We celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by John. Some have asked why did Jesus get Baptized? He was building a Community of Justice for all. He wanted John's Baptism to demonstrate His solidarity and to unlock the Holy Spirit within. This too is true for us. We, as Anglicans believe there is one Baptism-the universal sacrament and we accept this for all people no matter what their spiritual background as it is the unlocked Holy Spirit that motivates them to come, worship and act in the community.
Baptism is our "super power". The Holy Spirit resides within us from the time of our birth. At Baptism and at the affirmation of our Baptism at Confirmation, we open ourselves to God's presence within us and we move forward in life following the example and teachings of Jesus. He worked for inclusion for all. He was with the outcasts, the marginalized, the stranger, the weak, women and the powerless. We too, must act in this way.
Through Baptism, we too unlock the Holy Spirit and progressively strive to support inclusion of all. Historically, we have worked for the rights of women, to dismantle racism, to be inclusive honouring all sexual orientations, seeing Indigenous rights and peoples as equal to all others. We can never be complacent. In the past, we fell into the sin of Colonialism which undercut our vision. We lusted for power and greed instead of the needs of people and all of the Creation for which God has called us to care. Our call to progressive ministry, following Jesus today demands us to build coalitions fearlessly with others in an effort to turn around global climate change. To stand-up and voice our truths, we will need to rely on our Super-power, the Holy Spirit unlocked in us as it was in Jesus!
