Matthew 2:16-18 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Herod’s plan to identify the newborn King and eliminate Him was thwarted when the Magi were directed by God not to return to him. In his fury, he broadened the effort and brought weeping to many homes throughout the area of Bethlehem.

 The Magi, on finding the Christ child, worshiped Him, falling on their knees and bowing with their heads to the floor. Opening their treasures, they presented gifts of great value to the newborn King: gold and frankincense and myrrh. Already in the Early Church, the gifts were seen to have been chosen for their meaning: gold, a suitable gift for a king; frankincense, an offering to Him as God; myrrh, a prophecy of His death as the Savior. Others have suggested that they symbolically represent what we, too, must offer Him: the gold of willing surrender of all of life to Him; the frankincense of our inmost thoughts and prayers; the myrrh of patience in suffering when carrying our own crosses.

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