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Taking time off from whatever activity consumes our working day is always important for re-charging the batteries and getting things back in perspective. When we are engaged in activity it isn't always easy to see the bigger picture.
A delightful little book for children which I bought on Friday has an adult message as many children's books have. The book is by Nicholas Allen and is called Jesus' Day Off. It is beautifully illustrated with amusing colourful pictures. The story is very simple. Basically Jesus was busy every day doing amazing miracles, telling marvellous stories and generally making everything around him, people and things, very beautiful. Then, one day, Jesus woke up exhausted from saving the world and that day his miracles weren't so good, his stories lacked sparkle and nothing seemed to go right. So Jesus went to see the doctor, who advised Jesus to relax and enjoy himself- and take a day off. Which is what Jesus did. He went into the desert and did cartwheels, he played catch with his halo, he had a picnic and he went for a swim. He rounded off the day with a long donkey ride. He had a mavellous day. But then, like a lot of people who take time off in a busy life, he felt a bit guilty. He'd wasted a day. So he talked to His Father about it. His Father told him to look at what happened on his day off Where Jesus had done cartwheels, fountains of water sprang up: where he threw his halo and had his picnic, the trees blossomed with fruit. As he went swimming the disciples caught lots of fish, and wherever he rode his donkey, people felt immediately happy. His father then told him that when you feel better yourself, you make others feel better too. and the next day, when Jesus returned to his work of saving the world, he had more energy and got a lot more done.
People often make a virtue out of being busy (clergy do it rather well!) but being busy often means not having time for others. Sometimes it means that we are busy at all the wrong things and we lose sight of a vision of life which is about being carefree and capricious before the Lord. dancing and singing, being joyful and happy, are things that are quickly driven away by busyness.
The great St Antony of Egypt was once found sitting and enjoying a day off with his friends. A man who had a busy kind of life as a hunter told Antony off. Why aren't you doing something useful? Antony asked him to draw his bow and shoot an arrow. Puzzled, the man did so. "Do it again," said Antony. The man did so. "And again!" said Antony. "If I keep drawing my bow and shooting, the bow will break," he protested. Antony replied, "As would we if we didn't stop to rest and relax from time to time."
Taking time off is often called recreation, but its true meaning can be found by inserting a hyphen - re-creation. We must give time to play in front of God so that he can re-create us from within.