Epiphanytide Guide
What is Epiphany?
Epiphany occurs every year on January 6th. It is 13 days after Christmas Day and marks the end of the Christmas season. It is the day we celebrate the coming of the Magi (the wise men) to visit Jesus. While the Nativity scenes we set up for Christmas suggest that the wise men visited Jesus in the manger on the day he was born, the truth is that the wise men did not reach Jesus until he was about two years old.
That is in fact why King Herod had all male toddlers and babies under the age of two killed, because in his mind, any of these children could have possibly been the Messiah, and Herod wanted to make sure the Messiah was eliminated. Well thankfully, Jesus escaped this terrible massacre when his family escaped to Egypt, but unfortunately many children did not, and now each year during December, we take a break from our Christmastide cheer on the 28th to observe the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. Then we return to our celebration of Jesus’ birth.
And then we get to January 6th, The Epiphany. On this day, we have the opportunity to celebrate yet another feast - a day that celebrates the revelation of Jesus Christ to the whole world. The word “epiphany” in facts means an illumination, a revelation. Well, on that day thousands of years ago when the Gentile magi finally completed their journey and brought their gifts to Jesus, God’s miraculous workings in the Christ Child now became known to those who were outside the Jewish family - a sign that the revelation of Jesus Christ would go out to the entire world, and salvation would be made available to all.
Celebrating Epiphany and Epiphanytide
While Epiphany has been celebrated for thousands of years, in large swathes of the Church, Epiphany has all been but forgotten. At this point in time in the New Year, we have generally taken down our Christmas trees, thrown our New Year’s parties, and gotten back into our work and school rhythms. We don’t think about having another celebration. That being said, there is good reason for us to celebrate the Epiphany, and there are several ways that we can do so, both for the Feast of Epiphany itself, and for the seasons that follows. So if you are new to Epiphany, here are some ways for you to enter into this day and season as a family and as individuals.
Celebrating With Family : Three Kings Day, Gifts, and Rosca de Reyes Cake
One way to celebrate Epiphany is to take on some of the traditions of Latin America. In many Latin American and Spanish speaking countries, Christians celebrate “Día de los Reyes Magos” or Three Kings’ Day. On this day, children receive most of their gifts for the season, and families celebrate with a Rosca de Reyes cake.
While we may not want to entirely shift our gift-giving from Christmas Day to Three Kings Day, we might want to hold back a special gift or two that the children would really enjoy receiving on this day - perhaps something special for the new school season. And if this is not practical, we can at least make the special Rosca de Reyes cake on this day. Baked into the cake is a small doll that represents the baby Jesus who had to remain hidden from King Herod. Celebrating this day with this cake is a way to both honor the goodness of the gifts that the Magi brought as well as to lament the difficult realities of the massacre of the Holy Innocents.
If you would like to bake this cake, here is the recipe. And if you want a slight alternative to this cake, you could place three beans inside the cake instead of a small doll. The three beans represent the three magi. This could be a good option if you want to host a Three Kings Party with others from your extended family, neighborhood, church, or elsewhere. The children that find the beans are “crowned” the magi and are donned with special costumes or given special treats. Then again, you could also just have all the children make crowns that evening so that everyone has a chance to be a wise man or wise woman. There are many ways to celebrate this day, and your creativity is most welcome!
Chalking the Door
Another tradition for Epiphany is chalking the door as a way to mark the arrival of the magi and to ask for God’s blessing on one’s home. Chalking the door is a sign and symbol of God’s blessing upon all those who live, work, and will visit one’s home in the coming year; and is often accompanied by a house blessing, where a pastor comes to bless each room of one’s home. (The two traditions can also be done separately at different times.)
Chalking the door is inspired by Deuteronomy 6:9 where God tells the people of Israel: “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house… You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
How does one chalk the door? Easy. Take chalk and somewhere on or over your front doorway, write “+20CBM23+” As you do so, pray a blessing over your home. Wondering what this all means? Well CMB comes from the traditional names for the three kings: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. It is also an abbreviation for “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” which means, “May Christ bless this dwelling!” The first and last numbers simply refer to the current year.
Dwelling on the Theme of Light With Lanterns, Candles and More
In Epiphany, we meditate on the revelation of Jesus Christ to the whole world. He is the Light that has come into the world and now we are to shine His light. As we said on Christmas Eve: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1) and “You are the light of the world.“ (Matthew 5:14). Throughout the season of Epiphany, we can remind ourselves of this reality by lighting special lights, keeping electric candles in our windows, making Chinese lanterns with our children, or any creative way we can imagine. One of my traditions of the last few years is keeping the magi from my Nativity out along with a candle for the season (see picture above).
Devotional Time During the Season - Encountering Jesus
During this season, spend some time encountering Jesus once again. One book you might consider reading is Encounters with Jesus by Tim Keller. Another book you might consider, especially if you are a part of the Mission Cincinnati is Learning Evangelism from Jesus by Jerram Barrs, which will go nicely with our Epiphany-tide sermon series.
Also, just sit with the Scriptures themselves and let Jesus reveal himself to you again. Sometimes, we become so familiar with Jesus that we forget or miss out on the fullness of who He is - God in the flesh, the Word of God, the Son of Man, the Messiah, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, the Lamb of God, the Great High Priest, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, etc. etc.
Consider spending time in the Book of John during this seasons. While all the Gospels reveal who Jesus is, John is perhaps the most theological of the Gospels. It was written later than the other Gospels and so the apostle John had a longer time to more fully grasp who Jesus was, especially as it pertained to His Divinity. So take this season to read through the Gospel of John or if you would like, focus specifically on The Seven Great I Am’s of Jesus found in this Gospel. What do these Great I am’s reveal about Jesus?
For some brief Old Testament background on Jesus’ Great I am’s, check out this blog post. Also for some great Old Testament background on John’s Gospel in general, consider buying this small commentary by Kevin Quast; it truly brings deeper insight into who Jesus is. And here are the Scripture references:
I am the Door and I am the Good Shepherd
I am the Resurrection and the Life
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life
Epiphany Poetry
If you enjoy poetry, check out this Epiphany poem by Malcolm Guite.