career. It is about reflecting on a life dedicated to a pursuit, even with its challenges and potential for loss, and embracing the experiences and sacrifices made for the love of it. “What I Did for Love” expressed my passion for ministry and willingness to accept the sweetness and the sorrow on the travel narrative I chose.
I preached the candidacy sermon auditioning to serve as Westminster’s 18th pastor on July 28, 2013. It was a culminating day on my personal travel narrative in ministry and an opportunity which I had sought for many years. To sit in Westminster’s stunning chancel for the first time was a powerful and poignant moment for me. I will forever be grateful to Westminster Presbyterian Church for the opportunity to lead and to collaborate on the road we have traveled together these past twelve years.
On July 13, as the Rev. Dr. Anne Marshall preached her candidacy sermon and was elected to serve as co-pastor in an intentional act of collaboration before becoming Westminster’s 19th pastor on Oct. 1, 2025, the date of my retirement, it was another poignant moment for me. Sitting where I was in the chancel, I noticed that the three Marys in our sanctuary’s stained-glass windows beyond Anne in the pulpit, were smiling with me. The windows were given by Porter Paddock a century ago in loving memory of his wife and the many noble women who served Westminster faithfully and collaborated in ministry, doing what they did “for love.”
Luke places the story of Martha and Mary immediately following the story of the Good Samaritan, because each emphasizes important complementary characteristics in the life of a disciple following the commission of the 70. To the lawyer who is so caught up in studying the Torah that he never learned how to do it, Jesus shares the story of one who shows mercy and bids him “Go and do likewise.” To the young sisters who are caught up in a society that denies them the privilege of studying the Torah, Jesus encourages them “to sit at his feet and to listen to what he is saying.”
Luke has taken us on a journey and pointed out the importance of collaboration, balance and reaching beyond ourselves, doing what we do for love as disciples of Jesus Christ. Collaboration includes both doing and listening, both serving and studying, and both single-mindedness and multi-tasking. Each of us has a tendency toward a one-dimensional life. We need collaboration within ourselves and with one another to fulfill our calling as disciples.
These two stories placed side by side exemplify the commandments to love God and to love one’s neighbor. Jesus’ choice of unlikely characters to illustrate this love – a Samaritan and a woman reveal how we limit collaboration through our own prejudices and the cultural biases that prevent a level playing field for all God’s children.
As we seek to be faithful disciples within our own travel narratives, may we demonstrate the mercy of the Good Samaritan, the courage of Mary, and the hospitality of Martha on the journeys we travel. May we do what we do for love, and when the time comes to say goodbye and travel on, may we, as the song goes, embrace the sweetness and the sorrow, wish each other well, and give thanks for the gift that was ours to borrow.
This article appears in Repeat offender.
