Christmas is over, what will you do with it now?

I called my boys last night. I asked them what they got for Christmas. They rattled off their list. They seemed really happy and grateful.

And with that, Christmas was over.

That's how it can feel today. After all the shopping and gift exchanges and cookie swaps and cooking and cleaning, today can feel like a hangover.

It can feel like Christmas is over.

But for Jesus, the one for whom this all took place, for him, today is let's get this party started. Because for Jesus, the Christmas party is never about celebration to begin with, it is about transformation.

Baby Jesus didn't come to the manger to be celebrated, he came to be a change agent. And change rarely shows up in the stable where the party takes place; it shows up where people take it once they leave the stable behind.

It's kind of like church. What's the point of showing up to sing with one another on Sunday if we're going to be screaming at each other on Monday?

The baby in a manger, the Christmas story, is the delivering of the gifts of kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and love towards others. But if we're too exhausted from giving our gifts to one another, who is left to deliver these gifts that Jesus gave to us?

If we are all drained in the Christmas after party, who is left to carry on the good tidings of great joy the angels announced were awaiting us in the stable?

Jesus didn't show up to invite us into Christmas. Jesus showed up to invite us to take Christmas into the world.

This morning is a great morning to ask, not what did I get for Christmas, but what is different about who I am BECAUSE OF Christmas. Today is a great day to ask, did Christmas leave me better at making the world a better place for all?

Because that's what Jesus came to make us better at, not throwing lavish Christmas parties.

I'm not here trying to poo poo on anyone's Christmas season or Christmas parties. If we've all been through this Christmas season and we're all feeling like today is the perfect day to start delivering those good tidings of joy to the world, well there's no party too big to celebrate that.

But if we're not feeling that way, if we don't have enough left in the tank for that, it's possible we went to the wrong party.

Or at least forgot what we were there to celebrate.

We have our gifts now. Jesus brought them. Kindness and compassion and forgiveness and love for all others. Jesus has challenged us to load up our sleighs and start delivering today.

Maybe Jesus does believe in Santa?

For Christmas is not over, at least not in Jesus' eyes. In his eyes, Christmas has only begun.