“Jesus The Refugee”
Introduction:
Washington Post article (Dec 24, 2015) - Infertility, divorce, shame, mass murder, astrologers, injustice and doubt: these are a few of the topics that appear in the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, but it is unlikely that they will feature in many of the sermons or pageants at our churches during this season of the year.
The 2015 refugee crisis in Syria…
• More than four million refugees of the Syrian Civil War.
• Most of them fled to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq and across Europe.
• Turkey has become the world's biggest refugee hosting country with 2.2 million Syrian refugees and had spent more than US$7.6 billion on direct assistance to refugees.
• To complicate matters…. Trafficking in fake Syrian passports is rampant.
•
• In Europe…The largest numbers of refugees were recorded in Germany with over 89,000 and Sweden with over 62,000 in early August.
• More than 100,000 refugees crossed the European Union's borders in July alone.
• Syrians formed the largest group of refugees to Europe.[178]
• In September… 8,000 refugees crossed into Europe on a daily basis.
• The oil-rich Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.) have refused to accept a significant number of Syrian refugees. ,most are simply extending the stay of those Syrians already in the country.
…and here we are celebrating Christmas in comfortable Canada. Excited about family…excited about Christmas dinner… its the best meal of the year…excited about presents… excited about having some time off work to rest and reflect. As believers, we know who to thank and we know the season is all because of Jesus coming into our world. He came to save us…he came to show us God’s relentless and persevering love.
But how can we celebrate when so many around the world – these refugees in particular languish in tents…travel on foot … and fight against chilly nights, hunger and thirst. Parents worry over the health of children and babies.
It doesn’t seem to fit the Christmas season – and I’m not here to steal away your joy and excitement over Christmas – but I will sincerely pose the question – how do we reconcile the joy of Christmas with the hardship and suffering of so many?
Christmas always seems to highlight the paradox and the contradiction of good and evil; peace and war; love and hate; respect for others and discrimination- even racism. Some terrorist decides to detonate a bomb or blow up an airplane. Someone we know is killed in a car accident or dies of a heart attack – and we remark …” sadness and tragedy invades even Christmas.”
I find it interesting that the Christmas story – as recorded in Matthew dives right into this paradox.
Read text: (Matthew 2:1-8 and 13-18)
No sooner has Jesus been born… and he is quickly visited by the “Magi” from the East – who present gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the tranquility of “silent night, holy night” is quickly broken by news of Herod’s intent to kill this baby. “O little town of Bethlehem – how restless you are…”
• Herod was born around 73 B.C., the son of a statesman.
• raised as a Jew.
• As a Roman official he knew all about politics – and assassinations
• During this time …Brutus and Cassius assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.
• And a year later, Herod’s father was assassinated .
• Herod avenged his father’s death – which led to more political unrest.
• The Roman senate appointed him king of Judea in 40 B.C., and he retook the city of Jerusalem three years later from enemies from the east – the Parthians
So you can see the world Herod operates in…
So Herod was no fool – he survived in the cruel world of politics with a ruthless instinct. Kill anyone who poses a threat to his power. Herod seemed to know more about the promise of the messiah than most. Having been raised in the Jewish tradition he likely connected the dots from Isaiah’s prophecy of a Messiah who would take “the government upon his shoulders.”
Herod wasn’t shy about killing off potential threats.
Herod captured and killed any in Jerusalem who criticized him, and thus turned Judea into a police state where dissenters and opponents could be executed. He had spies and informants all over, and he regularly tortured confessions out of suspects before executing them. Private meetings were banned. In response to one assassination attempt by ten Jerusalemites, he tortured to death the would-be assassins and their associates—and he had their families killed.
Herod was determined to kill any potential rival king. In 35 B.C., he had his brother-in-law Aristobulus drowned in a swimming pool “accident” because he had become popular with the people. Political conspiracies and fabricated rumors bred quickly in Herod’s court {and family}. He had ten wives and eight sons, and the question of who would succeed Herod caused incredible turmoil. … He {even} killed three of his sons, fearing they might assassinate him.
And so, the Magi are warned in a dream to not cooperate with Herod…and they get out of town quickly lest they become his next victims.
