Christmas and Refugees

 


Now after [the Magi] had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 
“Get up, take the child and his mother, 
and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; 
for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  
 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, 
and went to Egypt,  and remained there until the death of Herod. 
This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, 
“Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

 The Escape to Egypt Matthew 2:13-15  (NRSV)

Yesterday European leaders from the The World Council of Churches issued what is titled a Christmas Statement concerning refugees.  Many countries of Europe and other places around the planet are hardening their borders to migrants and refugees. In the United States desperate and vulnerable people are arrested as though they are dangerous criminals. Children are separated from parents and families are tear-gassed at the border. Here is a portion of the statement which reminds us that Jesus was a refugee. I encourage you to read it:

In the spirit of Christmas, we ask you to work and pray for a welcoming and inclusive community in Europe. 

As Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, they wait in hope and anticipation, remembering Isaiah’s prophecy: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light”. (Isaiah 9.2)

We call on the nations and the people of Europe, on the political leaders and on our Churches: Don’t allow us to become indifferent to the suffering of others.

We call on the nations and the people of Europe, on the political leaders and on our Churches: Don’t allow us to become indifferent to the suffering of others.

Let us rather cherish the dignity of those who need our help and recognise that welcoming the stranger is part of our Christian and European heritage.

May we be courageous and confident in the Son of God, the Light of the World, whose birth we celebrate.

Christ will show us the way for a future life together.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees states: “No one becomes a refugee by choice; but the rest of us can have a choice about how we help.” As Christians we are guided by biblical teaching and our following of Christ. In this season of preparation for Christmas we are reminded of our responsibility, along with God’s promise of light and life for this world.

Jesus became human: Christmas is the celebration of Jesus incarnate. For Christians the Incarnation is an expression of God’s unlimited love for humanity, the babe born in a manger was to be good news of joy for all people (Luke 2.10). Just as every person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1.27), so Jesus becoming human affirms the dignity of all people. No individual or group of people are ‘problems’ to be dealt with but they are deserving of dignity as people loved by God. We all share a common humanity devoid of distinction between strangers and inhabitants.

Jesus the refugee: He took refuge in Egypt as a child when Mary and Joseph fled Herod’s threat to kill him. Jesus also experienced life under Roman occupation so knew measures that deprived people of their freedom and trampled upon their dignity. Jesus is born homeless and experiences tyranny and suffering. He identifies with the refugee and the oppressed and calls on us to similarly identify compassionately with the vulnerable.

Jesus the stranger: Jesus tells us that our response to the stranger is a response to Jesus himself (Matthew 25.40). When recognising Christ in the stranger’s guise we begin to encounter the divine in the other. Not only do we then move from a situation of ‘us’ and ‘them’ to a new relationship of ‘we’, there is blessing in the encounter and we become human together.