“Those who are baptised are never alone”

Today, Archbishop Anders Wejryd baptised Princess Estelle. In his baptism address, he highlighted people’s need for God’s help and Jesus’ vow to be with us “always, to the end of the age”.

Baptism confirms that resurrection applies to all people and that life has a meaning. A promise is made that God will be present in our lives and that neither life nor death need to be frightening. It also incorporates the person baptised in a fellowship that extends throughout history and across the world.

The Archbishop emphasised in his address that in baptism, all people are equal – “all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3.28).

”To be human is to chose and take responsibility. You will have no guarantee that Life will be easy, but you have a promise that you count, you are seen. You have a helper who also opens eternity. We need God’s help to choose what is good; that’s why we prayed for Estelle just now that darkness should not take her in its power”, Anders Wejryd said.   

God’s help is needed for us to maintain a strong sense of human worth, explained the Archbishop, and this worth is not based on power or success.

”You have been given Estelle as a gift” the Archbishop said to the Princess’ parents, “and now it’s all about arranging everything so that her life will be as good as you are able to achieve. We are many who pray for you. But it is not really we who carry, it is God who carries all. God is the source of Love. It is Love that carries – and Love is God”.

The specific task of the Church to perform baptism is expressed in the Gospel of Matthew in the following words of Jesus: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

“Each baptism ends with the person being baptised being blessed. Through baptism, we can rely on God protecting us whatever happens. In life, we will encounter all manner of difficulties and evil, but the blessing tells us that those who are baptised are never alone – regardless of how life turns out,” stresses Wejryd.

Read more here:
Facts on baptism