The first Sunday of Advent is often a shock. Is it time? Already? Sure, the world has been giving Christmas hints for months now, but it still seems to surprise us every year. Perhaps it’s because we don’t start with the Christmas story. Instead, we start with a prophetic call to look at the world we inhabit. How close are we to the coming “on earth as it is in heaven” for which we pray regularly? Advent is about the hope found in longing for home – the kind of home that will transform the world. This Sunday of Hope is the reminder that it’s time to go home.