Happy Epiphany!

The Adoration of the Magi (1441-1493):

by Jacopo del Sellaio tempera on wood panel. It was a gift to the Memphis Brooks Museum by the Kress Foundation.

Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th. The last of our Christmas decorations came down last night on Epiphany Eve, which is Twelfth Night, the night of the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas. If you thought Christmas Day was the end of the Christmas season, you need to re-think that.

Epiphany

We celebrate Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, at our house. I used to decorate as much for this holiday (using stars and Wise Men figures) as I did for Christmas. I don't decorate as much for anything now as I did when The Kids were little, but we do still observe it. Here's the story as found in Matthew 2: 1-12:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet:

‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will govern my people Israel.’”

Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (RSV)

And, of course, there's We Three Kings:

We always include a breakfast with our celebrations, including coffee. Here's my new fancy coffee cup:

We'll be putting away the Christmas decorations now and getting out some snowman-themed things. Placemats will be black for a while, and most of the winter cups are black as well. The dark and cold days of Winter are here, but Spring will come in its own good time.

Please join the T(ea) Tuesday link gathering over at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.

The picture at the top of the post is of the Adoration of the Magi (1423) by Gentile da Fabriano. The work is now in the Uffizi in Italy.

Epiphany

We three kings of Orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar.

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect Light.

We celebrate Christmas through all 12 days, so we're just now moving into Epiphany. The 3 Kings are finally in place at the nativity scene, and the Christmas decorations (except for the creche) have been put into the attic.

The pieces pictured above -except for the paper angel- are mine from when I was in high school. I bought each piece and the stable separately. There are other pieces than those in the photo, but I didn't get the camels and extra sheep out this year. The angel was made by The Daughter when she was little, many years ago.

The Grandmother bought The Elder Son and The Daughter handmade ceramic nativity scenes when they were little but didn't do that for The Younger Son or my niece (The Evil Sister's only child, who is the same age as my youngest). The Younger Son will get this one when I no longer use it.

When the kids were growing up, I used to get out some wise men and star decorations and white candles for Epiphany, but I haven't done that for the past couple of years. I've always enjoyed decorating for the seasonal changes.

Epiphany

Today is Epiphany, the celebration of the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. We honor the tradition of the Wise Men who came from afar to worship the Christ child.

Matthew 2

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

KJV

This is a traditional hymn for the day:

We Three Kings

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

Refrain

O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a Deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain


The picture above is Giotto's Adoration of the Magi.

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 1 (NRSV)

Listen to a paraphrase of this Psalm set to music.

1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Epiphany 5

Isaiah 6:1-8 (NRSV)

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.

5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Candlemas

Today is Candlemas, when the Church celebrates the Presentation of Christ at the Temple. We used to celebrate it by having the kids make puppets for a shadow play of Anna and Simeon at the temple.

The picture is Simeon and Hannah in the Temple by Rembrandt.

Epiphany 3

Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV)

14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

The image above is from this site.

Epiphany Books

The Other Wise Man, by Henry Van Dyke, is the story of the 4th Wise Man and how he did not arrive with the other 3.

Baboushka and the Three Kings, adapted from a Russian Folk Tale by Ruth Robbins and illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov, is the story of Baboushka, who refused an invitation to join the Wise Men's journey to see the Christ Child but changed her mind and still seeks him, leaving gifts for children as she travels. This book won the Caldecott Medal. The Russian tale on which this story is based can be read online here.

The Story of the Three Wise Kings, by Tomie dePaola, retells the Bible story from Matthew.

Amahl and the Night Visitors, by Gian Carlo Menotti, illustrated by Michele Lemieux, is based on the 1951 opera by the same title and author/composer. The work has autobiographical elements as the author was miraculously cured of lameness at the age of 4 years.

The Rabbit and the Turnip, a Chinese fable illustrated by Roswitha Gruttner and translated from the German by Richard Sadler, is a beautiful story of self-sacrificing love among the animals of the farm and woodland.

The Big Snow, by Berta and Elmer Hader, is a Caldecott winner that tells of the hunger of winter and the gift of life.

Frederick, by Leo Lionni, is a Caldecott Honor book that shows the value of everyone's contributions. There are a variety of gifts.

A Prairie Boy's Winter, by William Kurelek, is a winter story describing the author's memories of his childhood on a farm in the 1930's.

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 72 (KJV)

1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
9 They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
15 And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
16 There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

The Feast of the Epiphany

The Journey of the Magi

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The was deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

T.S. Eliot


The picture at the top of this post is Fra Angelico's Adoration of the Magi (Tempera on wood panel Museo Diocesano, Cortona)

Twelfth Night

The last day of Christmas has a long and festive history in the Church. The School of the Seasons has some information on the history of Twelfth Night and how it has been celebrated in different countries.

The photo is Twelfth Night (The King Drinks) by Teniers the Younger from this page.