Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’

Gospel: Mt 5:33-37

JESUS said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let

your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.”

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Jesus warns against doublespeak and instructs his disciples to speak the truth in a forthright manner, without equivocation but always with charity.

The lawyers in Jesus’ time have found a clever way around the law against giving false oaths in God’s name. Eventually people start to swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or by one’s self. These oaths, done carelessly and casually, do not bind them

to any kind of commitment but bolster their unreliability in word and intention and build a world of deception and lies.

Jesus counsels against giving any kind of oath and insists on speaking the truth in all honesty. To be powerful witnesses to a skeptical world, Jesus’ disciples must be committed to truth and integrity. We are called to a radical commitment to truthfulness. Even in small things we are not to make any compromise with falsehood.

Our words can edify other people. Let us avoid innuendos, scathing remarks, and disparaging words.

SOURCE: “365 Days with the

Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph. * * *