2025.01.12 | Ripples

“Ripples”
Luke 3:15-23
Preached by 
Rev. Dr. Marvin Lance Wiser 
Eden United Church of Christ  
Hayward, CA 
12 January 2025

Good morning beloved and may the peace of Christ be with you. We gather today remembering the baptism of Christ, and that of our own. This day we remember not just the moment when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, but the profound meaning of baptism itself—not just as a ritual, but as a powerful, transformative act that ripples out into the world. Today, I want you to think about this question: “What if baptism is just as much about us making a difference in creation as it is about God making a difference in us?”

And as we metaphorically wade in the water, I’d like to pause and say that our thoughts and prayers are with all of our siblings in Southern California this morning affected by the wildfires and climate change. You may know of some of the affected. May they be showered with life-giving water and assistance. You may find a link in your Chimes email to give directly to our UCC direct response efforts. 

Nos reunimos hoy para recordar el bautismo de Cristo y el nuestro. Este día no sólo recordamos el momento en que Jesús fue bautizado en el río Jordán, sino el profundo significado del bautismo en sí mismo: no sólo como un ritual, sino como un acto poderoso y transformador que se extiende al mundo. Hoy quiero que piensen en esta pregunta: “¿Qué pasaría si el bautismo tuviera que ver tanto con que nosotros hagamos una diferencia en la creación como con que Dios haga una diferencia en nosotros?”

Esta mañana también oramos por todos nuestros hermanos y hermanas en el Sur de California que están enfrentando los efectos de los incendios y el cambio climático. Oramos para que Dios les llene de bendiciones.

Our reading this morning differs from the lectionary reading as it includes verses omitted about burning the chaff. It’s no wonder why they’re left out as they seem pretty fire and brimstone-y. While many interpret this section within the context of an eschatological judgement, in the sense that either people are grain or chaff, and the chaff will be consumed by fire; we forget, though, that chaff and grain are both part of the same plant, wheat in this case. In an example that’s a little closer for me, take coffee: the chaff on coffee comes from the silverskin or the husk of the coffee bean, which protects it, but most often is released from the beans during first crack, think of popcorn popping. Most of the chaff of coffee is actually burnt up in darker roasts as they take more time and more heat to produce, but in more delicate and lighter roasts some of the chaff can still remain on the bean, but it doesn’t add anything good flavor profile-wise to your cup of joe, that is, unless you like moist cardboard flavor. So you want to shed it off, as it’s just a layer of protection for the seed itself. If you ever grind lighter roasted coffee and notice thin brown papery components in your grinds, you’ve got chaff. So, before grinding you can agitate the whole beans then blow air on them and a lot of the chaff will blow away. Now, if you’re roasting a lot, you need to intentionally burn the collected chaff often, because if not it can become a real fire hazard in the roaster. The chaff that is collected during a roast can be burned up by the afterburner, like a refiner’s fire burning away impurities. So, chaff can be those bitter things that are part of us that need releasing for us to emit only good flavors. So, this begs the question, what is that we need to release?

Taken in this context, the separating of the chaff can be understood as part of what John is calling for when he exclaims just before today’s reading, “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” The crowd before him asks what they should do, and he answers him, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” 

John’s repentance then isn’t one of withdrawing from the world and society’s problems as was with the Essenes at Qumran. John’s call to the people, preparing the way for his cousin Christ, wasn’t a military revolution, like the Zealot groups were seeking. John’s repentance was ethical social reform, a turning toward God’s economy of equitable abundance. And this was sweeter than the honey he no doubt cultivated. This was and is the preparation of baptism in the all too familiar imperative, “repent and be baptized,” a turning away from Cesar’s economy toward God’s. 

It is on the heels of this shedding of chaff and sharing of coats that we are presented with Jesus’ baptism, who was making a new way out of the wilderness with his cousin John, and we hear the words, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

Baptism is a sacred moment of grace and initiation and while focus is often on the individual being baptized, what if the impact of this sacrament is not confined to the individual being baptized? 

John the Baptist reminds us that baptism is not just an individual event; it’s an invitation to join something much larger than ourselves; to share and to make a splash doing it. In this sacred act, we are invited into a deeper relationship—not just with God, but with one another.

The act of baptism creates ripples. It sends out waves. And today, I want us to focus not just on the effect of baptism on us, but on how we, as individuals, shape baptism and the community we are part of through our own participation, through our own saying “yes” to God’s invitation, through our own shedding of chaff, and yes, wading in the waters.

El acto del bautismo crea ondas. Quiero que nos enfoquemos no sólo en el efecto del bautismo en nosotros, sino en cómo nosotros, como individuos, moldeamos el bautismo y la comunidad de la que formamos parte a través de nuestra propia participación, a través de nuestro propio decir “sí” a la invitación de Dios.

