This is becoming an annual event; snow falling and actually lying at some point during winter!  We used to say ‘it’s years since we’ve had proper snow.’  But now I’m getting familiar with the sensation of smiling and cheering through chattering teeth with other frozen parents, as we urge on animated children, careering down a little white bank in the park which has become their own temporary Cresta run.

However, I was one of the youngest a few weeks ago when Spandau Ballet reformed and came back to London.  Caroline and I sat (and eventually jumped up) with 15,000 forty-somethings (I could remember most of the words) who had seen this lot before, but at an age where one only had enough coins remaining to choose between a ride home on the bus, or a bag of chips for the long walk.  This time I recall being able to afford a Thai curry as well as the luxury of London Underground.

I got home from a great concert with the same thought in my head which is back again, now that 2010 has begun: ‘What have I done with my life in all those years?’  Many people’s strongest feeling at this point is regret – whether financial, social achievement-related.

Knowing Jesus Christ has meant that I can honestly say that in all my adult life, such emotions have never used up much time.  I have probably been average or below in every arena, yet a relationship with God, whose idea I was, and who loves me, puts regret into perspective.  Life has its tears, but every day I can work it through with him.  He probably even had a laugh the other day, as he watched over me pretending to have fun in the snow.

Senator Edward Kennedy died in August, aged 77.  He was one of the most respected politicians in the world.  Time Magazine charted the predominantly sad history of the Kennedy family: a family which moved from reality to legend because of the early deaths of three iconic brothers; but the legend has been reconnected to reality, because of the long, chequered life of the survivor.

It seems that one insight from Teddy Kennedy’s life, with its powerful political legacy, is that the best of us are vulnerable to ups and downs of our own making; whether escapism through drunkenness, sexual temptation, self-protection by dishonesty in degrees small or large.

Relying on our own integrity or depending on short-lived pleasures, gives nobody any peace from the need for lasting happiness.  Only Jesus, and knowing him personally, is the resting point for that deep quest of life... “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23, TNIV)

Two or three times a year I go to HMP Wormwood Scrubs to take part in The Alpha Course which runs there every term.  There on a grey Saturday afternoon, 30+ prisoners and 8 team members are easily housed in the Cathedral of Prison Chapels as it is known.  Excuses were made to my wife and children; my QPR chaplain’s jacket stayed at home, even though there was a home match.

There are many memorable elements to Alpha in the Scrubs.  There’s the sense of conviviality over lunch on the ‘The Holy Spirit’ element of the course.  This means that for this session alone, the prisoners enjoy the special privilege of being away from the wings for 6 hours.  There’s the spirit of sharing and serving each other.  There’s the free movement of convicted men in a very large space.  There’s the excellent conduct which means no requirement for prison staff, with whom Ray Elliott from St Paul’s Ealing and his Alpha team have built up a strong bond of trust over 10 years.  

There’s also the need for the men to let off steam, as every day, and this is done during the exuberant worship songs.  Richard’s western, laid-back, semi-professional guitar-leading meets the Caribbean, passionate, hopping-whooping, nearly-harmonious singing culture (most of the men are of West Indian origin) and the result is a godly musical party, featuring joy, thankfulness, relief and awe.

God bridges the race divide, the legal chasm and the residential disparity which could all get in the way.  The Bible knifes through any wayward ideas about Christ, and the Holy Spirit reminds us all that, whether convicted by the laws of the land or not, every man, woman and child stands on a level before the cross where the offer of forgiveness stands for anyone who chooses to take Jesus for real.

Susan Boyle of Britain’s Got Talent and MPs in general just have come under the most intense public scrutiny.  While Susan went to the Priory, MP’s offices were being checked on regularly for possible suicides.

When have individuals in the public eye had to bear more stress than this?  Dr David Kelly – government weapons expert who took his own life in 2003?  Stephen Fry, who went missing in 1995 (later found abroad), after reading press reviews of his one man show?  Margaret Thatcher, removed from office in 1990?

But everyone knows about pressure of some sort.  New and old choices of escapism, and the mere fantasy of them are a dominating force in our culture.  We usually admit that relationships are the most important spice of life, but we’re running away from them more than ever.

This morning I watched a download of a system being developed for XBox in which the character will recognise your speech, your movement, and even your emotions.  In return you have fun, friendship and care shown to you by this 3-D virtual human image.  Maybe this is some kind of point of no return for escapism from reality.

Jesus Christ is so relevant to the stressed individual in 2009.  Following him is not a futile attempt by some traditionalist movement to apply ancient morals, in an era where they don’t belong.  Jesus said that not only is he the way, but that he is the truth and the life.  So he helps people face their particular sense of inadequacy or fear with the substance of his promise never to leave us.

God becomes a relationship reality when you ask the Holy Spirit to make Jesus your own personal Saviour from monotony, purposelessness or even despair.  The sin of the human condition is confronted and deleted, through forgiveness, when you become part of the story of Jesus.

Jade Goody will probably mean more to millions of people than Easter. Even if just for one year. But that’s the point: it will be just this year. Jade wasn’t just typical of 21st century fame; she encapsulated it. So desired, so addictive but so short-lived.

Many yearn for that glamour and popularity – sometimes notoriety – which was indeed hers. But perhaps harder to admit was the vulnerable ordinariness combined with outspoken, strong views made a lot of people feel represented, when she would make her over-documented television appearances – from Big Brother to Jonathan Ross. In short, large sections of Britain can identify with Jade.

Interestingly, the attraction of Jesus Christ for countless millions, is that they can identify with him. He grew up in humble circumstances and was shown to be vulnerable, yet he was far from ordinary. In relative youth, he was propelled into the public eye in a blaze of marvel and controversy. Was Jade identifying with him, when in her last weeks, she had her children baptised so that she and they could one day be, in her words, ‘together in Jesus’?

We will probably never know whether Jade had actually decided to follow Christ, but when people embark on such a journey, they discover that indentifying with him moves swiftly to the most reliable personal relationship ever encountered. This is extraordinary, but possible because Jesus was not only man, but is also God. The Easter story in three steps explains this: Jesus was executed for claiming that he was sent by, and was, God; he rose from the dead; to this day people experience new life when they put their trust in him and his words.

So, Easter may be seemingly stifled by the temporary sensation of celebrity, but it is influential beyond compare. In fact, by the statistical average, it will be the start of new life of tens of thousands of people worldwide, on whichever day you are reading this.