Writing the Epiphamy

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Did you put chalk on your door on the Day of Epiphany? It's not compulsory, just a happy little tradition in which each householder gives their priest a piece of chalk to bless and then writes something like 20 + C + M + B+ 18 on the frame of the main entrance to the house.

What purpose does it have? Well, it's a blessing. CMB stands for Christus mansionem benedicat which means, "may Christ bless this house." CMB also stands for Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar which are the traditional names for the Three Wise Men, though Holy Scripture is actually silent about that. However, this tradition links the blessing of the house with the visit of the Magi and, in so doing, our house becomes a reflection of that first house, that poor meagre dwelling, in which Our Lord is found lying in a manger.

In writing on our door frame, we are participating in the Epiphany of Our Lord.

[PAUSE]

It is important to remember that there isn't a single Epiphany in Holy Scripture. At Epiphany, we remember three things - the visit of the Magi, the Lord's Baptism and the first miracle at the wedding of Cana. In these three events Our Lord reveals Himself to be God. It is our duty to Him as Christians to carry that revelation to the world.

Notice that it doesn't matter how you write on the door frame. Your handwriting may be neat or scruffy, or the surface of the door frame may be uneven which distorts the way you normally write. As long as you write the same thing, you are being part of the Epiphany tradition.

Whether or not you participate in this, you are certainly called to participate in making Christ known to the world. We must all be seeking to commit a glorious bit of Christian graffiti by writing, "may Christ bless this" on God's creation especially our brothers and sisters whomsoever they may be.

[PAUSE]

God gives us the chalk and we must write His blessing on this world which forgets Him through the activity of Evil. How we write does not matter but we must all write the same thing for it is the same Christ who blesses as the Christ who revealed Himself in Bethlehem, in the Jordan and in Cana.

We may not alter what we write but we can and must write it with our own handwriting.