It has been a very long time since I have taken a planned Sunday off. Now, there have been a couple of Sundays I was not at St. Luke’s, but I was still preaching, like at our vestry and parish retreats at Shrine Mont. This also does not mean that I haven’t taken vacations. I was just on vacation a couple of weeks ago, but worked things out so I didn’t have to miss a Sunday. I am not saying this to sounds like a poor, suffering, and over-worked priest. On the contrary, this week I keep finding my mind wandering to the lectionary to see what the lessons are for this Sunday and next, and then I realize that I won’t be preaching the next TWO Sundays!!! Your former associate priest, Rev. Grace Pratt will be filling in for me both Sundays at all three services, and honestly, I am jealous because she has a great narrative arch in the Gospels about Jesus constantly trying to take a break, but people keep pestering him, so he performs miracles. If you are Jesus, then it is truly hard to take a break, but like most everyone else, I just sometimes convince myself I am that important. This Saturday, my entire family will be flying to Northwest Georgia to go to my favorite place in the world, which is a little-known lake in the middle of the nowhere and surrounded by mountains, and I am currently thinking of little else.