Pilgrimages

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split (‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭51‬ NIV)
I had the great privilege of touring while here in Israel.  The first day we walked where Jesus lived his early life in Nazereth, Canna, Capurnuum, and His baptismal site on the Jordan river. Yesterday we went to Jerusalem and went from Mount of Olives through the Garden of Gethsemene, to the wailing wall and down the Via Dolorosa completing the final stages of the cross in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. It all happened so fast, I could scarcely take it in and pause to understand what the vast and most important sites in all of history had to say to me.
What I walked away with, especially as I departed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the incredibly overdone icons, chandeliers (I'm sure I'm not using the correct word for them), and other signs of homage cheapened my journey.  To me, the most fascinating thing was the rock into which they dropped the cross and the fact that excavation underneath revealed a large split - just as scripture says.  I admired the many people lighting candles and pausing to pray over mosaics, icons, and other symbols at each station, but then it struck me hard that we don't worship a God who is of this world. We don't need to make pilgrimages to a Holy site to draw near to God or demonstrate our love and devotion to him. God is.  He is not here or there or worse gone, He is.  Following His ascension, Jesus sent the promised Holy Spirit who dwells in each of us that make the simple, but life giving choice to accept Him.  The Holy sites were incredible.  I'm sorry, but the excessive Eastern Orthodox symbols repleat throughout were tacky to me and cheapened the experience.  I'm positive that these were placed by well-intentioned people that are 10x or more the Christian that I am, but one thing I do know is that God goes with me where I go.  I didn't have to come here to be near him. I can draw close to him anytime and anyplace, because He is.  I'm thankful that I worship a living God who has placed himself in me and isn't represented by a symbol or a place. He is represented by devoted followers who do what he said to do: love Him and obey Him by loving others. This is a mission we don't have to travel to the Holy Land to execute.
Today I pray that as I go about my work and other activities, I may be a true ambassador of the one true God who lives not in symbology in Jerusalem, but truly lives and breathes in the lives of today's disciples.  May I not dishonor that responsibility.