By: Dr. Emanuel Adil Ghouri
Christmas is celebrated across the world with lights, music, feasts, and expressions of joy. Yet beyond these visible rituals lies a deeper moral and spiritual question: what does Christmas truly signify in a world marked by inequality, persecution, and human suffering?
The Lebanese writer and philosopher Khalil Gibran, in Ibn-e-Insan, presents an imaginative dialogue with Jesus Christ that offers a profound reflection on this question. In the narrative, Gibran describes encountering a barefoot, impoverished, and sorrowful man wandering in the snowy hills of Lebanon on the night of December 24. When asked who he is, the man replies, “I am Jesus Christ.” Surprised, Gibran asks why, amid illuminated cities, ringing church bells, festive songs, and celebratory gatherings held in His name, Jesus appears alone and distressed. The response is sobering: these celebrations, he is told, are not truly for Him. If they were, He would not be left wandering in the cold but welcomed into people’s homes.
Although this account is fictional, it conveys a central ethical message of Christmas: the celebration of Christ’s birth is inseparable from compassion for the vulnerable. The Christian tradition reminds believers that Christ is encountered in those who are hungry, thirsty, imprisoned, sick, or abandoned. The Gospel warning—“I was hungry and you did not feed me; I was thirsty and you did not give me drink; I was in prison and you did not visit me”—serves as a moral mirror. When the opportunity to respond passes, regret offers no remedy. The responsibility lies in recognizing suffering now and responding with action.
In this context, Christmas calls for solidarity that extends beyond personal or national boundaries. Christians living in relatively free and secure societies in Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom are urged to remain conscious of fellow believers facing persecution in non-Christian states. Around the world, individuals remain imprisoned solely for their faith in Jesus Christ, some awaiting decisions on death penalty appeals, others subjected to extrajudicial killings, and many witnessing the destruction of their homes and churches. For them, faith has become a source not of celebration, but of suffering.
The situation in North Korea is particularly stark. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians are reportedly held in labor and prison camps because of their religious beliefs. For these individuals, Christmas is observed behind barbed wire, under constant surveillance, and in conditions of extreme deprivation. Women in these camps are reportedly subjected to sexual violence and forced abortions rooted in religious discrimination. Their suffering raises urgent questions about global responsibility and moral indifference.
Similarly, in Nigeria, more than 53,000 Christians have been killed over the years due to targeted violence linked to their faith. Behind these numbers are widows, orphaned children, and displaced families. On Christmas Day, many of these children lack basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. Their loss and vulnerability challenge the adequacy of celebrations that ignore such realities.
In Sudan, the burning or demolition of approximately 165 churches has severely disrupted Christian worship and community life. In many areas, Christmas services may no longer be possible in their traditional form. For persecuted congregations, the celebration of Christ’s birth is overshadowed by fear, displacement, and uncertainty. When such conditions prevail, festive expressions elsewhere risk becoming detached from the essence of Christmas.
The central message, therefore, is not a rejection of celebration, but a call to reframe it. According to Christian belief, Jesus Christ is not found in decorative displays, elaborate meals, or material abundance alone. He is present among those on death row for their faith, among the children of martyrs who have no toys, no new clothes, and no certainty about tomorrow. Though their homes may be broken and their lives marked by hunger and disease, their faith endures. In that endurance, Christian theology holds, Christ is most vividly present.
From this perspective, the credibility of faith is measured not by power or status, but by solidarity with the suffering. The moral weight of Christmas rests with those who bear persecution quietly yet remain steadfast in belief. Their lives stand as a challenge to global conscience and as a reminder that without justice, compassion, and advocacy for the oppressed, the celebration of Christmas remains incomplete and stripped of its true meaning.