Reflection: The Blessing of Chalk
As of this evening, the feast of Christmas is over. But don’t worry, the party continues as we celebrate the next Feast in the Church Kalendar: the Feast of the Epiphany! Epiphany is about Christ as the light to the world and commemorates the journey and visitation of the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child.
At our celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany tomorrow (Saturday), we’ll bless a lot of individual pieces of chalk. On Sunday after each service, we will hand out the chalk along with a prayer card and instructions about chalking your door to everyone who attends. The chalking of doors is a common Epiphany tradition. It’s a season where we celebrate the Wise Men arriving at Jesus’ family home to worship him. By chalking our doors and praying for our homes, we intentionally invite him into our homes so that we might worship him with our families, just like we invite him into our hearts so that we can worship him with all that we are. Not only is the blessing of your home and chalking your door an excellent opportunity to reflect on the mystery of your own salvation, but it can also be a neat way to build missional relationships with your neighbors and friends who might ask you what the numbers and letters above your door means.
So how can you participate in this tradition?
When you receive the chalk on Sunday, take it home with you. When you get to the front door of your house or apartment, stop and write
20 + C + M + B + 24
above the door. The C, M, and B stand for the traditional names given to the three Magi: Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar. It can also act as an abbreviation for the Latin prayer “Mansionem benedicat” which means “Christ, bless this house.”
Once you have chalked your door, say the following prayer:
“Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who live or visit here with the gift of your love; and grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. May we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen us in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.”
It’s important to note that once the chalk is blessed, it should be treated reverently. Please don’t throw it in the trash can. When disposing of something holy, there are three ways you can do it. First, you can burn it. Unfortunately, chalk doesn’t burn, so this doesn’t work. A second option is that you can bury it. A final way of disposing of a holy object can be dissolving it in water and pouring the water out onto fresh ground. The third option is probably the best in this particular instance, but if you would prefer, feel free to bring your chalk back to church next week and we’ll take care of it for you.
Blessed Feast of the Epiphany!
Fr. Wesley