Epiphany House Blessing

Dear Friends in Christ,

Tomorrow, January 6th, is the day the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany and the arrival of the magi who followed a star to worship the baby born in Bethlehem. Epiphany marks the end of the Christmas season and occurs twelve days after Christmas because that was the length of time it was believed it took the magi to find the baby Jesus. It is the season we remember the revelation of Jesus to the world and is characterized by light as we celebrate the light that came into the world with the birth of Christ and which spreads to the farthest corners of the earth.

Epiphany is a Greek word meaning “manifestation, showing forth, revelation.” This feast proclaims our faith that in Jesus, God is revealed to all people — not just to an inner circle or a chosen few, but to all people, in all places, and throughout all time. Christians believe that in the person of Jesus we see who God is, and in the words and actions of Jesus we see God at work in the world. Epiphany marks a series of occasions at which Jesus was revealed to be God’s Son.

There is a long tradition of blessing homes on Epiphany and marking the door with chalk. Our Episcopal Book of Occasional Services contains a short Epiphany house blessing in addition to a longer Blessing of a Home. Some people chalk the inside lintel of their home as a reminder to take their faith out into the world. Traditionally, the chalking is done above the lintel and takes this form: 20+C+M+B+23 - The letters are the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "Christus mansionem benedicat" - "Christ bless this house" (A second meaning and mnemonic device is Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar traditional names for the Magi). The + signs represent the cross, and 20-23 is the year.

For me, January 6th is the day I moved to the US from England in 1989. On that Epiphany more than half my life ago, like the Magi I undertook a journey that 34 years later has brought me to this place, at this time. When I mark the door of my home it serves as a reminder going in and going out, that I am here for the purpose of revealing God in God’s son, Jesus the Christ, to all people, perhaps not in all times and places, but in this specific time and place, with the community of Saint Anna’s. If you would like to join me in blessing your homes and chalking your lintels as a similar reminder that together we are called to serve the people of our community, I offer later in this email the brief service from the Book of Occasional services.

Yours in Christ

Rev. Jane+