The practice of physical pilgrimage was all but rejected by Protestant Reformers such as Martin Luther in the 16th century, who considered the discipline to be just as corrupt as the rest of the Catholic church (Foster, 194). Many people in medieval times used pilgrimage as an excuse to escape their responsibilities at home and as a way to indulge their curiosity. Many flocked to shrines and relics superstitiously, believing that being in the presence of these objects and touching them would actually provide some degree of sanctification for the soul. In the meantime, other were making horrendous profits from service and entrance fees and the sale of bogus relics. Pilgrimage was a big business; it was the original tourism. The big difference between this and our modern tourism, however, was that people were claiming that the practice would actually help the average person obtain a degree of salvation. Martin Luther and other Reformers believed that this claim was a perversion of Scripture. Ephesians 2:8 declares that it is only by faith that we can be saved and justified. Thus, when it came time to separate from the Catholic church, like so many other Catholic sacraments and disciplines the practice of pilgrimage was rejected and internalized.
After so many years of diminished presence, physical pilgrimage is becoming popular again. I first became aware of this reality last summer, while listening to a temporary employee at work tell about her adventures in Spain. While in Spain, she and her friend had hitch-hiked to many places, and somehow found themselves, for a short period of time, walking along the road to Santiago de Compostela. It was a profound experience for her. She had been able to walk and talk with a number of pilgrims who were taking the pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James. Although she was not a Christian, their experiences moved her and she had a desire to go walk that road again.
My reading has shown the same trend: more and more people are getting interested in pilgrimage, not just as a novel once-in-a-lifetime experience, but as an integral component to their own spiritual development. Kevin A. Codd reflects on his own journey to Santiago de Compostela. Daniel Taylor speaks of his pilgrimage experiences on the Celtic Islands. Christian George tells stories about the number of different places he visited around the States and Europe that became an experience of pilgrimage for him. Arthur Paul Boers speaks of the growing popularity of pilgrimage, and how many scholars that modern European Christianity that it will be pilgrimage that reinvents and revitalizes European Christianity (22). More and more people, including those within my own denominational tradition, are beginning to rediscover this ancient discipline. And, as they explore this practice, they are discovering how it is capable of transforming them. Boers explains:
"This interest is part of a wider movement of reclaiming practices that cultivate the habits of heart, mind and body that form faithful Christians, build Christian character and enrich church life. Concretely physical, the ancient practice of pilgrimage pushes beyond the usual crop of spiritual disciplines that are only for the introverted, contemplative or intuitive." (22)Up until this point in this blog, I have offered an introduction to the concept of pilgrimage as a journey in search of the transcendent, I have compared it to tourism, and I have sketched out how it functions as a spiritual discipline within our inward journey. For the next couple of entries I hope to explore a bit more about where pilgrimage appears in the Bible. As Christians we seek out Biblical examples so we have some sort of guide in how to fashion our lives. The practice of pilgrimage was rejected by the Reformers, but as we will see, physical pilgrimage actually has a very pronounced and prominent place within Scripture. Reading some of these stories we might be able to glean some insight, not only into how pilgrimage was done then, but also in how the practice should be approached today.
Danaya,
ReplyDeleteWe talked about this briefly yesterday, but my thoughts are more fully formed now. Although many evangelicals are unfamiliar with the history, tradition, and purposes of pilgrimage, they certainly do like their short-term missions trips. It's almost become a required part of attending an evangelical church to go do a short-term missions trip to a third-world nation at some point, normally in youth group. In fact, I would argue it's become one of the markers used to evaluate one's spiritual journey:
Conversion experience? Check
Baptism? Check
Faithful attendance at a small group? Check
Gone on a missions trip? Check
Listening to people tell stories of their trips and experiences, the language is almost reminiscent of a medieval pilgrimage: "Those people taught me more about God than I taught them", "I was so stretched in faith", "I really learned to lean on God during those two weeks", and so on.
So, I guess the question I propose is: are short-term mission trips now the evangelical equivalent of pilgrimage?
That's a lot of good food for thought, Darcy. You are probably right: the idea of a sacred journey was not rejected completely, it just changed forms. And yet, there were many aspects about the traditional sacred journeys that were rejected: such as the veneration of the saints and the sanctity of relics. Whereas the concept of pilgrimage used to be limited in form in ages past, now the term is used to describe any sort of journey. Amanda found a new one the other day in a book shop: The Pilgrimage of Stephen Harper's political career.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of pilgrimage has changed forms over the years since the Reformation, and this is why I am working on this thesis project. I want to find out what pilgrimage actually has to offer a modern person like myself. What do we need to keep from the ages past that add meaning and value to pilgrimage in the present? Pilgrimage can be done many ways, and while there is no right formula to the practice, there are dimensions that perhaps need to be rediscovered and further explored.
I like your question, Darcy!
ReplyDeleteTravelling with the purpose of encountering God, leaving behind all the structure and supports of home...
It's missing the aspect of silence and solitude, though - mission trips often increase the normally frantic pace of life. And they add (and make primary) the concept of going to serve others that might otherwise be absent from pilgrimages... Do you think a pilgrimage without that aspect would be recognized as valuable by today's evangelical church?
"Pilgrimage... was the original tourism." Interesting thought! It's strange to realize how many ordinary secular activities have their origins in Christian devotion.
Michelle,
ReplyDeleteMy belief is short-term missions trips feed into evangelicalism's strongly activist faith, which is one of Bebbington's marks of evangelicalism. Thus, for many evangelicals a trip overseas is only worthwhile if some kind of missions element is included (unless it's a trip to Israel).
Now, I'm certainly against missions work, or even short-term missions trips. I think they can be very important in a person's spiritual formation, especially in one's teenage years. But, the pressing need for evangelicals to always be "doing something" means not a lot of time for reflection, reading, and contemplation. And those that are more introspective by nature can feel out of place.