Perspectives on Christmas from a Sudanese Refugee

I watched a great documentary a couple of years ago called “God Grew Tired of Us.” It is about a group of Sudanese refugees who were given the opportunity to come to America. In one particular scene, these refugees make some observations about their first Christmas in America. I’ve embedded this clip into the post so you can watch it for yourself.

When we see the contrast between Christmas in America and Christmas in a Sudanese refugee camp it becomes clear that our culture often misses the point of the season. In America, Christmas has become highly commercialized. It is about gifts and presents and visiting Santa at the mall. Even the nativity story is sometimes commercialized and sentimentalized in such a way that the true power of the Christmas story is overlooked.

Mary is not a quiet, peaceful mother that basks in the glow of her newborn son. She is a feisty revolutionary who risks danger and even death to participate in Gods plan to overthrow tyranny and injustice. She sings of God, “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:52-53).

The wise men were not included in the story simply to give us an excuse to dress our fourth graders in tin foil crowns at the Christmas eve pageant! They had to flee the wrath of Herod because their presentation of gifts before Christ showed that they had switched allegiances. They sacrificed social stability by worshiping the new king.

The shepherds are not just ambiguous characters that happen to be at the right place at the right time. The shepherds were there for a reason. These outcasts and misfits were at the inauguration of the new king because this new king had come for people just like them. When Jesus first begins his ministry in Luke 4 he explains that he has come with news good news for the poor and the oppressed.

When I see a group of poor refugees dancing and singing on Christmas eve i think – “this is what Christmas is about!” This is the way Mary celebrated when she wrote that song during the first Christmas. Christmas is a celebration that good news has arrived for the poor and the broken-hearted. A king has come to bring peace, hope, love and joy to a world overcome with strife and poverty. It is no wonder these refugees preferred the way they celebrated Christmas at home over the way it is celebrated in America. While many in the west try and find solace in sentiment, these refugees are placing their hope in the new born king!