Thursday, January 06, 2011

The Feast of the Epiphany

Seeking God

What I love about the story of Epiphany are the magi searching for knowledge. They used cutting edge science that was available to them to search for God among man. They were foreigners who had probably studied the Hebrew scriptures and were open to wisdom from a land other than their own.

They traveled to Bethlehem and brought news of the Savior born among the Jews to their home countries. They prefigured Jesus' own attitude towards the power structure of His day by following the dream given to them by God and not revealing to Herod the whereabouts of Jesus.

They were the first gentile Christians and were a sign to us that all are loved by God.

The word "epiphany" means to have a revelation.  The magi were constantly seeking wisdom and this led them to God. Let each of us follow their example.

Blessing the House 

An Epiphany tradition in some parishes is to hand out blessed chalk to the congregation who then write above every door in their home 20 C+M+B 11.  This stands for the first 2 numbers of the year, the names of each of the three kings (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar) and the last 2 numbers of the year.  The letters also stand for Christus Mansionem  Benedicat which is Latin for "Christ, bless this house".

Have a happy Epiphany and a joyful 2011!!

5 comments:

Michele said...

really nice post. thanks for the wishes for the new year!

TACParent said...

I have never heard of this tradition. I'm all for blessing your home!

Staying in Balance said...

I like the idea too. It makes sense that it occurs near the beginning of the year.

Barbara Schoeneberger said...

That picture is gorgeous! Where did you get it? It reminds me of art in the late 1800s or early 1900s. I love to contemplate feasts through art. Thanks for this.

Staying in Balance said...

I can't find my original source but I it is Adoration of the Magi and is a tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. It is Art Nouveau, England, circa 1890.

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"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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