YOU’RE RIGHT

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for today, Tuesday, January 3nd, is “You’re Right!”

Today’s first reading from First Letter of John, Chapter 2 into Chapter 3, uses the words “righteous” and “righteousness”.

The issue of being right is a very human issue - and therefore - if I’m right - a very religious issue.

We join and stay with our religion because we think it’s right - we hope it’s right - we pray it’s right - and we use our brain and our faith as well - to follow it. We have blessed assurances from time to time - but we also have questions, we have doubts, and to the best of our understanding, we think it’s right.

LAST NIGHT

Last night, to prepare this homily I did what I like to do - I did some research on something in the readings - something that triggers wonderings or questions. The question of being right and righteousness hit me. Everyone wants to be right. We see that struggle in Jewish Scriptures as well as the Christian Scriptures.

In the Jewish Scriptures the Hebrew words for "right" and "righteous" and "righteousness" have the root word, “SEDEK”, spelled, “SEDEK” or “SEDAKA” or “TSEDAQUA”. [1]

In Judaism the goal in life was to see that God was RIGHT. Follow God and you’ll be right. And then be right with your family and your neighbor. No wrongs. No lies. No injustice. Be right with God.

Some kings were that way - described as being right with God and with the people - treating them with justice, loving kindness and mercy.

In time the list of what God wants us to do to be right increases. It takes in how to treat each other as well as what to eat, what not to eat, how to pray, how to worship, how to spend the Sabbath.

Jesus arrives and is off on what he sees is right and just and kind. He also sees that some people - some leaders - were off on what is right - to the detriment - to the crushing of the spirit of people - especially with regards the Sabbath. One picks up how the Scribes and the Pharisees were angry with him - especially when he healed people on the Sabbath.

So they killed him because they thought he wasn’t right. They told him that he was wrong.

Then comes the Acts of the Apostles and the beginning of the Early Church and we hear about Saul - a Pharisee - who saw Jewish folks following Jesus’ way. He too thought they were wrong and he was right - so he went after them - only to fall on his face - and discover something: he was wrong. Jesus was right.

In time he discovered that following Christ, entering into his life and spirit - is what makes for righteousness with God. And that’s what he basically preached: Righteousness, Salvation, Being Right with God is entering into Christ. We don’t earn all this. Grace and Salvation and Life: all is gift.

CONTRADICTION

Last night as I read all this, I felt the contradiction, the paradox, a major issue that was taking place in the life of Early Christians. They thought they were right; the Jewish people thought they were right and that was that. How does one deal with this contradiction, this paradox, this struggle - when two groups think they are right.

OLD STORY

Then the old joke of the Rabbi who was a great marriage counselor came to mind.

But last night I saw that the old joke is also a parable and the solution to this question about how do we deal with someone who thinks they are right, but we know we’re right.

The old joke goes something like this.

Once upon a time in the early part of the last century there was a small Jewish village in Eastern Europe. Their Rabbi was an excellent marriage counselor. Everyone raved about how wonderful he was.

His wife wondered about this all the time. She would meet another woman in the market place who would thank her for having such a wise husband - and how he helped her in her marriage Then she would meet men who would say the same thing. This happened all the time and all the time she jokingly would say to herself, “He certainly has fooled you.” She wanted to say, “Are we talking about the same person?” but she never dared say that.

Well, one day she was in the market and this woman says to her, “You’re the rabbi’s wife. You’re the luckiest woman in the world - having such a wonderful husband. My husband and I are having trouble and a bunch of my friends told me to see the Rabbi and tomorrow morning at 11 my husband and I are going to see him at your place.”

For the rest of the day it hit her: “Here is my chance to find out - just what he does with all these couples.”

So she tells her husband that evening that she’s going shopping tomorrow morning - and he really doesn’t hear her. She says to herself, “As usual.”

The next morning around 10:30 she dresses up to go downtown to do some shopping - and once more tells him that she’s going shopping. She’s gathering her stuff. It’s about 10 to 11 and he goes out back to the out house and she yells, “Bye now. I’m going shopping.”

She goes to the front door opens it - as he’s going out the back door. When she hears it close, she heads into the rabbi’s study or meeting or counseling room. She hides behind the curtain and waits and waits and waits. She hears the bell ring and she hears him welcoming the couple. She hears him say, “Who would like to come in and see me first?”

Silence. So she hears the husband say, “Honey, you go in first.”

The wife comes in and pours her heart out to the rabbi and says all the things that are eating her about her husband.

The Rabbi listens. After saying 3 or 4 times, “Anything else?” she says, “No. That’s it.”

“Well,” the rabbi says, “after hearing all that, you’re right. You’re right, but don’t tell your husband you’re right - just let him think he’s right. That’s the secret of a good marriage.”

The wife says, “Thank you. Thank you. I always thought was right.”

She walks out and in comes the husband. He tells the rabbi all his complaints about his wife - and this and that.

And after listening to him - and after getting him to voice all his complaints - the rabbi says, “You’re right. You’re right, but don’t tell your wife that you’re right. Just let her think she’s right. That’s the secret of a good marriage.”

And the husband with a wonderful smile says to the Rabbi. “I always knew I was right - but you’re right, I better not tell her - otherwise I might upset her once more.”

He too walks out of the Rabbi’s room with a great smile. And husband and wife give each other a nice hug and both say, “Thank you!” to the Rabbi.” And both walk back home holding hands.

The Rabbi is standing at the door - watching them walking together - and feeling good about himself. He turns around and there is his wife - furious. She says, “I was just in your room behind the curtain for the last 45 minutes and I heard you listen to that wife and then say, ‘You’re right.’ Then when you listened to her husband, you said the same thing to him. How can they both be right?”

And the rabbi said with a great smile, “You’re right.”

CONCLUSION

There’s a great lesson there. In life, when someone thinks they are right, our comments aren’t going to change things. So just remain quiet or say, “You’re right” and watch what happens.

Now some of you might disagree with this. Guess what? You’re right.

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NOTE

[1] The Hebrew word "TSEDEQ" or "SEDEK"  is usually translated into Greek with the word, "DIKAIOS"  or "DIKAIOSYNE" or "DIKAIOSIS" - with the sense of the Hebrew word "SEDEK".