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Vicar’s Letter

Joseph and the Three Gifts

I wonder how many of your Christmas cards showed Joseph amongst the familiar stable scene with the shepherds, wise men and angels? How much do you know about him? What was this man like who became a father to a very special child? What do you know about those Wise Men who brought the gifts to that special child?

The three Wise Men (or kings, or magi if you prefer) brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Church of England celebrates their visit on 6th January each year and/or on the Sunday nearest to the 6th. Carols and hymns are sung and the story is told from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:1-12).

Across the world there are numerous traditions associated with Epiphany and quite a few of them involve eating cake (no New Year diets here!). Spain, France and Mexico all have their own versions of a King Cake which are either decorated with crowns or have a tiny baby Jesus (or bean) to find. In other countries houses are blessed using chalk and what looks like a mathematical formula!

For 2023 the chalk blessing will be 20 + C+ M+ B+ 23. The number is the year itself split into two parts and the letters in-between stand for the traditional names of the three Wise Men who followed the star: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The letters are also an acronym for the Latin phrase “Christus mansionem benedicat” meaning, “May Christ bless this house”. The “+” signs represent the cross.

The sign is written in chalk over or near the main door of the house and although the chalk will wash off in the rain the blessing will remain.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the gifts the Wise Men brought? A couple of years ago I came across a fantastic little book by Brian Sibley that imagines what happened to the gold, frankincense and myrrh. The story is told by the angel that visited Joseph to tell him that Mary was going to have a baby. The book is called Joseph and the Three gifts published in 2019 by DLT. It would make a lovely gift for all ages and especially for anyone wanting to deepen or refresh their faith and knowledge about the baby in the manger and what happened when he grew up.

There is also an Epiphany tradition of proclaiming the moveable feasts of the Church Year so I’ll end by doing that and hope to see you at those services later in the year (of course everyone is welcome at all the services during 2023!):

Easter Sunday 9th April, Ascension Day Thursday 18th May, Pentecost Sunday 28th May.

May God bless you every day during 2023.

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