People often set great expectations for each other. Sometimes these expectations, particularly at the beginning of relationships, differ and go unspoken, occasionally resulting in one party not living up to the hope of the other.
I wonder: what were the expectations of the people who came to John to be baptized? John the Baptist, cousin and forerunner of Jesus Christ, was in the wilderness baptizing with a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. He proclaimed the good news of Jesus, the one who was to come, the one who would not just baptize with water but with the Spirit.
People came from all over the Judean countryside and from the city of Jerusalem to be baptized by John in the Jordan. And it was there at the Jordan where the very one John spoke about showed up to be baptized.
In this year’s lectionary text for the Baptism of Our Lord, found in Luke, details about Jesus’ actual baptism are few. In just two verses we learn that Jesus showed up with everyone else, was baptized and prayed, and that God spoke directly to him, expressing relationship, love and delight. Jesus was devoted to God, was loved by God and was connected to the community.
I wonder what this experience felt like for the other people present for their baptisms that day—for those who had great expectations of this Messiah. Did they know they were in the presence of greatness? Filled with eager expectation, what glorious imagination did they have in mind of what the Messiah would be like?
In what ways are our own expectations about baptism different from reality?
How did the people feel when John told them this journey with the Messiah was not going to be all pleasant—there would be sifting and threshing and burning? Did they believe him? How did it impact their faith in the years to come when Jesus’ life and ministry flipped some of their expectations on their head? Did they still feel solidarity with the one who came to the waters of the Jordan with them?
In what ways are our own expectations about baptism different from reality? How often do we, when thinking about baptism, only imagine cute little babies wearing cute little clothes (perhaps handed down from generation to generation), with doting family and friends surrounding them? Do we think about their journey ahead with Jesus? When we consider our own baptisms, do our actual journeys with Jesus reflect what we expected at the beginning of our faith journeys?
As with Jesus, our baptisms are both personal and communal at the same time. They include a declaration of a personal relationship with God and a commitment to the community around us. And, just as with Jesus, once the water from the memorable day dries, we often face trouble in the world. On those difficult days, do we remember that God calls us by our name? Do we remember we are loved? Do we remember we are pleasing to God?
Our baptisms are filled with great expectations—some that may not always feel pleasant. But these great expectations will always result in us being claimed by God as God’s own, surrounded by the community of faith, in the presence of Jesus. As we recall our own baptisms, let us remember that we are washed in the waters of baptism and called to live with great expectations.
