So, football isn’t coming home after all and as the English FA lick their wounds we can only stand back and acknowledge that Putin played a blinder. Russia 1, England 0. Doubtless there will be recriminations in extra time and the blame laid at someone else’s door. Of course, talk of smoke filled rooms, money passing hands and broken agreements don’t inspire confidence that contracts are open, fair and transparent. Life it seems is not always a level playing field – money is like power and can corrupt, as we know in this country only too well from the recent scandal of our MPs’ expenses.
This last year has raised questions about the culture of bonuses, the needs of poor and marginalised people and whether or not society has both the heart and capacity to be ‘big’. When we tinsel Christmas up and do nothing more we run the risk of missing the point – not that celebration is amiss and partying out of place but of failing to notice that the X factor has faded. Jesus was born in miserable surroundings, into a chaotic and corrupted society. But his life was stunningly different, abounding in love and concern for others. He wasn’t moulded by his surroundings but rather showed what life fashioned by God could be. And it is that same love which exposes what is wretched and grim which also holds us tightly and unwaveringly when we fall down. It gives us a new set of eyes that can see beyond ourselves to include the interests of others. It gives us a new heart which longs to make a difference. This Christmas let us own this gift-absolutely.
