Aug 06, 2023 English

Being a student or a teacher can be stressful: long hours of preparation for classes, strenuous research for reports and papers, nerve-wrecking exams, and so on. Yet, what is the best thing about being a teacher or student? Of course, it is the long summer vacation. I do miss being a student or a teacher in that sense. I was a student for twenty years. I was a high school teacher for a little while, and I gave lectures in various settings such as seminaries, universities, synagogues, mosques, Protestant churches etc. So, I understand this well. Through a couple of months away from school and ordinary routine, you get much-needed rest and recuperate from the toil and stress of work.
 
You heard this: “Life is short, play hard!” Playing is an indispensable part of being human, which the historian Johan Huizinga described as Homo Ludens, the playful human. Do we work to play, or do we play to work? Our work which utilizes our effort and creativity will further fulfill our potential as co-creators with GOD THE CREATOR. As God rests at the completion of work on the seventh day, the ultimate goal of our work is to enter into the Great Rest/Sabbath with God, which we may say ‘full communion with God’ or the beatific vision or simply ‘heaven’. Thus, during our earthly pilgrimage, we need to keep the balance between work and rest and learn to anticipate and long for the Great Sabbath.  

Whether overwork or ‘workaholism’ is an addiction or merely a habit, it can drive a wedge between family members. We can get so caught up in overwork that we lose perspective for a long time on other aspects of life. We need to stop and smell the roses, that is, to relax and to take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of life. To stop and smell the roses means intentionally slowing down, lifting your eyes, and paying attention. We also remember the cruel hoax posted on the gates of Nazi concentration camps: Arbeit macht frei.
 
Taking time to play and pray keeps us from having fatigues and illusions. Rejoicing in the Lord’s presence in God’s creation, we get refreshed and renewed with our energy, imagination, and creativity. As we are restored and recuperated, we can restart and re-create.

I hope you have a good and restful summer even though some of you may feel that you cannot afford to have any rest and recreation. Summer school is important. Summer jobs may be imperative. And catching up may also be necessary. Sometimes, however, we need to ‘drop out’ of the system and routine intentionally so as to search for new ways to live and to regain a new perspective and attitude. I know someone who began a new life and career after a serious leg injury, which gave an excuse to quit his coveted job at a prestigious company and prompted him to rest for six months and challenge a new field. Now, he runs an innovative new company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) and its essential semiconductor chips.

We need to give ourselves a chance to be recharged and get our creative juice flowing, while enjoying God’s presence. Or we may rot in a rut. No matter who we are and what we do, God equally and generously gives us 24 hours a day and seven days a week. After all, it is God’s time that we are endowed with in the first place. May we never forget this! Have a great summer because it is a training ground for the Great Sabbath!

Fr. Paul D. Lee