Monks for Peace

Word From Wiese

December 31, 2025

What would it take for you to walk over 2200 miles?

As many of you Coweta and Fayette County residents are aware, the answer for a small band of Buddhist monks is the invitation to peace. From your texts and Facebook posts, I know that many of you lined the streets this past Sunday night and Monday morning to greet the monks as they passed through our neighborhoods, including directly in front of Christ Our Shepherd, on their 120-day journey from Texas to our nation’s capital. COS members Laura and John Musil report that their neighborhood, which hosted the monk’s Sunday overnight and greeting time, was shut down because the crowds were so large.

You can check out their Facebook page to read the monk’s purpose statements and good wishes. https://www.facebook.com/walkforpeaceusa

To say they’ve been a sensation is an understatement. What is it about their journey that is striking such a chord? What is it about them that seems to have united PTC and Georgia so profoundly—maybe even more unifying than UGA winning back-to-back national championships? What would you say?

With Epiphany Sunday just a few days away, let me have a little fun comparing them to the magi, those other travelers from afar who inspire reflection and hope:

Both the magi and monks grab our attention because of their commitment. If one is willing to travel for months and across states/countries for a special purpose, we want to know more.
Both the magi and monks possess backgrounds and maybe even theologies of which we’re not very certain. But nevertheless, it feels like God is pulling us together for something for which we both hunger. It feels wonderful to sense common ground regardless of denominations, nationalities, or backgrounds.
Both the magi and monks sense that current societal structures and leaders leave us wanting. The hope of God’s peace compels us to start moving. God’s new way of peace is worth pursuing!
Both the magi and monks point to danger that damages. The monks warn of negative voices inside of ourselves as well as out in society that pull us away from wholeness. Like us, they’ve endured constant news reports of countries at war and political leaders trashing each other. It’s been soul-crushing this last year. We don’t know the magi’s particulars, but they ponied up for the star’s nudging to see the Prince of Peace and a better way.
Both the magi and monks connect us to a holy past. The visit of the magi fulfills prophecy. The monks included the very pathway of Martin Luther King’s prophetic march from Birmingham to Montgomery. Whether traversing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Jordan River, or the little bridge crossing Lake Peachtree, the quest for peace and justice requires us to ford streams and cross boundaries.
Both the magi and monks walk to seats of political power. Just like Herod never veered course after the magi’s Jerusalem visit, the monks’ visit to Washington D.C. probably won’t yield significant fruit in terms of policy implications. Yet the trip, testimony, and effort shines as an immeasurable blessing of impact on the course of human history and lives. Politicians don’t take note, but the people who need it do.
Both the magi and monks offer encouraging gifts. How touched Mary and Joseph must have been to receive the magi’s gold, frankincense, and myrrh, yes—but even more so, the good wishes via the very presence of these visitors indicating that Jesus would be a force to unify all people. And how encouraging the “out of the box” visit of these traveling monks has been to people needing a call to peace in simple action.

At Christmas, we Christians celebrate the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “For to us a child is born… and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace“. (Isaiah 9:6).

In Luke 2:13-14, we’re told a multitude of angels declared to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests!” We’re offered the ultimate peace of God’s grace through Jesus’ cross and resurrection which inspires us to love our neighbors as we love God.

Just like those first magi probably appeared pretty “different” as they came walking into Bethlehem to celebrate God’s ultimate peace in Christ’s coming, I’m thankful that God sent us some Buddhist monks from Texas to shake us up a bit, to think afresh about the unity God’s oxygenating peace brings…to all people.

If you have some ideas or reflections, shoot me a “reply” to this email. I’d love to hear your take.

Hungry for peace and peace-makers with you,

Pastor Fritz

Reflection Questions

What first captured your attention about the monks’ journey—its length, its simplicity, its purpose, or its timing? What might that reveal about your own longing right now?
Where do you sense God inviting you to “move” this season—not necessarily across miles, but toward reconciliation, courage, or deeper faithfulness?
The magi and the monks both crossed boundaries of culture, power, and expectation. What boundaries might God be calling you to cross in order to participate more fully in God’s peace?

Let us pray:

Prince of Peace, you are the giver of peace that the world cannot manufacture and cannot take away. In every age, you stir hearts to move, sometimes across deserts, sometimes across borders, sometimes across the street, in search of hope, justice, and wholeness. We thank you for the magi who followed a star, trusting that your light would lead them to life. We thank you for modern-day witnesses whose simple acts—step after step—remind us that peace is not only passive, but also practiced. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Note: thanks to Lauren Burk who shared her photography on FB.