Dear Friends,
This coming Sunday many of our churches will be observing the Feast of the Baptism of Christ. Throughout the festival of Christmas, we listened carefully to the gospellers tell the story of the incarnation: St. Luke drew us to the manger with the shepherds on Christmas Eve, St. John opened our hearts and minds to the cosmic origin of the Word made flesh on Christmas morning, St. Matthew invited us to take a journey with the Magi on the Epiphany, and this Sunday, St. Mark takes us to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with his baptism in the River Jordan.
There is nothing better than being drawn into the mystery of the incarnation through the liturgies, prayers, children’s pageants, lessons and carols of the Christmas season. Many of our churches were full to overflowing throughout the celebrations. And as we move into this new year, we take down the tree, put away the decorations, pack away the pageant costumes, return to work, go back to school, and make resolutions that are hard to keep.
The word resolution, from the verb to resolve, comes from the Latin word resolvere, which means to “loosen, undo or settle.” When a problem or conflict is undone, loosened or settled, a resolution is reached. Many of us make resolutions on Jan. 1 to undo old habits, change sticky patterns and loosen the grip that some tendencies have on us. We make promises to ourselves to lose weight, go to the gym, spend less time online, drink less alcohol – the list goes on. Sometimes we find the resolve and sometimes we don’t, and we go back to old patterns by the end of February.
The Baptism of Christ summons the Church to gather at the river, to remember our own baptism, the promises we made and continue to make, to start again, to be resolved, to loosen the grip of evil, to loosen the hardhearted, to undo systems of harm and abuse, to settle conflict and suffering with peace and justice. The waters poured in the font and sprinkled on the congregation summon us back to this way of life, a way that we cannot do on our own, but with one another, and with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Nine years ago in the same season, bishops Riscylla Shaw, Kevin Robertson and Jenny Andison were consecrated and appointed suffragan bishops in our Diocese. And on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ 2019, I was installed as the 12th Bishop of Toronto. As we step into a new year of ministry, we do so with a deeper resolve too, to be as faithful as we are able, with God’s help, and to continue to follow in the footsteps of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
We look forward to learning how we are being summoned to follow Jesus in 2026.
If you have a moment, I invite you to watch this brief video for the Feast of the Baptism of Christ.
Every blessing in this new year.
Yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend Andrew Asbil
Bishop of Toronto
