Arulvakku

13.06.2020 — Lesser credibility and accountability

10th Week in Ord. Time, Saturday – 13th June 2020 — Gospel: Mt 5,33-37

Lesser credibility and accountability

The Jews of Jesus’ day had trouble telling the truth consistently. So in order to guard themselves against being found guilty of swearing falsely by the name of God, they had firmly established the habit of swearing by everything except God – heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and even by the hairs. This practice could be called as “evasive swearing”. They wanted to add some kind of force to their promises to make their words more credible. So they created what was in effect a lesser class of oaths. These oaths were bound to various parts of God’s creation rather than to God Himself. Jesus emphatically points out that God alone is sovereign over all things. The one who is able to legitimately call created things to witness with him is God himself. Men have no place to do so, because men control nothing. It is God to whom you and every other created things are accountable, and you’re accountable to Him every time you open your mouth.  In this case, it is better not to swear at all than to plan a crooked way to avoid accountability before God and to act as a truthful person.