I think I’ve covered the major bases of our trip to the Bible lands, except perhaps for the last day of shopping in the Old City, but I don’t need to bore you with that. Let’s just say that my wife and I bought ten or eleven different things at an equal number of places in the Old City. Each purchase involved some bargaining. We both got better at it as the day went on. A good time was had by all.

A final reflection on something that really sunk in on this trip and I never put it together before. The Sea of Galilee is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) around, so it is not very large when compared with Lake Michigan or the Caspian Sea. The northwestern shore in the time of Jesus was largely Jewish, with towns like Capernaum (Kapher Nahum or village of Nahum I found out), Ginnosar and Migdol forming the core of Jesus’ home base. The gospels tell us that Jesus repeatedly sought refuge from the crowds by taking a boat across to the northeastern side of the lake, which was less densely populated and was more mixed ethnically. But the people from His home base area were quick to follow in boats or along the shore and a crowd was often waiting for him on the other side. So much for the chance to "chill" (my young adult children use that word a lot to describe taking it easy, taking a break, time out or time off with your favorite people or yourself).

But there were at least two occasions when Jesus got really proactive about vacation. On one occasion He marched his disciples all the way up to the border region of Tel Dan and Banias (Caesarea Philippi– not to be confused with Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea). Today these areas lie at the intersection of Lebanon, the Golan Heights and pre-1967 Israel. They are a good forty to fifty miles (70 kilometers) from Capernaum, which would have been two to four days walk each way. In Jesus’ day this region was populated by pagans and you can see strong evidence of pagan presence and worship at modern-day Banias (in the Golan Heights that belonged to Syria up until 1967).

The other occasion was when Jesus went over the mountains to the coastal regions of modern-day Lebanon, where the cities of Tyre and Sidon still continue. I visited that area last year. In Jesus’ day that region was also fairly devoid of Jewish influence. That trip would have been at least as far as the first, but much more strenuous, perhaps three to five days each way. And remember, Jesus and His disciples were Sabbath-keepers, which means they had a divinely-ordained break every seven days. But Sabbath alone is not enough (pity those workaholics who don’t even do Sabbath!). Body, mind and soul need longer periods of refreshment from time to time.

While the Bible doesn’t make this a theme in the gospels (aside from perhaps the comment of Jesus to His disciples: "Come apart and rest awhile"), the pattern of Jesus’ ministry illustrates the importance of time off. Some feel that the sum of religion is to be a constant bustle of activity. Constant performance convinces us that we are pious and important. But even in a life wholly devoted to the good of others (like Jesus’ life) there is a need to turn aside from constant activity and contact with human need. There is a need to take a break, to do something else for a while, in other words, to chill. This imperative is so important that Jesus twice in the last year of His ministry took major detours in order to completely shake off the constant pursuit of those benefitting from His ministry. He was willing to travel a whole week every so often, just to have some time and space for refreshment, to recharge the physical, mental, spiritual and emotional batteries. In a workaholic world, this example is very important for us.