Baptism is the sign of the new life in Christ. Baptism unites Christ with his people. That union is both individual and corporate. Christians are, it is true, baptized one by one, but to be a Christian is to be part of a new creation which rises from the dark waters of Christ’s death into the dawn of his risen life. Christians are not just baptized individuals; they are a new humanity.

This is the beginning of the introduction to baptism from the Book of Alternative Services, pg. 146 (the Anglican Church of Canada’s green prayer book).

I think it is a very good introduction to this sacrament – this sacred mystery and sign of God’s love for us and for the world.

It can be easy to imagine that baptism is only an individual activity – my relationship with Jesus.

However, it is about so much more than that. It is about our relationship with Jesus, our relationship with one another, and really, our relationship with all of creation.

The communal is as important as the individual in our life of faith.

This Sunday, as we celebrate the baptism of Jack on the Sunday of the baptism of Jesus, let us also celebrate our own baptisms. Let us celebrate that, though as Christians we are baptized one by one, in baptism, God makes us, together, part of a new creation, a new family, a company of pilgrims on the Way of Jesus.

Thanks be to God!

CG+