Almighty God,
you anointed Jesus at his baptism
with the Holy Spirit,
and revealed him as your beloved Son;
grant that we who are baptised into his name
may give up our lives to your service,
and be found worthy of our calling;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
who is alive with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
Reflection on this collect and on baptism is found here.
For a previous discussion about the order of baptism and holy communion go here.
There is a LOT of material for reflection about baptism on this site.
We are starting “Ordinary Time” – reflections on that can similarly be found by searching “Ordinary Time”. May your Ordinary Time be EXTRAORDINARY!
I enjoyed your meditation on tha collect and baptism – thank you.
I am often struck by the idea many Christians seem to have that Baptism sets them apart from the world. But with the Baptism of Jesus we see just the opposite. In baptism the sinless one shows,not contempt, but solidarity with sinful humanity. Perhaps the same is really true for us. Baptism does not declare our separateness from the world, but our oneness with the whole creation, which Christ has come to save.
I also find myself pondering the phrase “one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” In our baptisms we are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, but are we not also baptized into his baptism? Is this perhaps the “one Baptism”? Do we receive forgiveness of sins because of the rite we perform or because the sinless one has entered the water with us? I would enjoy others thoughts about this.