{"id":67662,"date":"2025-12-22T17:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T17:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/67662\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T17:05:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T17:05:22","slug":"to-keep-christ-in-christmas-remember-jesus-was-homeless-and-a-refugee-joyce-m-davis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/67662\/","title":{"rendered":"To keep Christ in Christmas, remember Jesus was homeless and a refugee | Joyce M. Davis"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s the wonderful time of year when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. And they are once again being called to delete the X and keep Christ in Christmas. <\/p>\n

This time of year is not just about buying gifts and singing carols, but about the powerful and revolutionary message the baby boy in the manger brought to the world. <\/p>\n

Here are three things Christians may want to remember to delete the X and keep Christ in Christmas:<\/p>\n

Jesus was homeless:<\/p>\n

Jesus started his life at the bottom of the heap — homeless and on the run. Luke 2:7 says his mother Mary \u201cgave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.\u201d<\/p>\n

The baby Christians consider the savior of the world wasn\u2019t born in a palace or even in a warm, cozy room in the little town of Bethlehem where his family was summoned to pay taxes. His mother gave birth in what Biblical scholars say was either a manger or a cave with animals.<\/p>\n

\"BethlehemPeople hold a giant Palestinian flag in Manger Square, near the Nativity Church, which is traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, on Christmas Eve, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023. Bethlehem is having a subdued Christmas after officials in Jesus’ traditional birthplace decided to forgo celebrations due to the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo\/Mahmoud Illean)AP<\/p>\n

Today, thousands of tourists visit the cave in Bethlehem where some believe the miracle birth took place. I\u2019ve been there. It\u2019s not where any woman would choose to give birth.<\/p>\n

When Christians see homeless people this Christmas, they may want to remember Jesus, and how he started his life on earth.<\/p>\n

Jesus was a refugee:<\/p>\n

The book of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 13-18 speaks of Joseph, Jesus\u2019s earthly father, being warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to escape King Herod\u2019s wrath. The king feared the baby being called a new-born king was a threat to his political power. So, he did what many ruthless kings or political strongmen would do, King Herod ordered him killed.<\/p>\n

The holy family found themselves in the situation thousands of people around the world are in today. They risk death from cruel political leaders if they stay in their native lands, so they flee. In the case of Jesus\u2019s family, Egypt didn\u2019t turn them away as King Herod was killing babies in Bethlehem. Jesus and his family found a haven in Egypt, much like many from war-torn lands once found in the United States. Today, Palestinans born in the same town as Jesus can\u2019t enter our country.<\/p>\n

This Christmas, when Christians consider whether to welcome refugees, they should remember Jesus.<\/p>\n

\"Bethlehem\"A Palestinian vendor stands in front of his shop near the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Normally packed with tourists from around the world at this time of year, Bethlehem resembles a ghost town \u2013 with hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops shuttered by the pandemic. (AP Photo\/Majdi Mohammed)AP<\/p>\n

Jesus loves the little children:<\/p>\n

In Sunday school, many Christians learned the beloved hymn:<\/p>\n

Jesus loves the little children, <\/p>\n

All the children of the world,<\/p>\n

Red, brown, yellow, black and white, all are precious in His sight,<\/p>\n

Jesus loves the little children of the world.<\/p>\n

This Christmas, children in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, and too many other war zones are huddled with their families in fear, facing disease, famine and death. U.S. aid that once flowed to help the world\u2019s children disappeared when the Trump Administration so callously slashed American support for the poorest of the world\u2019s poor.<\/p>\n

\"SomaliA Somali child, internally displaced from her home, looks out from her family’s makeshift home fashioned from USAID food containers in Maslah camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. U.S. foreign aid prevented 91 million deaths over 21 years, according to a study published by the Lancet. (Farah Abdi Warsameh | AP)Associated Press file photo<\/p>\n

Even here in the United States, we allow our children to live in terror to protect gun rights, knowing someone may walk into their schools and start shooting. <\/p>\n

This Christmas, many families are worried about whether they will be able to pay for healthcare for their children, with Republicans determined to end Obamacare that has provided affordable health insurance to millions of Americans. <\/p>\n

Slashing health insurance for millions of Americans is not what Jesus would do. It\u2019s just the opposite. He might even ask the rich to pay for it. It\u2019s what he did in Luke 18:22 when he asked the young ruler seeking eternal life to give his wealth to the poor. <\/p>\n

\"malnourishedYazan Abu Ful, a 2-year-old malnourished child, poses for a photo at his family home in the Shati refugee camp, in Gaza City on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)AP<\/p>\n

This Christmas, when Christians see hungry, suffering children at home or anywhere in the world, they may want to remember the baby Jesus, huddled in a cave with his mother and father and hounded by King Herod.<\/p>\n

Christians also may want to remember the kindness of the Egyptians, who provided a refuge at a crucial time for a baby and his parents. <\/p>\n

Most of all, Christians should remember Jesus\u2019s compassion for the poor and vulnerable. Whatever you do for the least of these, you do to me. (Matthew 25:40)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the only way to delete the X and keep Christ in Christmas. <\/p>\n

Joyce M. Davis is PennLive\u2019s Outreach & Opinion Editor. She also is Lay Leader of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

Follow her on Facebook, Bluesky @joycemdavis.bsky.social, and on Twitter @byjoycedavis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the wonderful time of year when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. And they are once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67663,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-67662","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}