Looking into the lectionary
24th Sunday after Pentecost
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
November 8, 2026
We had followed their progress for weeks. Each evening the next day’s route and stops would be posted online. Each day they drew closer. As the number of followers on their Facebook pages grew, so did the anticipation. About a week ahead, it became clear that the Theravāda monks from the Hương Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas would indeed pass through our community on their Walk for Peace. What had merely been speculation, now became an urgent discussion: How would we welcome them?
The morning of the monks visit, a group of about 25 church members and friends gathered on the front steps of our congregation. It was cold and damp. Several returned to their cars to retrieve raincoats or umbrellas. After a brief prayer, we began our own walk to meet the guests who would pass through our community. The mile and a half we traveled was merely symbolic of partnership with their 2,300 mile walk across nine states as they journey from Texas to Washington, D.C. to promote mindfulness, loving-kindness and non-violence.
We reached a crossroad and waited for their arrival. Others from the church met us there, as did hundreds of others from the community. By the time we saw the flashing lights of the accompanying patrol cars both sides of the road were packed. Construction workers paused their work. Traffic stopped. The crowd strained to catch a first glimpse of the monks as they walked. Phones recorded video and pictures. A hush, a collective held breath, a sense of being a part of something bigger than ourselves filled the moment. We felt gratitude, excitement, respect and peace.
As I read the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians in this week’s text, I am reminded of that experience of being drawn out together with the whole community to welcome the monks on their Walk for Peace. That is not always the image that comes to mind with these verses. In many corners of the church, this text is read as a description of “the second coming” or “the rapture.” With great fanfare, the Lord will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. It can be read as an evacuation strategy as Jesus returns and carries the faithful away to a future in the clouds.
And yet, as NT Wright has described in his book Surprised by Hope, the image Paul is drawing upon with these words of encouragement is a parousia which referred to the visit of a person of high rank to a subject state, particularly when a king or emperor visits a colony or province. It would be most rude to allow such a guest to arrive at the gates of the city and have to knock in hopes of being let in. No, the proper way to greet such a VIP would be for the town’s residents to come out and escort their guest into the city with great pomp and circumstance. Thus, as opposed to a rapture theology which suggests Christians are miraculously removed from this wicked world, Wright reflects, “The point is that, having gone out to meet their returning Lord, [believers] will escort him royally into his domain, that is back to the place they have come from.”[1]
Paul shares this image and these words with the Thessalonians, not as an exact description or prediction of future events, but so they might not grieve as do those who have no hope. They are to encourage one another because no one will be left out of this resurrection experience. Not those who have died. Not those who are alive. When the Lord comes, we will all be gathered together to welcome him home.
The monks on their Walk for Peace were with our town for just a few hours as they traveled, ate, rested and taught. And yet their presence can still be felt. There is something transformative about gathering with strangers and friends to welcome a guest to your community. No matter our faith or tradition, may we all be engaged in actions that promote and bring peace in these unsettled times as we eagerly wait for the day of glad reunion with our Prince of Peace who will come to make all things new.
Questions for Reflection:
- What kind of hope does the church preach today?
- How would you describe the difference between grieving and grieving without hope?
- Have you previously thought about this text as a welcome home parade as opposed to a permanent evacuation into the clouds? If this is a new reading, how do you react?
- If Christ is coming to establish the kingdom of heaven on the earth, how should that impact the ways we steward and care for creation here and now?
- How will you use these words to encourage others this week?
[1] N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 133.
View the corresponding Order of Worship for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost.
Sign up for worship resources in your inbox every Monday.
