This Week’s Gospel Message for Sunday, January 6th is from Matthew 2:1-12.
“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is the newborn king of the Jews? . . . on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
“When seeing Jesus for the first time, the magi ‘prostrated themselves and did him homage’ and ‘offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh’ (Matthew 2:11). Nowhere in Matthew’s account do we see them offering homage or bringing gifts to King Herod. They recognized the difference between the temporal king and the eternal king, between the one worthy of reverence and the one unworthy of the honor.”
Source: Pastoral Patterns, Winter 2018-2019
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday 1 John 3:22—4:6; Matt 4:12-17, 23-25
Tuesday 1 John 4:7-10; Mark 6:34-44
Wednesday 1 John 4:11-18; Mark 6:45-52
Thursday 1 John 4:19—5:4; Luke 4:14-22a
Friday 1 John 5:5-13; Luke 5:12-16
Saturday 1 John 5:14-21; John 3:22-30
Blessing of homes on The Epiphany of the Lord:
“The traditional method for blessing homes this day [uses] incense, chalk (an incarnational image because it reminds us of the dust of the earth from which we were made), and “Jordan water.” The chalk is used to mark 20 + C + M + B + 19 over doorways. The numerals consecrate the new year. The initials remind us of the legendary names of the magi—Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar—and also stand for the Latin motto Christus, mansionem benedicat (‘May Christ bless the house’).”
Source: Pastoral Patterns, Winter 2018-2019