feasting with kings and queens...

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany for the Western Church - and a feast it should be! Unlike the talking-heads, overly rationale and anti-sensual Reformed Church, those in the Roman and Orthodox worlds know how to do this day up right.  Beyond the blessing of our home, there is swimming outdoors in the middle of Northern winters (to mark Christ's baptism in the Jordan) and eating a rich Three Kings Cake (to mark the arrival of the Magi in the West.) 

+ The Western Church highlights the Three Kings on Epiphany, a way of celebrating God's good news being shared/extended to the realm of the Gentiles. In the East, this feast is all about the baptism of Jesus and the enfleshment of God in our world. Both work for me as both are earthy, sensual and all about blessings.

+ I really wasn't born to be a Protestant - I'm too sacramental - but probably not a Catholic or Orthodox believer either (given the downsides of those traditions, too.) Organically, I am a Celtic Anglican as they have the best of all worlds - and the best costumes, too!

So now that all but the final details for the Four Freedoms "Songs and Sounds of Solidarity" concert are in place, I'm partaking of rich French bread, earthy Italian cheese and a hearty blast of Pinot Noir in honor of the Magi and God's presence in our flesh and blood. Hmmmm... probably need to make a gateau des rois, too. (https://www. npr.org/sections/thesalt/ 2018/01
/06/575958258/ quebec-s-galette-des-rois-tradition)



credits: the painted prayer book @ http://paintedprayerbook.com/ 2009/01/06/feast-of-the-epiphany-a-calendar-of-kings/