The word "vacation" comes from the Latin "vacatio" which means to be exempt from service, or to take a respite from work. I am taking my family on a brief vacation this next week. We have a friend who will be taking care of the home and our pets while we are gone, but we are going to "exempt ourselves from service" and "take a respite from work", so to speak.
In one sense, we are never supposed to stop serving others, for service of our fellow man is not a temporary calling, but is part of our baptismal call. So, I guess it would not exactly be accurate to say that we are stopping our "service", but I am sure that this connotation for the ancients held a lot of weight. More specifically, however, I want to consider (just briefly) the idea of what it means to take a "vacation". In the gospels there are a number of places that Jesus tells the disciples to "come away to a lonely (or quiet) place to rest". He does this because Christ knows that we all need to rest.
Even before the fall of man, when creation was still in a pristine state, God established a day of rest. There is something about physical rest which accomplishes more than just the physical refreshment that we all think about. There is a spiritual impact on us when we rest. The problem arises when we want rest too much. When we get lazy and insist on rest even when we have not done anything to cause us to need rest, that is when we have taken a blessing of God and abused it. Anything that God gives to us can be abused, and we must recognize that every one of us is subject to this temptation.
If, however, we are doing the work that we are called to do, then we do need to have proper rest; and sometimes that rest can be enjoyed a bit more if one can play at the same time. I have never heard of anyone in the Church developing a "theology of rest and play", but it is written into the very fiber of our being. All of creation recognizes it. I was watching two baby deer playing outside my living room window the other morning, and was enthralled with seeing their joy. My pet cat is obsessed with playing at times; she will play with her "mouse toys" for hours sometimes--both by herself, and with us. Rest and play are those things that help us to find godly pleasure in simple things.
Yes, modern society can corrupt our rest and play, but we should work to avoid those abuses and focus rather on what God offers to us. Genuine rest, a ceasing from work, helps us to be more appreciative of the work that we, and others, do in our particular calling. So when a priest takes a vacation, he is seeking to enjoy the blessings that God gives to him, as well as attempting to restore and deepen his ability to help others. I have never had anyone say it to me, but I have heard that there are some who say in the old days priests never took a vacation, and that today's priests are lazy. I was not a priest back then, but I do know that to reject proper rest, is to reject the blessings of God. A priest rests, precisely so that he can work better after.
We can actually come closer to God when we receive the rest from God's hand (and avoid making it be something that we "take" by our own hand). In this way, we can give thanks for the ability to step away from our common efforts (to "vacate" the norm, per se) and to prepare ourselves for further work of the Kingdom. Yet, as I said before, a priest never really is "exempt from service". I have often told my parishioners, that a priest never "clocks out". Priests "clock in" on the day of their ordination, and they do not "clock out" until they receive last rites. So, although I am not "clocking out" yet, I am going to rest. I am going to accept this from the hand of God, and give Him thanks for His commandments.
This Sunday, I encourage you to think about rest. To pay attention to what it means to refresh yourself, body and soul, so that you can serve God better afterward. Give Him specific thanks, and ask Him to help you with your calling that you will return to later. It is what I am going to do, and I encourage you join in with me. Let us together praise our wonderful God.
