Right Relationship

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The Scriptures for today's liturgy ask us to look at our choices. We can choose to do good or we can choose to do evil. As we know all too well, each of us has made both good and bad choices in our lifetime. The choices that we make determine our righteousness. As I have commented in the past, the best way to understand this word is to think in terms of relationships. If we are in right relationship with God and with our neighbor, then we will be counted among the righteous.

To be in a right relationship with God and with neighbor means that we must always remember who we are and who the other is. In terms of our relationship with God, it is important that we remember that God is the creator and we are the creature, God is the shepherd and we are the sheep, God is the Father and we are the child. No matter what name we call God, that name also determines who we are. If we live up to that relationship, we are righteous. However as soon as we make ourselves the creator, the shepherd, the law giver, the king, we find ourselves moving out of that right relationship.

In terms of our neighbor, it is important to know who we are and who he/she is. Each of us is a child of God, made in God's image and likeness. We are the dwelling place of God, the Temple of the Holy Spirit. If we recognize God within each person, we will be in a right relationship with that person. However, as soon as we see ourselves as better than, different than, other than, we move out of the right relationship.

In the movie "Moonstruck," the character played by Olympia Dukakis is invited to enter into an immoral relationship with a man who is not her husband. She answers "no" to the invitation. When asked why she refused, she simply said, "Because I know who I am." That knowledge helped her to make the right choice.