Many schisms throughout the centuries have had to do with the sacraments, and as part of the uniting in Christ ecumenical movement, we recognize many forms of baptism. But if we go way way way back, there did seem to be forms of baptism that were preferred by the early church. The earliest extra-biblical teachings about baptism are found in the late first-century document known as the Didache or “Teachings,” a short but significant text that was used to instruct early Christians in matters of faith and practice. In its instructions on baptism, the Didache states, “Baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you do not have living water, baptize in other water; and if you cannot do so in cold, then in warm.”

Why is this important? The early church understood baptism as an act that was deeply connected to life, movement, and flow—the “living water” that signifies both the presence of the living God and the interconnectedness of creation. The use of running water; that is, a river or stream, in baptism was meant to symbolize life continually flowing through and beyond us, like ripples that extend out across the surface of the water. The water doesn’t just touch us; it transforms the environment around it. And we are called to be part of that flow, to allow our lives to be living waters that touch others and allow sweet fruit to come forth. And likewise, we, in the very act of baptism, are transforming the flow of that water as well. It’s a beautiful life-giving symbiosis. 

La iglesia primitiva entendía el bautismo como un acto profundamente conectado con la vida, el movimiento y el fluir: el “agua viva” que significa tanto la presencia del Dios vivo como la interconexión de la creación. El uso de agua corriente, es decir, un río o arroyo, en el bautismo tenía como objetivo simbolizar la vida que fluye continuamente a través de nosotros y más allá de nosotros, como ondas que se extienden por la superficie del agua. El agua no solo nos toca; transforma el entorno que la rodea. Y estamos llamados a ser parte de ese fluir, a permitir que nuestras vidas sean aguas vivas que toquen a otros y permitan que broten frutos. 

El bautismo es algo profundamente personal, pero también es una invitación a unirnos a algo mucho más grande que nosotros mismos. Sí, somos purificados en las aguas, sí, somos marcados como propiedad de Dios, pero las repercusiones de ese momento están destinadas a extenderse a nuestras comunidades y al mundo. Nuestros bautismos individuales no solo nos afectan a nosotros, sino a todos los que nos rodean y tienen el poder de cambiar el curso de las vidas, y el mundo entero.

Baptism is deeply personal, but it’s also an invitation to join something much larger than ourselves. Yes, we are cleansed in the waters, yes, we are marked as God’s own, but the ripples of that moment are meant to spread out into our communities and the world. Our individual baptisms do not only affect us—they affect everyone around us, and they have the power to change the course of lives, like stones thrown into a stream.

When we baptize, we do not just celebrate a person’s relationship with God, but the way that person will affect the world. We can hear this in the song “Ripple,” from the 2022 Christmas musical movie Spirited. It’s a song that speaks to the yearning for meaningful change, repentance, and for making a difference:

"Every day I wake up with a single dream,
Runnin' through my head,
To throw a little stone into a mighty stream,
And watch the ripples as they spread."

This image of throwing a stone into a stream perfectly captures the essence of baptism. The moment we step into the water, the ripples we create don’t just stay contained—they spread out, and keep going ad infinitum; just as our actions—our lives, our love, our compassion—create ripples that reach far beyond us.

In the chorus of "Ripple," the song states:

"If you wanna make a ripple,
If you wanna make a wave,
Playing safe and thinking small
Doesn't move the ball at all
There’s humanity to save."

We are part of a bigger picture, called to make a difference. And baptism reminds us that we are not simply individuals marked by water. We are a community of baptized people, joined together in the call to make waves—waves of justice and compassion. Each of us, in our own way, can create ripples that reach beyond our imagination, and together those ripples can move mountains and thwart ruthless rulers. 

The waters of baptism don’t just cleanse us—they launch us into a life of service, into a life where our ripples have the power to bring healing, to bring peace, and to bring God’s love to the world. The ripples we create aren’t just for our own benefit; they are meant to touch those around us. 

So, as we remember the baptism of Christ today, I invite you to reflect on your own baptism and its effects. Where have you seen the ripples of your life transformed touch others? How have your actions—your love, your care, your justice—spread out and made a difference? And how is God calling us together to make new ripples? New waves in this time?

Les invito a pensar en sus propios bautismos y el impacto que la vida de cada uno de nosotros tiene en los demás. El bautismo nos transforma y nuestro amor, cuidado y justicia transforma al mundo.

The call to follow Christ is a call to live in a way that recognizes that the I affects the we. We are not baptized for ourselves alone. Just as the baptism of Jesus sends ripples out into the world, so too does our baptism call us to live with the awareness that we are never alone. We are part of a community that, together, has the power to change the world for the better. And if you believe it, say it with me, Amen.