In 2 Kings, we hear the story of a foreigner, Namaan, who pilgrimages to Isreal in search of healing and is told by the prophet Elisha to wash in the Jordan. Namaan's plunge in the waters of the Jordan cure him, and he is so moved by what he experienced in those waters that he not only declares faith in the God of Isreal, but brings back dirt from the land of Israel so that he might stand on them when he prays. The Bible is full of stories like this – stories of particular places being the site of conversion and people using those places as holy reminders. In our protestant Christian tradition, we tend to be suspicious of things like pilgrimages and holy sites…after all, in the reign of Christ are all places holy? While that’s true, what might be lost for us spiritually if we don’t hold special places in our communities or our hearts for lands, waters, and locations that are soaked with memories and God’s promise to us? How might we recover a theology of holy lands and pilgrimage in a way that roots us in the particular sites of God’s interaction with us while not elevating certain sites to a “magical” or exclusively holy state? What are holy lands for you? Maybe it’s a hometown, a favorite walking trail, or even a favorite vacation spot? What would it mean for you to honor those places as holy lands and your journey there as a pilgrimage back to places where God revealed God’s love and power to you?
