Epiphany gifts on the Feast of the Epiphany
Look: A collection of images depicting the Magi
Sources: August von Wörndle | Catherine Schuon | Unknown Artist Icon | Ethiopian icon | James B. Janknegt | Sadao Watanabe | Nicholas Mynheer | Bramantino | Wisnu Sasongko
Listen: My 2021 Feast of Epiphany playlist on Spotify - Star of Wonder
Read: Isaiah 60:1-9; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:1-13; Matthew 2:1-12
Daily Office Readings for the rest of the week:
Thursday (1/7) Psalm 103, 114-115; Isaiah 52:3-6; Revelation 2:1-7; John 2:1-11
Friday (1/8) Psalm 117-118, Psalm 112-113; Isaiah 59:15-21; Revelation 2:8-17; John 4:46-54
Saturday (1/9) Psalm 121-123; Isaiah 63:1-5; Revelation 2:18-29; John 5:1-15
Pray: Book of Common Prayer (2019), Collect for Epiphany, The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Do: Chalk the Doors & pray an Epiphany House Blessing
One of the most meaningful activities we've done on Epiphany is a house blessing. This can be as simple as marking the doorways with chalk and a prayer of blessing or as specific as praying through each room of the house with specific prayers like those found in the traditional Anglican House blessing.
( Related: It's embarrassing how delighted to discover this song this year: Bless This House. My favorite version is on the Star of Wonder playlist for sure!)
Brian and I began a tradition last year of giving our congregation homemade potpourri kits and chalk for Epiphany. I can't give you the bag of fruit and spices, but I did attach the description of how to use the items and the liturgy for chalking the doors today. You can also click here for a pdf version of an Anglican House Blessing.
The Homely Hours blog has a wonderful post about chalking doors here. You can also watch here and here for explanations from a couple of Protestant pastors and here for a video demonstration from a Catholic mom: Epiphany Part 1: House Blessing.
You might also enjoy:
* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify: All the King's Horns. Add it to your account by clicking right clicking on the three dots and selecting "Save to Library".
** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year B of the Book of Common Prayer 2019 (Anglican Church of North America). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1).
