Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
These words from Ephesians begin the service of Holy Baptism in The Episcopal Church. They are a call and response setting in The Book of Common Prayer. The presider and people share in proclaiming our unity in one God.
These words have welcomed infants and elderly. They have been prayed with people whose faith has been passed to them across generations and people who have newly discovered Christianity. For rich and poor, powerful and meek, those who come with joy and those with some trepidation.
Words of unity remind us of our unity in God.
In our world where we are too often categorized and identified by words and issues that divide, I give thanks for the words of baptism that remind us of our unity, our one-ness.
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