August 27, 2023 – The Rev. Katharine Flexer

Exodus 1:8-2:10<br /> Psalm 124<br /> Romans 12:1-8<br /> Matthew 16:13-20   The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their<br /> lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor.<br /> They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.<br /> Well, here’s the ruthless truth: Summer, my dears, is coming to an end. It’s still<br /> hot and humid and all of that, that’s not ending anytime soon. But the school year<br /> is looming, already begun in some parts of the country. Staff here at church are<br /> coming back into their offices and making plans for fall programs. Labor Day is<br /> right around the corner, and the taskmasters are getting ready. So how was your<br /> summer?<br /> Our family had a summer of constantly changing plans. It seemed like whatever<br /> we intended to have happen, something came along to change it. Hosting old<br /> friends that we hadn’t seen for years? No, I got COVID. Seeing my brother as we<br /> drove through Spokane? No, our daughter got sick. Backpacking in the North<br /> Cascades? No, there was wildfire. Backpacking in the central Cascades? No, the<br /> stove stopped working. Join our friends on an island in upstate New York? No, Jim<br /> busted his kneecap. Some of these changes meant disappointment, not getting to<br /> do what we wanted – but we found ways to work around that, for the most part.<br /> But the main result was extra time, time without a plan or agenda, time in one<br /> place when we thought we’d be moving on, a lot of hanging around. Now, that<br /> should sound good, right? Don’t we all want more free time to just relax? Well, I<br /> struggle with this. If I’m not accomplishing something with my time, then what<br /> good is my life? My inner taskmaster is relentless. What are you producing with<br /> your time right now? Anything? If you’re not experiencing something new or<br /> deepening relationships with loved ones or crossing things off the to-do list or for<br /> goodness’ sake, relaxing the way you’re supposed to, then what are you doing?<br /> Fretting, that’s what. At least you should be reading something! Welcome to my<br /> internal dialogue. My taskmaster has a lot to say, all the time.<br /> We all have these kinds of taskmasters, whether they be internal or external.<br /> Internal monitors for how we should be and what we should do, sparking<br /> constant uncertainty about whether we’re measuring up and doing the right<br /> thing? – that’s the very definition of a New Yorker right there. It’s what drives so<br /> much of our culture, makes us people who are always striving for more. Those<br /> internal pressures, you could paint them as improving energies, what pushes us to<br /> do better. Even some of those external for