Leonard Sweet writes in this latest book So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church.
Any brief incursion into the history of Christian pilgrimages, especially in their heyday from around 1050 to 1550 and a recounting of what happened on the most popular pilgrimage routes (Holy Land, Rome, Santiago de Compostela, Canterbury) reveal five common characteristics:
- A deep desire for forgiveness of sins, absolution, or “papal indulgence.” There even arose “pilgrim passports” to be stamped at posts en route to prove one had made the “pilgrimage.”
- The expectation of healing was not uncommon. Pilgrims lived under the sign of “Say the Word!”: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” (Matt 8:8)
- Pilgrims collected sacred relics and souvenirs, which could be anything from mummified fingers, shells, rocks, “virgin’s milk,” anything.
- Pilgrims formed a community of fellow travelers, as was memorialized in Chancer’s Canterbury pilgrims. Social contacts and stories were prominent features of pilgrimages.
- A pilgrimage meant a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, a chance to get away, open one’s life to the unexpected. and see “the other side of the hill.” Danger was everywhere: Moorish pirates lay in wait; some pilgrims were sold into slavery; there was the ever present threat of robbery, murder, vagabonds. pickpockets, false guides., the danger of daggers, etc.
The essence of a theology of journey that incorporates all these features of a pilgrimage can be found in the thee Hs of the Emmaus Road story: hospitality, honesty, and home. (pages 75-76)
