It was all so much simpler in Jesus’ time. When he needed to get away, to take a break from the crowds, he took to a boat on the lake or walked into the desert. He looked for some quiet time. Something anyone could do. Now it’s a much bigger deal.
A friend of mine has just got back from taking his family to Barbados. Two former teacher colleagues are keen on cruises. I have just read about a new cruise ship, due to launch in 2024, which is five times the size of the Titanic. The planes in and out of Manchester Airport seem to be as busy as they ever were.
Livelihoods worldwide depend on our urge to take a holiday. Barbados relies heavily on tourism. The CEO of Heathrow Airport said this week that to run the airport, a total of 25,000 people had been employed since the Covid epidemic. The Greek islands still want tourists to visit in spite of the heat and the wildfires. Tourism and the effects of global warming side by side.
Even with hard economic times, such is the desire to “get away”, that, according to a report in the i newspaper last weekend, “Tens of thousands more children have been missing lessons because parents are opting for cheaper term-time holidays as the cost of living crisis bites.” It’s cheaper to pay the fines!
That’s a step up from those one in 20 adults – reported in the same paper – who, over the past fortnight had to take a different kind of break, because they ran out of food and were unable to to pay for more.
Chris Dawson