July 9, 2023 – The Rev. Katharine Flexer

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67<br /> Song of Solomon 2:8-13<br /> Romans 7:15-25a<br /> Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 And Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy<br /> burdens, and I will give you rest.’<br /> Doesn’t some part of you just go ‘ahhhh’ when you hear those words? Which one<br /> of us couldn’t use more rest, wouldn’t rather lay down some burden or another<br /> that we have been carrying? Life is tiring. The constant barrage of hard news in<br /> our own country and abroad. The drumbeat of hard news in our own lives, the<br /> injustices and traumas big and small that everyone of us contends with in our own<br /> way. The treadmill of daily routines and tasks. Put it down? Oh, thank God. Yes, I’ll<br /> take some of that rest. And yet Jesus doesn’t go on to say, ‘and while you’re<br /> resting, I’ll just bring you a pina colada so you can keep on lying there.’ No, he<br /> says something about his yoke and his burden and how we should take those on<br /> instead. Because don’t worry, they’ll be light. And some part of us can’t help but<br /> think, Aw man, really?<br /> Because it’s the season of rest now, the overly warm downtime of the New York<br /> summer. It’s the season when everything slows down – no decisions can be made,<br /> no deals signed, no meetings held, because someone or other is on<br /> vacation…save it till September. Even if it’s not you on vacation right now, the city<br /> feels on vacation. Tourists have claimed the streets, and the New Yorkers that are<br /> out and about are just…hanging around. We might find it hard to practice Sabbath<br /> on a regular basis, this ‘city that never sleeps,’ but in this season, resting seems to<br /> come a lot more naturally.<br /> But already I can see the summer weeks slipping away. We had intentions for<br /> outings and activities that we are realizing we’re almost out of time for. I’ve<br /> missed the free Philharmonic concerts in the park, again. And those projects that I<br /> always think I’ll do as June begins? Organizing the photos, sorting through family<br /> letters, hanging pictures? Nah. Probably not happening this summer either. Life<br /> just kind of rolls along, speedily churning through the daily routine, and it’s all too<br /> rare that we stop to really wonder if it’s happening quite the way we meant it to. Last week, Mary Ellen and I took part in a fast-paced week-long training workshop<br /> on congregational development – packed full of information on all kinds of ways<br /> to assess and understand and tweak and change what’s happening in our<br /> community system here at St Michael’s. Just wait till we start unleashing this on<br /> you all – it’s going to be amazing. But one of the biggest takeaways is also our first<br /> homework project: to try out ways