---

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me treat all the gifts in my life -- including people -- with care and kindness. Amen!

After Jesus was born, three wise men came to King Herod, asking, "Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We followed His star here to worship Him." Herod worried this "new king" might take over, so he sent the wise men to find Jesus and come back. They found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But an angel warned them that Herod would kill Jesus, so instead of returning, they went home another way.

Have you broken any Christmas presents yet? Have you argued over any gifts with a brother or sister? Have you been disappointed in what you got, or what you didn't get?

Christmas can be frustrating. You waited and hoped for presents, but already, they're causing trouble!

In a way, this week's Gospel (Matthew 2:1-12) is like that. Mary and Joseph waited for Jesus to arrive and the three wise men traveled from a far-away country to see Jesus -- but, already, King Herod is causing trouble. It's like fighting over a gift: The Holy Family and the wise men think Jesus is wonderful, but Herod wants to find Jesus for himself.

Even worse, Herod doesn't want to worship the newborn baby Jesus and bring Him gifts. Herod wants to get rid of Jesus! Christmas presents are supposed to bring people joy. If you're not careful with that iPad and it gets broken, or you argue with your family over who gets to use it and when, there's no joy. There's only trouble. You're also making other people unhappy.

King Herod should have thought of that. His greed over wanting to be the only king made the three wise men have to sneak away after seeing Jesus, and then Mary and Joseph had to quickly leave, too, to protect baby Jesus.

Be careful and kind with your Christmas gifts -- especially the gift of the people in your life. That's a good lesson from the Gospel story![[In-content Ad]]

---