Bishop Harold’s Christmas Message 2015
I had the privilege of being one of many people who welcomed a group of refugees from Syria to Northern Ireland last week. It was humbling to meet people who had left their homeland three years ago and had lived since then in Lebanon, a family to one small room. People have gathered round to welcome these new guests in our province, and I hope and pray that as they settle, they will feel totally at home here.
My Christmas card had a picture of a Syrian refugee baby in the Lebanon, with the words ‘The Babe of Bethlehem was a refugee too’. Jesus and the Holy Family had to flee under threat of death from the ruthless King Herod and they were welcomed in the adjoining country of Egypt. God took all of that and made it part of his plan. It even became part of the fulfilment of the prophecy: ‘Out of Egypt have I called my Son’.
This land is often described as a land of a ‘hundred thousand welcomes’. The people of this island have themselves been blessed by many countries who have welcomed them at times of difficulty and economic challenge. It is now our turn and we are grateful to be able to play some part in rescuing people from a most appalling situation. I believe God will bless us in doing so, and will also bless us thorough the warmth, experience and culture of those who have come among us.
Celebrating Christmas means not just extra consumption, but extra generosity, and especially to the refugee. That’s the kind of open and welcoming society we want to be.