God for All People

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, January 11th, 2026:
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

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Acts
​10.34-38

Peter began to speak: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ — he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Over the Christmas holidays, I couldn’t help but notice how different our church community looks now than it did 40 years ago when I first came to what later became Saint Benedict Parish. I was just a small child back then but, in my first few decades of going to church, the people in the pews next to me looked remarkably like me. They spoke the same language and had the same cultural foundations. We could talk about the popular music we loved or our favourite hockey team without any extra explanations. When we had church potlucks, the meals were mostly the same. And that was steady. And safe. And easy. We didn’t have to try hard to connect. We didn’t have to learn anything new to speak the same language. For a long time, I was one of a very small collection of young people who kept coming to church after confirmation. As a young person, I was, in many ways, the most different thing at any given Mass.

This year, I noticed incredible cultural and ethnic diversity. I wonder if the Apostles speaking in tongues on Pentecost could have imagined the sheer number of nations, languages and cultures crammed into our pews to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Through a worldly lens of diversity, we’ve made tremendous strides as a church. If diversity was our goal, we’ve met it in spades! And while that isn’t our goal, it is deeply encouraging that we’ve created a space that is just as welcoming to me as it is to so many others.

But what really spoke to my heart was how much we are all truly the same. Even if we didn’t all know the music or lyrics of traditional western Christmas carols by heart or share the same external traditions around Christmas itself, we were there together, praying in unity. We were there because we believe the same things and choose to worship together in this one, beautiful, welcoming space, because our God isn’t for any one person but for all people who choose to accept His grace.

This church has grown not because we got better at marketing or made our message more palatable. Our church has grown because you believe, I believe, and all those who have joined us believe in the salvation offered by grace through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So, I thank God for my community. I thank God for the community that came together when I was young, because we believed in Jesus. And, I thank God for the community that comes together now, because we believe in Jesus. No matter who fills the pews, so long as we continue to praise God with our doors wide open in welcome and invitation, I have no doubt the Holy Spirit will continue to work wonders.


Stéphanie Potter

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