Lesson 8
The Star In The East
-
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there appeared a miraculous star in the sky. The wise men fromthe East saw this star and they came to Jerusalem in search of Jesus.They approached Herod, the King of Judea, and asked him:“ Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage” (Matthew 2:1-2).King Herod became disturbed on hearing this. He called the priests and asked them where the Messiah will be born. The priests replied that the Messiah was to be born in "Bethlehem of Judea".Herod said to the wise men, Go and search for the child in Bethlehem. When you find Him, come and inform meso that I may also go and pay homage to them,The wise men continued their journey. The miraculous star that appeared in the East went before them.The star stopped when it reached the place where Jesus was lying. They entered the house and saw child Jesus along withMary and Joseph and worshipped Him.The wise men brought presents to offer to Jesus. Do you know what those gifts were?Gold Myrrh IncenseThe wise men presented the gifts and adored the infant Jesus. According to the instruction of the angels, the wise men returnedwithout going back to Herod. King Herod knew he had been tricked by the wise men. Then he got angry and ordered to kill all the male babies in Bethlehem who were below two years of age.An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him of Herod's decision to kill child Jesus. Joseph woke up fromsleep and took Mary and child Jesus and fled to Egypt. Thus Jesus was saved from Herod's hands.The church celebrates the Feast of the Innocents on 28th December, in order to remember thechildren who were killed by Herod.When Herod died the angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel asked him to come back to the land of Israel along with Mary and child. He did so. They went to Nazareth and stayed there. Thus Jesus was called "Nazarene".Jesus, the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.
Let us sing
The wise may bring their learning,
The rich may bring their gold;And some may bring their greatness,And glories new and old;We too would bring our treasuresTo offer to the King.We have no wealth nor wisdom;What shall we children bring?We'll bring the little duties,We have to do each day,We'll try our best to please himAt home, at school, at play.And these shall be the treasuresWe offer to the King,And these are gifts that evenThe poorest child can bring.Pick up the letters from the word
bag and complete the words
Let us pray
O God, who led the humble shepherds and
the wise men to the presence of thechild Jesus, we praise you.If you arrange the star properly, you will reach a
particular place. Can you find it out?
Let us imitate
Just like the wise men, who reached Bethlehemto see Jesus, taking up so much sacrifice,let us also go to church and adore Jesus.Find out Answers