2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Sam 3:3-10,19
1 Cor 6:13-15,17-20
Jn 1:35-42
…Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, “look, there is the Lamb of God.”
A few years ago, I reconnected with an old friend. She and I had a falling out years prior, over a stupid quarrel. We’re both proud women, neither was going to back down if the other didn’t make the effort. As it turns out, we both did, at the same time. We are now speaking again. Talking to her again, there’s the same feeling of having found a kindred spirit, like a ‘shibboleth’. In Judges 12, the word ‘Shibboleth’ was used to differentiate the men of Ephraim from the men of Gilead, as they tried to cross the Jordan. She and I are the same age, face the same work challenges and struggle with the same decisions about whether to pursue motherhood or a career. I remember the first time I met her. Sometimes you just know you’ve found a kindred spirit. Your successes are sweeter, your failures are softer, when you have someone to share them with. I’m glad I reconnected with my friend again. I had missed her and it had been too long.
Today’s gospel is John’s account, of how Jesus found his disciples. They all have a ‘shibboleth’ moment, an instant, mutual recognition of one another – “hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus” (John 1:37) and Jesus proclaiming, “You are Simon, son of John, but you shall be called Cephas” (John 1:42).
As Christians, how do we just know when we’ve met a kindred spirit, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? So many people are frauds despite their outward appearances. Jesus himself says, “Not everyone who says to me “Lord! Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father” (Matt 7:21). Our hearts must be prepared before we can perceive and identify our kindred spirits. This occurs through shared tribulations. We identify each other through our sense of mission and shared persecution. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus’ time. They were the ones who did the persecuting. Their hearts were hardened from their perceived righteousness, and lacked the compassion to see Jesus. “The heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, they would turn back and I would heal them” (Matt 13:15-16).
We also identify each other through our ability to respond, our ability to act on that ‘shibboleth’ moment. Jesus asks his first disciples, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38). When Elijah encounters Yahweh at Horeb, he is asked the same question, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9). Elijah responds, “I am burning with jealous love for Yahweh”. God asks this of us to discover the contents of our heart before He reveals Himself and His plans for us. Are we ready to follow Him? Are we ready to respond to God reaching out to us? We are united with other kindred spirits, when we respond to His call. As He brought the apostles together to help Jesus, so will He send us kindred Christian spirits, to help us fulfil His plans.
Is there someone we have distanced, that we were once close to? Why don’t we put aside our pride and pray for His grace to help us reunite ourselves with our kindred spirits? Let us pray for an open heart that we not be dismissive, proud or unforgiving. Let us pray for the wisdom to see and find His people, the kindred spirits that we have lost touch with, and the ones that we are still to meet.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Sharon Soo)
Prayer: We pray for open eyes, open ears and open hearts, so we are able to respond to His call.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the kindred spirits that God has found for us. We give thanks for the friends and family who share our walk with Him.
OXYGEN 
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