Our Covenants

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord BCP 214)

The First Sunday after the Epiphany is always the remembrance of Jesus' baptism and the start of Jesus' ministry. When we gather online, we will renew our own baptismal covenant in the words of the Apostle's Creed and the additional vows. For many of us, these words were first said over us by our parents and godparents on our behalf. Later in life, we accepted this covenant on our own through confirmation or reaffirmation. 

The Baptismal covenant, though certainly the most important in the eyes of the church, is not the only covenant we make in our lives. In our relationships with the world through our social and civic realities, we make covenants of behavior and responsibility. Sometimes these covenants are written out in agreements, such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and sometimes these covenants are learned and understood by other means. 

Unfortunately, what we are seeing in recent events is what happens when people break their covenants. The events in Washington D.C. yesterday highlight a breach in the covenantal agreement we have made as a democracy to see our governance through public discourse, voting, and elected representation. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, the acts of violence committed must be recognized as a breach of our social and political covenants.

As Christians, our actions and morals are grounded in the Baptismal Covenant we will remember again this coming Sunday. At its core is the fundamental understanding of the relationship between God and God's people, a relationship of love. This Sunday we will renew our callings to love God, love our neighbors and ourselves. We will renew our vows of proclaiming the Good News, resisting evil, fighting for justice, and respecting the dignity of every human being. I hope you will join me in remembering our covenant and responding to the world's brokenness in love.