Dear beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,

Vacation is a time for perspective. While dozing in a beach chair and half reading a novel, watching the pelicans drop into the deep waters and the kids play in the surf, you are freed from daily tasks. Your mind can relax. You can take stock.

Like taking a compass sighting in the woods, vacation gives us a view. You step out of the trees into a clearing. You shoot your azimuth. You take sight of a tall tree a half mile away. When you plunge back into the forest, you are back on course.

In the gospel of Luke, the rich man took stock. His barns were overflowing from the harvest. He had such a big harvest that he thought, “I will build bigger barns and fill them up. Then I can rest, eat, drink, be merry!” 

His perspective however was not God’s perspective. Jesus finishes the story with a warning. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! What if you died this night?’” (Luke 12:16-21).

What decision would the rich man make if he knew that he had less than a day to live? What would he do instead with his overflowing harvest? 

No one on their death bed ever said, “How I wish that I spent more time at the office!” The view from the end-of-life changes what is important today.

The Book of Ecclesiastes begins, “All things are vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The Hebrew word hebel literally means “breath” or “vapor.” Ecclesiastes teaches that apart from God, life is like a vapor. The good suffer and the wicked flourish while grief and sorrow are constant companions. Riches and pleasures are fleeting and empty. Apart from God, life has no meaning. 

The good news is that with God, life has meaning. Whether one’s barns are full or empty is no longer most important. What matters is that God has given us life in Christ. We have died to sin. We have been raised with Christ. 

This perspective translates into action. Saint Paul tells us, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth” (Colossians 3:2). In other words, get perspective. Go up to 30,000 feet and take a look. See that we have died to sin. Look how we have been raised with Christ. From this perspective, put to death immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. And, by the way, “stop lying to one another” (Colossians 3:5, 9).

Imagine the view from your grave. What would you change? 

Might you forgive more quickly and say more often, “I was wrong, I’m sorry”? Might you worry less about what others thought of you and ponder more about what was pleasing to the Lord? 

As families get ready for the new school year, thinking about schedules, soccer practice, dance lessons, work, and meals, what must change? Husbands and wives, what do you need to do so that your next anniversary is better than the last?

In view of the primary elections coming on August 23, what is the long view that our county and state need so that all flourish? How can you make a difference today that will be your legacy at the end of your days?

Vacation is a time for perspective. Invite the Lord along on your vacation. Spend some time with him. Ask him to show you what really matters. 

In Christ,

Father David