From the Latin word peregrinus for 'foreigner,' 'pilgim' (or 'peregrine')* came into English to refer to a wanderer, a wayfarer, and eventually to a person who travels (in the olden days) a long distance to visit so-called holy places.
Either nouns are used only infrequently in English translations, KJV 6x, NKJ 9x, NRS 1x, NIV 3x, in contexts where 'sojourn' or 'sojourner' is often used.
The concept of pilgrimage as the deliberate visit to a place/s of veneration or as an act of fulfilling a religious obligation was, of course, part and parcel of life in ancient Israel, when three times a year the Israelites journeyed to Jerusalem for the great feasts (Deut 16:16). Post-Jesus, however, the concept has become obselete; the so-called 'Great Commandment' is to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt 28:19).
That said, so-called 'pilgrimages' to Jerusalem, filled with expectations of spiritual blessings for doing so, is a superstition found among many Christians, whether Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Protestant. Thousands of Christians, esp. North American ones, e.g., descent on Israel every October for the Jewish feasts of Tabernacle with a fervency often exceeding those of the Jews. For the Christian, however, God's presence is found not in Jerusalem (though it may) for Jesus taught clearly that "where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matt 18:20). Blessing is found not in any particular place/s but in obedience and righteousness. It is perfectly understandable that Jews should express their longings with the greeting, "Next year in Jerusalem!" For Christians, our longing is quite another; in Christ it will always be "Next year in the New Jerusalem!" So if we never get to visit Jerusalem, it really is no loss at all.
The idea of the Christian life being merely a pilgrimage, i.e., a sojourn, a temporary earthly and transcient journey, however, is a major motif in Christian spirituality. This is powerfully, if not always theologically biblical, depicted in John Bunyan's rightly popular Pilgrim's Progress, as well as in such choruses as "This world is not my home, I am just passing through." While it is true that our life on earth is just a passing through, it is important that, if we do preach about it, we also add an equal measure of emphasis on the divine expectation that we should make a marked difference to those we meet and on what we leave behind. The mentality that "we are saved and going to heaven, nothing else matters" is also alien to the biblical mindset.
* The falcon-like birds are called peregrines because kept birds are never taken from their nests—the nests are too inaccessible—but only caught in flight.
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