Share the Gift (FILM)

A couple of years ago we made a short Christmas film 'Share the gift'. Set outside a maternity ward in the lead up to Christmas, the story imagines three contemporary Mary and Josephs finding themselves in the same vulnerable position as the original Mary and Joseph - expecting a baby while on the move. Joe and Mary-Kate Davidson are at risk of becoming homeless, Maria Dawidska is estranged from her husband Józef and trying to get the care she needs in a second language, and Yūsuf and Miriam Davudi are refugees struggling to make ends meet. In the midst of their lives, unexpected generosity starts a chain reaction. The international cast featured people from Scotland, England, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Iran.

As we celebrate Christmas Round the World this advent, we once again remember those in the fragile position of starting a family in the middle of painful, personal, and political upheaval. Many people all over the world are displaced from their homes - negotiating dangers, forced to travel or to stay in precarious places. We remember that God came as a refugee to our world, becoming vulnerable, breaking into chaotic and difficult circumstances with a message of hope and love for everyone. A love that transcends borders, oceans, timezones, languages and cultures. 

This Advent as we celebrate Christmas Round the World may we be inspired to share the gift with others, to learn from them and their experiences and to become more than the sum of our individual parts.

James Cathcart