I Swear

Today’s Gospel Text:  "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. Matt 5:33-37

Reflection: Do people still swear and what is the significance of the action?

How else would one convince another if not by swearing? I have seen sometime parents swearing on their children too.

What a risk to take, especially for a liar or is it a risk for the parent who may care less for their child.

What if it is a sincere one and the other party would not like to believe in what you have to say?

There are times we take the mercy of God for granted and swear and then under our breath may say sorry to God.

Will certain situations, places and positions which customarily require a swearing in ceremony allow one with a mere yes or no?

The ultimate question remains: Why in the first place swear at all? Is there a message that Jesus wants to communicate to us?

I suppose that Jesus wants to tell us that any swearing based on the divine does not promote the glory of God and degrades the name of God and the things that concern him.

What is more, such swearing cannot come from any divine inspiration or from good human intentions but instead comes from the evil one.

It is an attempt to bring God’s name to contempt because we as humans cannot in any way match the divine name and the divine things, even if we were to be truthful, because such kind of truthfulness is our standard which falls short of God's standard. 

It is also an attempt rule over God or claim rights over him and his things just as Satan tried when he rebelled against God. Hence he makes the children of men do the same. 

Do I swear then? 

Prayer:  Lord, help us never to walk the path of evil.

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