What started as an innocent offhand remark will (Lord willing) turn into an adventure in less than a week.
It was almost a year ago as I was leading a Bible study that I made the comment, "One of my goals is to travel to the Holy Land." As the words came out of my mouth, the thought in my head was, "If I don't plan to do it, it will never happen."
That thought led me to dig through a stack of mail on my desk. (This is mail that I pile up in anticipation of the day when the stack threatens to topple over. At that point, the stack is sorted through and most of it goes into a recycle bin. Not the most efficient filing system, but this time it paid off.) My excavation unearthed a Holy Land tour brochure that I had set aside because I didn't think that the trip was feasible.
It turns out I was wrong. So I am now packing my bags for a week-long visit to the places where Jesus was born and raised, preached and healed, suffered and died, and rose from the dead.
What I am calling a tour others might call a pilgrimage. In fact, there are some religions that require their followers to make pilgrimages to their holy places. Prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., Jews would make three festival pilgrimages to Jerusalem each year. Muslims who have the physical and financial ability are expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca once during their lifetime. Likewise, adherents of the Baha'i faith, Buddhism, and Hinduism are encouraged or even expected to make pilgrimages to various holy places.
Christianity, on the other hand, does not require its followers to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Rome, or other places of historic significance for the Christian faith. Although many Christians are eager to take such trips, there is no Biblical command or obligation to do so.
Why is that? Why does Christianity not emphasize a spiritual journey to the places where Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles walked, worked, and went to their deaths?
Well, first of all, it's not because the Christian faith has any doubts about its own history. The rise of Christianity in the early centuries is clearly documented not only in the New Testament but also in the historical accounts of that period. Although historical records are not able to answer every question that we would like to ask, both Biblical and non-Biblical sources give ample and accurate testimony to the lives of Christ and His apostles.
Maybe the answer lies in that the Christian faith is not focused on a place, but on a person, Jesus Christ. Moreover, the Christian faith teaches that although Jesus lived and died in specific geographic locations, we don't need to travel to those places to find. In fact, we can't find Him in the Holy Land. Although we can visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which many believe to be at or near the location of Christ's crucifixion and burial, we won't find the remains of Jesus there. There is no body to view, no bones to venerate.
I anticipate that my trip to the Holy Land will enrich me in ways that right now I can't imagine. Seeing for myself the places that I read about in Scripture will deepen my understanding of God's Word. Worshiping Christ in historic settings will allow me to encounter Him in deep and profound ways. This journey holds much promise and excitement for me.
But even if I never were to visit the Holy Land, my faith would not be rendered incomplete or insufficient. That's because Christianity doesn't focus on a place, but rather on a person. And while seeing where Jesus lived long ago will be exciting, for me what is more important is to know that Jesus lives now and that He lives in me.