Did Jesus ever take a vacation? Certainly, He kept the Sabbath and rested on that day, plus He did regularly withdraw to pray, including a 40-day “prayer vacation” in the desert …while fasting. And Jesus to his Apostles after they “reported all they had done and taught… said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’” (Mark 6:30–31) I write this since I just was on vacation, which is a bit more difficult during this pandemic, but blessedly I did find a quiet semi-deserted place (by a lake) to get away to spend a week.
Our concept of vacation is a more recent historical development, really only within the past two centuries. The word “vacation” comes from the root “vacate” which means to be unoccupied. Before modern times traveling for recreation was only done by the wealthy. In early America, highly influenced by Puritan roots, taking a break from work beyond Sunday was frowned upon since “Idleness is the Devil’s workshop.” And if our vacations are just occasions to indulge and “vacate” then maybe that is true.
However, there can be a holy vacation. We do need rest. God made us so and gave us the 7th day to rest as Sabbath (which is even a commandment). We do this in imitation of God. God created on 6 days and “re-created" on the 7th. So recreation is holy! We need to be “re-created” sometimes—to be renewed. But we can’t be re-created/renewed without God. Can one take a vacation with God? Yes! Vacation can be a time to rest, spend time with family and friends, enjoy nature and the good things God has created, to read and pray and do many good things. Biblically, there were large feast days which could last a week that included much celebration for what God had done.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #901 mentions that “relaxation of mind and body… if they are accomplished in the Spirit… become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Wow! But the key is that such relaxation needs to be done in the Spirit. In other words take the Holy Spirit with you on vacation, and don’t leave God behind.
I hope you have had a chance for summer relaxation and some sort of vacation with God, or if not, perhaps to have something of that sort in the near future. Our future, we pray, is heaven where we will “rest in peace” and have perfect recreation and enjoyment with God. But the future always begins now, so let us regularly in some way seek rest and recreation in God, at least in a weekly Sabbath.