Christmas is all over, or is it?

It certainly feels as though it is. The presents that we spent so much money on, so much time choosing and wrapping are just a memory now. All the carefully planned menus, the time spent deciding when we were going to the supermarket, bracing the queues, the food that we spent more money on than normal is either eaten or ready to be thrown away we really didnt need that brandy butter and luxury bread sauce!

The media and the shops in the high street all attempt to give us glimpses of the perfect Christmas. Im sure you are all familiar with what I mean the adverts with the impeccably turned out family, the calm unflustered cook and the New Year party where there is no frazzled host or hostess. The perfectly clean and tidy house straight from the pages of a magazine, where all the crockery is perfectly coordinated to match the cutlery, the table decorations, the curtains and even the paint on the walls.

Even the most cynical among us are led to believe that just maybe it is possible to have the perfect Christmas celebration in our homes. We are encouraged into thinking that whatever our circumstances we may still be able to achieve this impossibly perfect picture of Christmas.

But it never happens - does it?

Im not saying that some of us havent been lucky enough to enjoy family celebrations over Christmas, but I doubt that we have re-produced the TV adverts or the magazine pictures in our economic climate this will only be financially possible for very few people but beyond that, we live in the real world, not in the pages of a magazine.

And that feeling of unfulfilled expectation often means that at this point, it can all feel a bit flat.

2011 is here and, quite frankly, it feels pretty much like 2010.

The holidays are all but over and the prospect of January and February can be quite depressing Im sure Im not alone in thinking these are the 2 longest, darkest, dreariest months of the year. We are facing the reality of our daily routine again, everything gets back to normal, except now there is no big event to look forward to, nothing to focus on, nothing to celebrate.

More and more as a Society we almost need an event to focus on, we need something on which to build our expectations of the perfect celebration. We cling to focal events in our family lives to hang these expectations on.

For example, the expectation when someone is pregnant is huge, everything and everyone seems to focus on the birth. The health professionals and endless manuals tell expectant parents what will happen from conception until birth, often in the most intimate of detail, often complete with colour pictures! Friends and family all wait in anticipation of the big event, the birth.

But in my experience I have found that the birth of a child is only a nano second in the grand scheme of things.

Every birth is an incredible, amazing and awe-inspiring event and whilst it is certainly life changing, it is not THE event in either the parents or the childs life. It IS the point where a new human enters the world but that is not the end of it, its not all over, the adventure is only just beginning.

The expectations of Jesus birth by Mary, Joseph and those around them may or may not have been met. But the birth was not THE event it was the beginning, the beginning of the Good News of God incarnate, God in human form, the Word made flesh.

So here we are 2^nd January 2011, the Christmas holidays are all but over and there is no big event to look forward to, nothing to focus on, nothing to celebrate.

This is exactly when we need to think again. Why? Because John tells us that we who have received him, who believe in his name, have been given the power to become the children of God, to be born of God.

Nothing to look forward to? There is everything to look forward to.

The Word is made flesh and his Good News has begun, Johns gospel goes on to tell us that Jesus ministers to those on the edges of Society, the sick, the dying, the prostitutes, the outcasts, showing them all the unconditional love of God. An earthly ministry that eventually ends in his defeat of death and glorious resurrection there is everything to look forward to.

Nothing to focus on, there is everything to focus on. Jesus ascended to heaven to be at Gods right hand but his ministry continues. It continues through us because to all that receive him he gave power to become children of God. We may not be lucky enough to physically encounter Jesus, to be able to talk to him face to face or to physically touch him but we do encounter God everyday.

Everyday we are surrounded by Christ. In every person we meet in our daily lives, as we go about our daily routine, we meet Christ; As you pass the peace this morning look into the eyes of the person whose hand you are shaking, you are seeing Christ in them just as they will be seeing Christ in you.

In the words of St Teresa Christ has no body on earth but ours. We need to use this knowledge to give us courage to begin our journey as children of God anew in 2011, to sustain us and strengthen us as we continue Jesus ministry right here, right now, as we all minister to the people on the fringes of our Society here in Kettering as well as in the wider world. There is everything to focus on.

Nothing to celebrate, there is everything to celebrate.

We need to rethink our definition of celebration. Celebrations do not need to be of the picture perfect variety shown on television and in magazines. Celebrating shouldnt be restricted to the big life event gatherings or Christmas;

Celebrations can and should also be humble everyday thanksgivings for the wonder of Gods creation; thanksgiving for Gods love that we see and experience in the acts of random kindness that mean so much more to us that than having a replica of the perfect home we see in magazines. Above all we should be celebrating that we have been given the power to become children of God. There is everything to celebrate.

As we reflect on the Christmas message and look forward to 2011 let us rejoice and celebrate that we who believe in him, we who have received him have been given the power to become children of God. Lets focus on and look forward to spreading the Good News that we have seen Christs glorious message of salvation.

The EVENT may be over but the adventure has only just begun. Amen