If you are going to operate successfully in today’s online world, you’re likely to be asked for two things: user name and password. Get either of those two items wrong and you won’t get connected. What is true of the internet community is true of the authentic, benevolent, human community. It’s not enough to have the username of Christian. You’ve got to log in with the right password. Not all passwords work. Consider these: Shibboleth or Sibboleth or Kuleana.
Kuleana (Koo-leh-ah-nah) is the password of the island of Hawaii. It is the Hawaiian word for responsibility. It has many different meanings though it's most often associated with the ethos of the privilege to serve your neighbor. According to Hawaiian custom, Kuleana is only given to those who demonstrate their readiness and worthiness to handle the responsibility of contributing back to your community. Three groups—ad hoc firefighters made up of cowboys, construction workers and even a canoe club—showed their Kuleana in helping their neighbors besieged by two fires—Kula and Kihei—other than the larger Lalaina wildfire that has dominated the news. This Kuleana Brigade saved lives and property.
Passwords that identify authenticity is nothing new. In the ancient times of the Judges, Jephthah Brigade’s password was Shibboleth. As seen in Judges 12, Jephthah led Israel to a victory over their feuding brothers—the Ephraimites. At a strategic crossing point on the Jordan River, Jephthah gave orders to his army to demand a password for anyone wanting to cross:
then they would say to him, "Say now, 'Shibboleth.'" But he said, "Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus, there fell at that time 42000 of Ephraim. Judges 12:6
The word Shibboleth literally means “a flowing river.” Anyone not able to pronounce the slight regional linguistic nuance of “sh” verse “s” would identify themselves as ones not of the Gilead community, thus an enemy. Spiritually and proverbially, a password is a distinguishing marker of authentication of relationship. For the Christian, our Shibboleth is love; not that you must say the word correctly, but you must practice the word faithfully, contributing to the welfare of your brother.
John 13:35 bears witness of love as the Christian Shibboleth:
If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples. ... By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. John 13:35
When your brother or sister needs a visit in a nursing home, tell the attendant at the nurse’s station when they ask for the password, “Love is the Shibboleth.” They’ll let you cross.
When your brother or sister needs food and shelter, tell the shelter attendant when they ask for the password, “Love is the Shibboleth.” They’ll let you cross.
When your brother or sister’s child needs a tutor, tell the principal when they ask for the password, “Love is the Shibboleth.” They’ll let you cross.
Its not enough to say you’re Hawaiian. You need to exhibit Kuleana—the responsibility to contribute to the wellbeing of the community. It saved many lives during their gravest time of need. Kuleana is true Hawaiian.
It’s not enough to say you’re a Christian. At life’s end as it is for a life well-lived, the Shibboleth at crossing time is love of Christ. Consider the people of Hawaii. Consider John 13:35 and the hymn written by Peter Scholtes.. Log in to your comunity,
We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord;
We are one int he Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored.
Chorus: And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.
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