Advent is here, it’s a whole new year!

Today’s Gospel is from Matthew, Chapter 24.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood,they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away."

The First Sunday of Advent begins a whole new year for the church. Think of it as a brand new day. You’re happily dozing in bed, the sun is rising, the light is creeping in through the window, and suddenly God charges into your room, rips back the covers and yells “WAKE UP!!!” right in your ear.

In the days of Noah, nobody was worried about anything. People thought life was good, the same as it always was and always would be.

But they were wrong. The entire world was about to be torn apart.

Living our lives from day to day, it can get easy to take things for granted. Sam Winchester’s life was going smoothly according to his very conventional plan: college, law school, marriage, partnership. It took his brother Dean showing up in his apartment that first night to remind him that no matter how “safe” life might look, there are really are bad things waiting for us in the dark. Things like temptations and anger and envy. And we need to be ready to face them.

We have four weeks of Advent to prepare for Christmas. Every Advent I promise myself, I’m going to do it right this year. So far I don’t think I ever have. But like I said, Advent is time for fresh starts, no matter how many times we may have screwed things up in the past.

Advent means we all get the chance to give holiness another shot, no matter who long that shot may look from here.