Today I begin a 16 day pilgrimage in the Holy Land. I intend to share pictures with you along the way.
Its not a trip, nor vacation, and this ain't no 'business trip' for me. It's a pilgrimage.
Pilgrimage: Travel to a sacred place with expectation of meeting God and being changed in new ways, normally with companions. (that's my own definition - let's see what the real one is: "a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion" - dictionary.com ).
Psalm 84:5 "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."
Let me break down my definition of pilgrimage:
Travel - there is much to be said for leaving your routine, normal surroundings and everyday people to encounter much that is different, then returning to embrace the familiar with a more sane love on account of greater perspective.
Sacred place - what the Christian Celts called a 'thin place,' a location where the veil between the seen and unseen, the material and spiritual worlds is seemingly thinner than most places. Where many people over many years have sensed a touch of the numinous or transcendent is close at hand at any moment. This is often due to long-term connection between a particularly saintly person and that place (the reverse can be true for thin places of cursing rather than blessing). N.T. Wright refers to it as a sort of geographical memory of holiness within a location, a memory that somehow seems to be shareable between the inanimate and human beings. We Protestants have not typically been high on such ideas, but I'm a convert since my first pilgrimmage to Ireland 9 years ago.
Expectation of meeting God and being changed - at 'thin places' do we encounter the Living God more immanently because He is more accessible there, or is it that our expecations finally live up to what he actually offers at all times and all places for those who prepare themselves by walking in the Spirit and walking by faith and expectation, with our faces determinedly set as if on an extended journey with a glorious destination?
Normally with companions - while Pilgrimage can certainly be undertaken alone, its like the rest of the Way of Jesus - best when done together. Companion means 'those who break bread together.' Our group of 45 flew in to Tel Aviv at various times Sunday, and we all met for dinner this evening in Jerusalem, breaking bread to begin this hopeful journey. Half the group are Lake Forest Church people, the other half associated with Gordon-Conwell Seminary-Charlotte through the Bible Journey program for regional churches. We are being led by Dr. Tim Laniak, Dean of Gordon-Conwell Charlotte, and Dr. James Martin (see book in sidebar).
I do begin with the expectations I've stated above - I expect to encounter God in fresh, enlivening ways. And I do expect to be changed. Most practically, I hope for my teaching of the Bible to become more rich and informed and alive. Beyond that, we'll see what else the LORD has in store.
