We really can’t get away. We can turn our cell phones off; we can unplug our computers; we can drive out to a secluded spot, but we can’t get away. Our own problems hitch along, that’s for sure. Our deepest anxieties sneak right into the back seat. We can loosen stress’ grip a little, but can’t completely shake it off. It’s true what they say: After a vacation, we need a vacation. Even if we could drive fast enough and far enough to get away from our own problems, the world’s problems would hide in our luggage. Even if we find the most relaxed beach with the bluest waves, the problems of poverty, racism and violence will still wait for us. They show remarkable patience when we think we have escaped from them. Even after the most fun vacation we could imagine, the nastiness and deception in our politics greets us at the airport. We can’t get away from sin, from evil, from selfishness, from people who might hurt us, from suffering, no matter where we go.

No retreat for Jesus

            Jesus couldn’t get away either. He tried to find time apart the best way he could. A boat gliding across the water was about as high-tech a mode of transportation available then. The other side of the lake should have put enough distance between him and the crowds. Surely, Jesus still cared deeply about the needs of the people, but he just couldn’t deal with that right then. The world’s cruelty had splashed all over him, and he needed to get away. We can almost feel with him the

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