Time Will Tell

The committed and the curious
line the riverbanks on a warm
summer afternoon. Some gesture
and point to the small group of
women and men wading into
the slowly moving river.

Immersed to his waist, the one they
call the Baptizer greets each person
in the group with a broad smile and a
welcoming embrace. He turns, places
his hand on a man’s shoulder and lowers
his body until he disappears into the
cool water. Then, to excited applause
and shouts of joy from the still gathering
crowd, the man bursts from the water
and begins to sing. To sing!

Crowd voices join the impromptu praise
and the sound of a hundred voices fills the
valley as a chant of life rises into the
cloudless sky. But only for a moment.
A sudden silence descends as a young man
makes his way through the riverbank
observers and into the water. Deliberately,
confidently, he stops facing the Baptizer.

They speak softly to each other, embrace,
and then the man disappears into the dark
water. This time there are no shouts of
happiness, no songs, no applause. All
watch puzzled as the man rises, looks to
the sky, and slowly brings his arms up
and forward, as if welcoming a friend.

In that scene, fixed so clearly in my mind,
a single dove circles the group, still in the
center of the Jordan, and comes to rest on
the young man’s shoulder. Murmuring
and surprise sweep through the riverbank
watchers, when a moment later the dove
lifts in flight, up and up and up until it
is completely lost to sight.

Such a baffling encounter, I thought.
Yet so moving. A sign? An omen?
Is this man marked for something
extraordinary? Time will tell.