Jesus Doesn’t Go On Vacation?
I have previously mentioned the idea that while churches seem to go on a siesta during the summer months, attendance is low and we may want to do something about the mindset that it’s okay to miss a lot of what goes on in the church in the summer. I still agree with all of that.
But what about our vacations? Sitting here on my last night of vacation, in the epicenter of the world (or so it seems to my children – Universal Studios Orlando), I started thinking about the fact that maybe we just think that Jesus doesn’t go on vacation, but maybe he goes right along with us, and doesn’t expect us to check our religion at the front desk when we get to our destination.
This trip, like every one I ever take, is full of fun and family time and laughter and adventure and silliness. It’s also full of meeting people we don’t know but treat as a friends by the time the trip is over. The concierge, the front hall attendent, the housekeeper, the man who worked in the club room who took his break today to take a boat over to the amusement parks to purchase a plastic popcorn container. As he explained (since he was on the boat that we took back to the hotel), an older man had told him that he had really wanted to get this plastic thing as a souvenir, but wasn’t able to get one, and he was going home today, and was sad that he had missed it. This young man got the container for him, got the address from the desk, and mailed it to him today, and it may beat the man home. There are so many good and kind and decent young people in this world, but this young man, whom I know has a good and kind heart because of the popcorn container and many other things that I saw him quietly do for people, has no church place to call home.
He doesn’t fit. Or does he just think he doesn’t fit? Have we let him think that we don’t want him because we don’t take Jesus along on vacation with us, or to the steak restaurant down the street from us, or to the grocery store……. I would have loved to have been able to give him specific names of people that he could get in touch with, but didn’t know any and know that it wouldn’t work that way. I would have loved to have had someone who would call him, follow up and see if there is a place for his kind soul to belong.
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