Dear Friends,
Blessed Epiphany! Our weary travelers, the Magi have completed their journey to Bethlehem, following the Wild Star that was not on any of their wonderful maps. And so, today we join them in celebration – and one way we do that is by blessing our homes – so grab your chalk, here’s how it works:
20 + C + M + B + 22
The traditional Epiphany door blessing includes a few different parts. First, the bookends, shown here as 20 and 22, for the current calendar year. As an annual tradition, pointing to the current year is of clear importance. But what’s that in the middle?
The center three letters C, M, & B, have a dual meaning in the door blessing. Inscribed on Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day, these are the initials of the three Magi who appear in the Christmas story, Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar. We honor them on Epiphany, but their initials offer us a second important element, standing in for the first letters of the Latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning Christ Bless this House. When we inscribe this in chalk over our doors, we are welcoming that blessing.
Speaking of this particular blessing, last year’s still stands above the doorway of the home I moved out of at the end of 2021, and my new apartment awaits its blessing when I return tonight. While it may be a tad out of date, I do hope last year’s blessing serves the new residents of that space.
Of course, blessing the house isn’t the only way to mark Epiphany, but it is a popular one. One of my favorite traditions, though, and one I only learned about thanks to some wonderful children, is the practice of leaving hay or grass for the Wise Men’s camels. Though it’s a tad late to do that this year, this practice is common in Puerto Rico, Mexico, and sometimes even Spain. Don’t forget, those camels and kings leave gifts of thanks! Epiphany may mark the end of Christmas, but it’s still pretty special. In fact, the more we learn about these days and traditions, the more deeply we can live into Christian tradition.
Embracing God’s Holy People
What else is going on in the life of the Church these days? So much! For example, there might be a Baptism (or several) at your church this coming Sunday, and that’s because this Sunday, Epiphany I, we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. That moment, Jesus’s baptism in water by his cousin John and the full presence of the Trinity, is one of my favorites when telling the Faces of Easter in Godly Play. I love to say those familiar words, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus’s baptism with water is shared with us as a precursor to so much more, to baptism by water and the spirit, to Pentecost, and, in its way, to the Crucifixion. After all, Jesus’s baptism and death are both representations of the way in which he is fully human, and not just fully divine. We would not baptize God, but God who is also man – that’s a different story.
Jesus’s baptism by John is just one link in the longer chain that connects us back through time and baptism more broadly ties together all of God’s Holy People. But more on that next week!
For now, I am holding your health and safety in my prayers. COVID numbers are up, I’m teaching Sunday School online this week, and anxiety is in the air. Still, you are God’s Beloved. May that carry you in the midst of it all.
Best,
A. Bird