The Prince of Destiny

The angel Gabriel came to her and said “Don’t be afraid Mary: God has been generous to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus:  
‘How this can be? I am a virgin? and the angel replied.  

‘The Holy Spirit will come on you.’  

Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem until the baby was born. Herod was King when Jesus was born. Days later, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem searching for the baby who was to be the King of the Jews. They saw the star when it came up in the East and they have come to worship him.  

When King Herod heard about this. He was very upset and so were the people of Jerusalem. All chief priests were called by the King and asked them ‘Where will the Messiah be born?’  
‘In the town of Bethlehem in Judea for this is what the prophet wrote’ Herod summoned the visitors from the East to find out the exact time and star appeared. He asked them to go to Bethlehem and find out where he was so that he too can go and worship the babe.   

And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. They were happy and filled with joy when they saw the babe with Mary.
They returned to their country in another road since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.  

Joseph got up and took the child and his mother during the night for Egypt. They lived there until Herod died.   

Joseph and Mary took the baby for the purification ceremony as the Law of Moses commanded to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as every first- born male is to be dedicated to the Lord and named him Jesus.  

In today’s context, it is the baptism of a male child.  

As the holy scriptures reveal, this miracle took place on a wintry night when the Prince of Destiny was born in a manger to a virgin; the immaculate Mary when elsewhere some men who studied stars came to Jerusalem searching for the baby who was destined to be the king of Jews. They went to the inn and found the child with his mother Mary. They knelt down and worshiped him and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrhh fit for a king.  

When Herod realised that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was angry and gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old and younger. This was done in accordance with he had learnt from the visitors about the time when the star appeared. By this act what prophet Jeremiah had said came true.   

The sound is heard in Ramah 
The sound of bitter weeping  
Rachel is crying for her children   
And refused to be comforted.  
For they are dead.