Meanwhile, Mary and Joseph are also warned in a dream of Herod’s agenda and quickly escape to Egypt. No time to “enjoy” motherhood… no time to take pictures and post them on Facebook. No time to show off their newborn baby. They escape Bethlehem and flee to safe haven in Egypt.
Its an interesting turn of events. Jesus the Refugee. In Egypt of all places. The very place where Jesus ancestors were enslaved for 430 years. For that reason it was a place of last resort. But refugees are rarely given options.
Herod is angry. He orders the slaughter of all baby boys in Bethlehem. There’s blood being spilled in Bethlehem. It won’t be the last time the kingdom of God will face the wrath of Herod and his kind. Herod represents all that is contrary to the Christmas message. While Jesus came to bring peace and justice – Herod is only interested in self-serving oppression and intimidation. He was a terrorist before the word entered our vocabulary. Bethlehem surfaces again and again in places like Bosnia…Beirut…Belfast…Beijing…Boston… Burlington…Belleville?
Its not our favourite Christmas story – but is it my fault Matthew tells this bloody story?
In Bethlehem we see a preview of another event to take place a few years later just 2 miles up the road in Jerusalem. The one called king of the Jews will go head to head with our kings and kingdoms; our politics and power – and there will be weeping and there will be blood. At last Herod will get his way with Mary’s baby. And Matthew says all of this was for us and for our redemption. Bethlehem. Jerusalem. Calvary.
Perhaps its not surprising then that Jesus has compassion on refugees – and that refugees can connect with the Christmas story just as much as we can. Turns out when Jesus decides to come into the world and identify with us - he really meant it. “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
So whatever your story today – Christmas means that God knows. And understands. And cares. And carries your burden.
Jesus doesn’t just belong in church on Christmas Eve… he doesn’t just belong among the successful and the happy. He doesn’t just belong among picture perfect families.
Jesus belongs among the lonely… the rejected… the poor… the refugees… the marginalized. He comes to you – just as you are. That's Christmas. That is who our Lord is.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ – that though he was rich – yet for your sake he became poor. So that you through his poverty might become rich.”
And this is the kind of Christmas we are called to promote and practise.
In the Old testament we read these words….
33 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Lev 19:33-35 (ESV)
Why did God need to take on flesh and blood? Because that’s what love does.
14 Since we have flesh and blood, he too shared in our humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all our lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. … 17 For this reason he had to be made like us, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. 18 Because he himself suffered … he is able to help us… Hebrews 2:14-18 (NIV)
And so we return to the unfolding story in Syria…
In 2015… For the fifth time in 5 years, Syrian Christians are preparing for Christmas during the violent civil war. A war that started in March, 2011.
Life in the city of Aleppo* is a continual paradox. Exploding bombs and a newborn baby’s cries, water and electricity cuts, desperation to flee the city and determination to stay—two sides of the daily reality in the second largest city of Syria.
Three rockets exploded 6 months ago in a Christian area of Aleppo and killed several Christians. The rockets wiped out complete buildings in one blast. Shattering any remaining sense of security and sparking a new exodus from Aleppo.
“Before the war, there were some 250,000 Christians in the city,” reports a man we will call “George”. “Before April, 2015 there were 85,000. Now, there are only 35,000.”
For four years, he(George) and his wife stayed, and he remained very active in his church. Even when his wife got pregnant, they remained. In the wake of the recent waves of violence and the birth of their first child, however, George and his wife decided they couldn’t stay any longer. “ When I saw my baby, I couldn’t stay anymore.”
Pastors throughout the country are struggling to replace active members like George, thousands of whom have fled their homes. George’s family moved to Lebanon, joining over 2 million Syrian refugees who have flooded into the small country.
And so our community of Port Perry is preparing to welcome Syrian refugees. I think it is precisely what Christmas is all about – welcome the stranger. Welcome the refugee. Let’s not forget, we have all been refugees – strangers looking for a place to belong – and Jesus came to us and adopted us into his family.
…31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these { brothers and sisters of mine}, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25)
Let’s make this Christmas a Christmas to remember.
