Message of Abbot Paul - Saturday 12th June
Message from Fr Paul for Saturday, 12th June 2021
Much as I enjoy feast days, I also very much like getting back to normal. I love simplicity. Today, then, we continue our reading of Matthew’s Gospel and the Sermon on the Mount, (Mt 5: 33-37). Here Jesus speaks about the taking of oaths, a common practice in ancient times, especially in Israel. He says to his disciples, “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one”. We might think, as the disciples probably did, that the advice given of old was sound. What could possibly be wrong with it? But Jesus does not agree. He is referring to the ceremonious way in which Jews of his time, particularly the Pharisees, took oaths. It was one of the things in the culture of the time. Jesus was criticising it as an undesirable practice because it was all about bluff, pulling the wool over other people's eyes. It had become the custom to swear by impressive sounding oaths, but the whole situation they were creating was false and hypocritical.
Now these oaths were nothing but forms of words designed to impress others. They weren't indications that the person swearing the oath had any power over the things that the oath mentioned. It was simply swearing to impress and so produce acceptance of things in relation to the oath. The truth of the matter is that those swearing didn't intend to keep the promises or commitments that they were apparently confirming by taking the oath. They were, in fact, lying and behaving hypocritically and so Jesus is telling his disciples, “Don’t you behave like that.” This fits well into the context of the Sermon on the Mount because in it Jesus constantly criticises the Pharisees for their many and varied hypocrisies. Jesus is against hypocrisy in all its forms, and he's for the truth: straightforwardness, transparency, honesty and responsibility in all things. So, our yes must mean yes and our no, no. All other words are superfluous, and not only that, for they come not from God but from the evil one and the very source of evil. Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, asks us to follow his example and to remember always that he has called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
