Rapture unforeseen

In the long form of today’s second reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) we have St. Paul’s wondrous description of what many call “the Rapture.”

For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel
and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.

Thus we shall always be with the Lord.

What this passage describes is, of course, beyond thrilling. Indeed, it has been the subject of books, movies, posters, and even bumper stickers.

But if we are focused on “the Rapture,” we actually could miss it.

The important thing, rather, is to be ready for the Lord’s coming, whether at the moment of death or at the end of the world, as the Lord says in today’s Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13):

For you know neither the day nor the hour.

Like the wise virgins in the Gospel, we must be ready,

Indeed, in the chapter following today’s second reading, St. Paul himself advises the Thessalonians how to be ready:

So then let us not sleep, as others do,
but let us keep awake and be sober....
and put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
(1 Thessalonians 5:6,8b)

Our focus should not be on flying through the air to meet the Lord, but rather on living (by the grace of Christ) the faith, love, and hope we need to be ready.