Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage. noun. A pilgrim's journey.

Well, that wasn't helpful.

Pilgrim. noun. A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons.

That's why a trip to the Holy Land, for Christians, Jews or Muslims, isn't a vacation, or a sightseeing trip. It's a pilgrimage, because we expect to not just encounter historical sites. We actually expect to encounter a sense of the presence of the divine in this place.

When I tell people I'm traveling overseas, I usually tell them I'm going to "Israel," which I am. But to those who have faith, I will say I'm going to "the Holy Land," because those with faith know that this land is more than a geopolitical entity. It's more than another country on the globe. This place is the place where Jesus walked. It's the place which was promised to Abraham and his seed. It was the land Joseph asked his bones to be taken back to from Egypt. It's the place where David ruled and Paul walked. This land we're headed to is holy, not because it's made up of anything other than dirt, rock (LOTS of rocks) and water, but because of what happened here and who walked here.

So we go not to vacation. We go not to sightsee. We will take lots of pictures and we will learn lots of historical facts. But more than that, every time I go, I anticipate the presence of God in these places. And I am never disappointed.

The first time I went to Israel (1995), I fell in love with the land, the people, the places—and I truly did leave a part of my heart in that place. Galilee is beautiful. Jerusalem is ancient. Judea is hot, dusty and dry. And all if it is pervaded with a sense of the holy. This trip is always a pilgrimage, a journey to holy places. And it will be so again this year.

So off we go. The day has arrived. We have our tickets and our suitcases. We're as ready as we can be. And yet, I can guarantee that God will surprise us in the places he shows up. Pray for us, and we'll pray for you as well!