Teaching about Oaths

Today's Reflections 

      

Teaching about Oaths

Mt 5:33-37

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ³³“Again 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.’ ³⁴But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL. In ancient times, people swore by their gods or father and mother to guarantee the truthfulness of their statement. In turn, the Israelites swore by the Lord their God: by heaven or by his dwelling place, the temple of Jerusalem.

In our time, before taking on an office or making testimony before a court of law, people usually swear by the Bible and promise “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” They then add, “So help me, God.” This is done to fight a lie that can be punished as perjury, that is, lying under oath. Still, not even using God’s name is a guarantee for truth.

When Jesus tells us not to swear by God’s name, he is not prohibiting swearing by the Bible. What he means is that, as his disciples, we must be men and women of our word. We should not be “forked-tongued,” unreliable in our statements or, worse, purposely intent on deceiving others. We should be simple, dependable, and honest in our dealings with others.

Jesus himself is a truthful man. Even his detractors—the Pharisees and Herodians—admit this, and tell Jesus, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status” (Mt 22:16). Jesus invites us to be truthful; people will know that we are his disciples if we are, as we say in Filipino, mga taong may isang salita, people of one word.

Someone asked me,

“What if I broke your trust someday?”

I just replied, “Trusting you was my decision.

Proving me right is your choice.”