Life and home — Sunday, milestones and pilgrimage · The essentials of Christianity

In a minute

Christian faith is lived not only in church but at home, at work and through the whole of life. Its rhythm is weekly (Sunday, the Lord's day), yearly (the Christian year) and lifelong: baptism near the beginning, then confirmation, marriage, and at the end a Christian funeral. Many Christians also make pilgrimages: journeys to holy places that become journeys of the heart.

There are no food laws binding all Christians and no single dress code; Jesus taught that what matters most comes from the heart. But many Christian homes have their own quiet customs: grace before meals, prayers at bedtime, a cross or icon on the wall, a Bible on the shelf, and an open door for guests.

What it is and how it's lived

Sunday: the Lord's day

From the very first years, Christians gathered on "the first day of the week" (Luke 24:1, WEBBE), the day of the resurrection. The book of Revelation calls it "the Lord's day" (Revelation 1:10, WEBBE). Sunday became the Christian day of worship and rest, echoing the Sabbath command to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8, WEBBE), though Christians keep it in their own way. Many go to church in the morning, then share a family meal. Jesus also taught that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27, WEBBE): rest is a gift, not a burden.

The milestones of life

Milestone	What happens	Notes across the churches
Birth and baptism	the child is welcomed into the Church with water, a candle and promises by parents and godparents; some churches offer a thanksgiving or dedication instead	believer's baptism comes later in Baptist and many Pentecostal churches
First Communion	a child receives Communion for the first time, often around seven or eight	a big celebration in Catholic families; Orthodox infants receive from baptism
Confirmation	a young person or adult affirms the faith of their baptism; a bishop lays on hands and prays for the Holy Spirit	Orthodox chrismation is given with baptism
Marriage	a man and woman make vows before God and the congregation, give rings and receive a blessing	Catholic and Orthodox churches see marriage as a sacrament; churches differ on remarriage after divorce and on same-sex marriage
Ordination or religious life	some are called to serve as deacons, priests or ministers, or as monks, nuns or friars	see the Church page
Illness	prayer, visits and, in many churches, anointing with oil	from James 5:14
Death and funeral	prayers at the deathbed, a funeral service of thanks and hope, burial or cremation	see the Forgiveness page

At a wedding, Christians often hear: "So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart." (Matthew 19:6, WEBBE).

At a baptism, parents bring their child remembering that Jesus said, "Allow the little children to come to me! Don't forbid them, for God's Kingdom belongs to such as these." (Mark 10:14, WEBBE).

Pilgrimage

Christian pilgrimage is not required, but it has a long and loved history. Pilgrims travel to walk where Jesus walked, to pray where saints lived, or simply to step away from ordinary life:

The Holy Land: Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the traditional sites of the crucifixion and the tomb.
Rome: the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Santiago de Compostela in Spain: the Camino, the Way of St James, walked by hundreds of thousands each year, with the scallop shell as its sign.
Lourdes in France and Fátima in Portugal: places of prayer associated with Mary, visited especially by the sick.
In Britain and Ireland: Canterbury, Walsingham in Norfolk ("England's Nazareth"), Iona, Lindisfarne (Holy Island), St Davids, and Lough Derg in Ireland.

Many pilgrims say the journey matters as much as the arrival: walking, praying, sharing food with strangers. "I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1–2, WEBBE), one of the Psalms of Ascent, the songs of pilgrims going up to Jerusalem.

Its inner meaning

Christians believe all of life can be offered to God, the kitchen as much as the cathedral. St Benedict's monks are remembered by the motto ora et labora, "pray and work" (later summary of the Rule, not a phrase in it). Every milestone is marked in church because Christians believe God is present in birth and love, illness and death, and the whole community walks alongside.

Pilgrimage is a picture of the whole Christian life: a journey home to God, travelling light, with companions. The letter to the Hebrews says the people of faith before them confessed "that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13, WEBBE).

Key texts

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet" (Revelation 1:10, WEBBE)

Greek (Revelation 1:10): ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ — en tē kyriakē hēmera, "on the Lord's day".

"Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:2, WEBBE)

"Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15, WEBBE)

"Let's consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is," (Hebrews 10:24–25, WEBBE)

From the Christian tradition

The Rule of St Benedict (6th century) tells monks to welcome every guest as Christ (paraphrased; Rule of St Benedict, chapter 53).
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) begins in April, when people long to go on pilgrimages, to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury (paraphrased; General Prologue).

Common misunderstandings, answered gently

"Christians aren't allowed to eat certain foods." Most Christians have no food laws, following the early Church's decision in Acts 15 and Jesus' teaching in Mark 7. Many do fast at certain times, especially Orthodox Christians, and many Catholics avoid meat on Fridays, at least in Lent.
"You have to be married in church to be married in God's eyes." Churches differ: some recognise civil marriages as true marriages; Catholic teaching asks Catholics to marry in church.
"Pilgrimage is about earning favour with God." Christians see pilgrimage as prayer with the feet: an act of devotion, not a payment.
"Christians can't be cremated." Most churches allow cremation; the Catholic Church has permitted it since 1963, asking that ashes be kept in a sacred place rather than scattered. Some Orthodox churches still prefer burial.

Across the churches

Catholic and Orthodox family life is shaped by the sacraments, saints' days and name days; many homes have an icon corner (Orthodox) or a small shrine. Protestant homes often centre on family prayers and Bible reading. Churches differ on whether marriage is a sacrament, on divorce and remarriage, on same-sex marriage and on ordaining women; each holds its view in its own words, and these remain live questions within and between churches.

Reflection

What are the "milestones" in your own life so far, and who walked alongside you at each one?

In the other traditions

Judaism: the Sabbath (Shabbat), from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall, is the weekly holy day of rest; Jewish life-cycle milestones include brit milah, bar and bat mitzvah, the wedding under the chuppah, and mourning by sitting shiva.
Islam: Friday (Jumu'ah) is the day of congregational prayer; the call to prayer is whispered to a newborn, marriage is a contract (nikah) blessed by God, and the Hajj to Makkah is a duty once in a lifetime for those able.

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