Shibboleth

Reading the book of Judges is puzzling for me. I've been steadily working my way through the old testament and I have a tendency to skip the stories that I've read before or jump over the passages that have been underlined or highlighted before. I'm going slow this time: I read through the story of Gideon which consistently reminds me that God is patient and slow to frustration. Right now, I read through the chapters regarding the judge Jephthah. Some may remember his story; most would like to forget it with regards to the sacrifice of his virginal daughter. That's a story for another time.

Today, what caught my eye, was the story of Jephthah and his Gileadites who are constantly at war with others - even fellow people of Israel. The story is from Judges 12: I will type it out - you can get your Bible and read it for yourself, but this may make it easier.

"The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, 'Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you?' We will burn your house down on you!'"

It's amazing the things people find to get picky about - to start a fight about. Kids will fight over toys. Adults will fight over perceptions of events. Couples will fight over remote controls. The men of Ephraim wanted to burn down Jephthah's house because they weren't invited to the war. Very interestink. A side note to the story: many of the tribes of Israel did not enjoy Jephthah's leadership because they perceived him to be unworthy - he was the son of a prostitute - he was not recognized to be a 'true' Israelite because of his background. So, the people of Ephraim thought that God would recognize their true claim and rid the land of Jephthah and his army.

"2 Jephthah said to them, 'My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand. 3 When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my own hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?' 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, 'You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites - in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh'. 5 Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordon against the Eprhaimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, 'Let me go over,' the mean of Gilead would say to him, 'Are you an Ephraimite?' When he said, 'No', 6 they said to him, 'Then say Shibboleth," and he said 'Sibboleth,' for he could not pronounce it right. then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time."

What is Shibboleth? Very literally, Shibboleth, for the people of Gilead, was part of a plant that contains the grain, but what they were asking of the people of Ephraim is if they were part of the in-group. They could tell who was an outsider by the way they pronounced words. They had accents - in many ways, even if they spoke the same language it wasn't pronounced the same way - and so they would slay anyone who was an outsider.

Shibboleths have been used throughout the ages to decide who is a native and who is a foreigner, or, in many cases, who is a friend and who is a foe. Here are some examples of Shibboleths:


During the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War, the American forces used the challenge-response codes "Flash" - "Thunder" - "Welcome". The last response was used to identify the challenger as a native English speaker (and therefore not an enemy), whereas the German enemy would pronounce it as "Velcome". This caused problems for German Jews serving in the U.S. Army.
Similarly during Operation Chariot the British raiders used the challenge "War Weapons Week" and the countersign "Welmouth", likewise unpronounceable by most Germans.
In the Pacific Theatre of Operations, the shibboleth was Lollapalooza, whose pronunciation produces severe difficulties for the Japanese.
Woolloomooloo was used by Australian soldiers in the Pacific Theatre during the Second World War to identify themselves when approaching a camp.
During the Israeli War of Independence, Israeli army passwords were often chosen to contain 'p' sounds, which native speakers of Arabic can rarely pronounce properly.

Shibboleths can also be physical - for example: circumcision. In the ancient world, all Jewish boys were circumcised at eight days of age. The Bible requires circumcision as a covenant between the Jewish community and God - to take what is most important to the (gulp) human male and take a piece off symbolizing steadfast devotion to God. At this time of history, Jewish men could always be checked by the ruling authorities and were often left out of societal functions including athletic events. Many athletic events were done in the nude. Young Jewish men were not allowed to compete in the Greek events and the only way they could participate was if they were to have a reverse circumcision, which was, well... let's not go there now.

Shibboleths abound in every culture, every country and every crowd. There is the focus group - the one with all the resources, the power and the prosperity and then there is everyone else who is trying to get into the powerful group. Sometimes there is an initiation right; sometimes there is an oath; sometimes something amazing is required of the entrant. Some are turned away because they are not the right shape or size. Some are turned away because they don't say words the right way. Some don't look or sound right. It all begins to sound unfortunately familiar. The Body of Christ often has its own set of Shibboleths that we have conveniently forgotten about at times.

For example, I have been to a certain church in the past that denied communion to me because I was not part of the congregation. Many people have had this occur, but in many ways, it is very hard for me to swallow, that humans can decide who gets to receive the body and blood of Christ and the forgiveness and grace that it allows. Because I do not say the creed the same way or hold different views about certain social issues, I am outcast - I am not good enough to receive Jesus in communion. Now, those churches that practice closed communion will shout to me, "We are simply following the guidelines that Paul set for the early church. It is to save you from condemning yourself!" My hackles are raised - I would like to think that God can sort that out. And, maybe, my anxiety was raised because the pastor who refused communion to my whole family and I on Christmas Eve - even after I'd been the organist at the church for a year -stared me down from his place on the stairs and said I wasn't worthy. He didn't use those words, but they were implied.

I love that the ELCA practices open communion; obviously, we will help all people understand what communion is about and not let people denigrate the sacrament and treat it shamefully, but the invitation by God is for all people to take part in his Body and Blood. Not just certain denominations.

Perhaps I'm in a grouchy mood today, but this has been riding on my mind a lot lately. God offers the kingdom of God to all people. There is no Shibboleth involved. There is nothing that we have to do to prove our worth - the gift of faith is free; it is ours. I don't have to pronounce the name of God correctly or wear my hair or beard a certain way to come under the patient, loving eye of God the Father.

And for that, I am grateful. No Shibboleths.