In many of his letters, St. Paul was big on the death of Christ, and our participation in that death. Our first reading today echoes this. “He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” A great reminder that we must no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ.
In our Gospel reading today from Matthew 5, Jesus talks about swearing oaths. In fact, He says we should not swear oaths at all. Why? Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” What does Jesus mean by this? He reminds us that our word is our bond. We should mean what we say and say what we mean. If that happens, then we would have no need to swear an oath.
Is it just me, or does it seem that this notion has been lost on society? We see so many politicians (I would be remiss if I didn’t single them out, wouldn’t I?), celebrities, business people and others just flat out lying. They call it “spin.” But Jesus never engaged in “spin.” He told it like it was, and said that we should do the same. So the question for us is this…is our word our bond? Does your “yes” mean “yes” and your “no” mean “no?”
Father, forgive us for those times when we engage in “spin.” Give us the grace and courage to talk straight and make our word our bond. Amen.
0 comments