Epiphany and Blessing
The practice of blessing the world and blessing our homes...
Happy Epiphany!
Today is The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord!
Let’s chalk some doors! (I’ll explain below)
The Epiphany
The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
from the Book of Common Prayer, 2019
What do we celebrate on The Feast of Epiphany? The gospel story we’re invited to engage with on Epiphany is found in Matthew 2. There we find three wise men from the east, magi who have observed a star rising and somehow, supernaturally we assume, know that the star tell of a king being born. However, we do not celebrate the star or the magi on epiphany, we are celebrate Jesus being made known to the entire world! The magi represent the gentile world, those long thought of at “out” were now in!
The Apostle Paul talks about it like this,
In former generations this mystery was not made known to people, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to the holy apostles and prophets. This Mystery is that the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Eugene Peterson writes part of this Ephesians passage like this, “The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God.” I like that! Check out this entire passage in The Message.
Jesus is the king born in a manger. Jesus is king for everyone!
This is Epiphany. Thanks be to God!
The Salvation of God, through Jesus Christ, is for the entire world!
The Blessing of God is for everyone and every home!
Which brings me to the blessing bit…
Epiphany is the traditional season for the blessing of homes. This tradition is often called “chalking the door” and is a beautiful way to mark our homes and our year with the knowing that God’s blessing is freely given and rests on our homes and our lives.
I have heard of people only doing the front door and I’ve heard of people chalking every door! I like the idea of chalking the front door and every bedroom. Knowing that most every day, you and your family will walk through multiple doors of your home and will be reminded that God is with you, his love and blessing are upon your family.
This tradition often starts with parishioners picking up blessed chalk at church and heading home to do the thing. That’s amazing! But if you don’t have blessed chalk, I think any chalk will do. Your blessing might not be quite as strong but do what you’ve got to do! (that’s a joke, in case you were wondering!)
Here is a brief explanation, but if you’re going to do it, find a guide online; there are plenty out there!
Using blessed chalk (preferably), people mark the doorpost(s) of their home, writing…
20☩C☩M☩B☩25
The digits, which appear at the beginning and end of the line, designate the year.
The three crosses are marked while invoking the blessing that is being prayed.
Some say that the crosses remind us of the saving protection given in Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. It’s also said that the crosses represent the holiness of the three magi who were led by the star to the infant Jesus, adoring him and offering him with gifts.The letters ‘CMB’ are thought to have two meanings as well…
1. They abbreviate the Latin prayer Christus mansionem benedicat, which means, “May Christ bless this house.”
2. They are also the initials of the traditional names attributed to the three magi—Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.
The chalk inscription is made above the door so that all who enter and depart the home may be reminded of the Lord and His blessing which has been invoked over the house.
As I mentioned above, I would suggest finding a guide to this practice online. If you do some googling, they are easy to find! I’m thinking about creating my own with a combination of resources I have. For now check out this one from my friends in Indy, or just google it.
Happy Epiphany friends!
The Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ
Alright God, who made known the Incarnation of your Word by a star of stunning brilliance, which the wise men followed until they came to worship and offer their treasures before the infant Lord resting in his mother's arms; grant that the star of your righteousness may always appear in our hearts to lead us and to inspire us to offer the treasure of our praise and the worship of lives that reflect your goodness; through him whose birth among us is our hope. Amen.
from St. Augustine’s Prayer Book