"Filled with Expectation"

So when the crowd heard John talk about this other person, what were they expecting?

[1] “Baptism of Jesus II” by He Qi

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

January 12, 2025

Dr. Todd R. Wright

Luke begins his gospel with the story of an angelic announcement of a birth!

Not Jesus’, John’s! He is the forerunner, with the spirit and power of Elijah!

His life will be forever intertwined with the life of his cousin, Jesus! But John will go first!

First to proclaim God’s call to repentance; first to draw huge crowds; first to be seen as a threat!

The parallels are concentrated in the extended version of our scripture today:

Like Jesus, John fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah;

he speaks in images that fire people up and capture the imagination;

he gives beatitude-like advice about sharing coats or food with the needy;

and he draws tax collectors and Roman soldiers!

So it is no surprise when Luke says, “the people were filled with expectation!”

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What do you suppose they expected?

What would you have expected?

If you were living in a proud country forced to endure Roman occupation?

If you had been waiting 400 years for a prophet’s voice … and had nearly given up hope?

If it seemed like God had finally answered generations of prayers for a deliverer?

Would you have left the Temple, left your stall in the marketplace or your field or your flock?

Would you have left your family and friends to follow your heart … or drug them along?

Would you have left everything,

for this voice crying out in the wilderness; for the waters of the Jordan?

Poet Rachel Ann Russell imagines that moment like this:

“It was a one-man show, that wild man dunking

each man, woman, and child into the river with a blessing,

which by the time it was our turn, was brown with mud, the banks a mess of footprints.

It took hours to reach him.

My father prayed the whole time, swaying with his angst,

and my mother, responsible for comforting us, got a bit tense around her mouth.

Because where were we to sleep if night fell? What were we to eat?

Yet the whole long day, sun high above, everyone in line was peaceful and calm.

The water turned out to be warm and the dunking man had strong hands,

he pulled me up, free to go on,

even if a bit of the mud stayed on my skin.”[2]

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John warns the gathered people not to expect too much of him. He is just the forerunner.

He says, he baptizes with water but another is coming who will baptize with fire and Spirit!

Someone who will separate the wheat from the chaff.

Someone who will gather the wheat into a place of safety and burn the rest!

Now the people knew about water baptism – a way of welcoming non-Jews into the family.

They knew about fire – both the kind that warmed and cooked; and the kind that destroyed.

The knew about the Spirit – the one present at creation and who filled people with power.

And they know about separating wheat from chaff.

We, who get our wheat in a sack of flour from the store, might think John is using an image that implies that the one who is coming will be including some people and excluding others. But, as one scholar observes, anyone who has ever seen a farmer tossing the harvest into the air knows “every grain of wheat has a husk, [and the wind can be used] to separate these husks — collectively known as ‘chaff’ — from the grain itself, the goal being, of course, to save every grain, not to separate the good grain from the bad grain.”[3]

They continue, “Like an expert restoring a work of art, the wind and fire remove what

otherwise gets in the way: the anxieties, self-absorption, apathy, or greed that make us less generous, less fair, or less respectful of others. Each of us requires restoration, liberation from whatever “husks” are holding us back.”

So when the crowd heard John talk about this other person, what were they expecting?

Someone larger than life; even more charismatic than John;

someone with access to holy power that went more than skin deep;

someone who could discern between the best in a person and what was chaff?

What would you expect?

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Well here we are on what the Church calls Baptism of the Lord Sunday.

What do you expect?

When the font is front and center?

When the bowl is full of splashy water?

When the minister dips their hand in the water and drenches the person

with handfuls of liquid grace in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?

Do you expect something holy or magical, something spiritual or special,

something life changing, or photo-worthy, or (at least) memorable,

something inspiring or energizing or instigating?

Here’s what Luke’s account invites us to expect, based on Jesus’ experience:

Baptism will highlight your humility – Jesus is just one of the crowd. So are you.

It will bring community – Jesus is part of a crowd. All the baptized share that experience.

It will focus your identity – Jesus is told his is God’s beloved. You’ll know you are too!

And baptism is the start of a call to serve others. Luke says it began for Jesus that day.

For us, our call begins with our baptism too.

Some take a while to grow into it; others are ready to hit the ground running!

But that’s what we should expect – humility, community, identity, and call – and all of that is a gift from God, so we might go about the world dripping with God’s grace! Amen

[1] “Baptism of Jesus II” by He Qi

[2] From her poem, “That day at the Jordan”, published in the Christian Century, 10/20/21

[3] Here and following, from a reflection on the text by The SALT project, 1/7/19