I first went Epiphany chalking four years ago. On a fine January afternoon, Samantha, a teenager in my church, and I waltzed all through our neighborhood, fat yellow box of Crayola chalk in hand. (I told myself that I was doing something noble by spending my afternoon with a church teen, but I suspect that in reality I invited Samantha on my chalking expedition mostly so that I could have an excuse for doing something that might, at first blush, seem a little less than adult.)

We chalked the doors to my apartment, and we chalked the doors to Samantha’s house and her mom’s office, and the doors to the houses of some friends and neighbors. And then we got a little carried away. We started knocking on the doors of people we did not know and offering to chalk their houses. It felt a little like we were selling Girl Scout cookies — except, of course, folks neither had to pay us, nor did they get any Thin Mints out of the deal.

In a 2006 article for Boundless.org, Lauren Winner writes about the Epiphany tradition of blessing of the home. With white chalk, write the following visual blessing on or over the main door: 20+C+M+B+12. The numbers change with each new year. The three letters stand for either the ancient Latin blessing Christe mansionem benedica, which means, “Christ, bless this house,” or the legendary names of the Magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar).

Pictured here: A pilgrim wearing a robe dips into the banks of the Jordan River. | Image © Israel Defense Forces | Flickr | Used under Creative Commons license.

Christian Pilgrims Celebrate the Epiphany in the Jordan Valley, January 2011

For followers of the Jewish faith, Qasr Al-Yahud is the path the ancient Israelites crossed on their way from Egypt. For the Christians, it is the place where Jesus experienced his spiritual rebirth. And for the ten thousand pilgrims that crowded it on a dreary Tuesday (Jan. 18, 2011), determined and deep in prayer, Qasr Al-Yahud is a holy baptismal site.

Situated a few meters away from Jordan and a few kilometers away from the city Jericho, the seemingly endless Christian winter celebrations continued. Based on the Gregorian calendar, January 18th is the day of the Epiphany, the third holiday following the holiday sequence of Christmas and New Year’s. Every year, the event draws thousands of people. Some are Palestinian Christians, however most Orthodox Christians arrive from all over the world—Russia, Greece, Bulgaria, Syria, and the list continues on. Other noteworthy visitors include Christian pilgrims from Ethiopia and Eritrea.

News of this event in 2011 was reported on the Israel Defense Forces website, January 20, 2011.

Epiphany is a season for seeing more of Christ’s glory by focusing on his life and mission. Simultaneously, it’s a time for making that glory better known to those around us. We bear witness to what we have seen and learned and experienced. Herein lies a spiritual paradox: not only do we say what we see, we also see as we say. Epiphany, then, is a time both to inhabit the Story and to tell the Story, for in the telling itself we are further enlightened.

Bobby Gross, Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), p. 84.

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Mary Oliver, from the poem, “Sometimes,” in Red Bird: Poems (Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2008), p. 37.

In England, on Twelfth Night (January 5), many people gather with their neighbors and burn their Christmas trees in one place. In an open field, this is a large and bright bonfire. The sparks fly into the night sky like shooting stars, like the new of God’s love winging its way to all peoples of every nation. If you practice this custom, make sure you do so where it is safe (and permitted) to burn trees. Take turns placing branches on the fire and naming aloud places and people around the world. This is our prayer for peace to bless the earth and God’s love to be made know everywhere to everyone.

Susan Briehl, Come, Lord Jesus: Devotions for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1996), p. 46. Used by permission.