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.” In fact, after press conferences, the media goes to what is called "The Spin Room." 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.
AMEN Gus! I felt the same way until we moved about three years ago (from the city to a more rural area) and have been uplifted to see that there are still many folks who live by their word.