First Sunday in Advent – November 30, 2025
“36{Jesus said,} ‘But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.’” 
- Matthew 24:36-39 -
One thing I don’t like is to feel caught off-guard.  I like to feel well-prepared, especially if something big is about to happen.  But that isn’t always how life presents itself.  God warned Noah that he would bring a flood down on the earth, and God told Noah how to be well prepared for said event.  Back in September 2019, I was serving a two-point rural parish in Southeast South Dakota.  Earlier in the week, Sioux Falls had experience four tornadoes in one night.  Later that week, we were planning to celebrate Homecoming in our town.  But the weather report turned everyone’s plans upside down.  
One of the dams had broken up North of where we were located.  We’d had lots of rain waters, and we were receiving word that the Jim River, which runs close to the small country church I served, would soon be filled with raging water, and we should expect the worst for flooding.  Our time was limited, but people in the community came together to sandbag and help put up a levy to keep the flood waters from damaging the little stone church.  We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but we had just enough.  The waters came, but the church was safe.  The news of flood waters coming our way, however, caught us off-guard.  We had to drop whatever it was we were doing and heed the warnings of others.
Jesus tells us that we will not know the day or the hour of when he will return to us.  No one knows.  Not the angels.  Not even Jesus himself, the Son of God.  However, God has given us plenty of time to prepare for that unexpected moment when Jesus will come back again.  God has given us his gifts of grace, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life through the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.  We wait for Jesus’ imminent return, and as we do so, we witness the pain and heartache around us.  We bear witness to conflict, violence, disease, and death.  But we also bear witness to the promise that God is always with us.  He comes to us through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of Holy Communion.  Thanks be to God!  Come, Lord Jesus!

First Sunday in Advent – November 30, 2025
“36{Jesus said,} ‘But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.’” 
- Matthew 24:36-39 -
One thing I don’t like is to feel caught off-guard.  I like to feel well-prepared, especially if something big is about to happen.  But that isn’t always how life presents itself.  God warned Noah that he would bring a flood down on the earth, and God told Noah how to be well prepared for said event.  Back in September 2019, I was serving a two-point rural parish in Southeast South Dakota.  Earlier in the week, Sioux Falls had experience four tornadoes in one night.  Later that week, we were planning to celebrate Homecoming in our town.  But the weather report turned everyone’s plans upside down.  
One of the dams had broken up North of where we were located.  We’d had lots of rain waters, and we were receiving word that the Jim River, which runs close to the small country church I served, would soon be filled with raging water, and we should expect the worst for flooding.  Our time was limited, but people in the community came together to sandbag and help put up a levy to keep the flood waters from damaging the little stone church.  We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, but we had just enough.  The waters came, but the church was safe.  The news of flood waters coming our way, however, caught us off-guard.  We had to drop whatever it was we were doing and heed the warnings of others.
Jesus tells us that we will not know the day or the hour of when he will return to us.  No one knows.  Not the angels.  Not even Jesus himself, the Son of God.  However, God has given us plenty of time to prepare for that unexpected moment when Jesus will come back again.  God has given us his gifts of grace, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life through the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.  We wait for Jesus’ imminent return, and as we do so, we witness the pain and heartache around us.  We bear witness to conflict, violence, disease, and death.  But we also bear witness to the promise that God is always with us.  He comes to us through the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of Holy Communion.  Thanks be to God!  Come, Lord Jesus!