Again, you have hear that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 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 cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’…
Nothing separates the followers of Radical Jesus from the religious more than the appearance of continuity between their words and their actions. Jesus knew the difference between an external oath begrudgingly kept and the internal motivations of the oath maker. His followers would not be people who had to slavishly embellish their truth with claims on what rightfully belongs to God. They would radically be known as people whose Yes was Yes and their No, No.
Where do you stand today? If you committed to a sacrifice during this Lenten observation, did you present it publicly as a struggle when privately you knew it would be a cakewalk? Your other brothers and sisters might be fooled but Jesus is not. He wants all of your commitment and all of your faith. When He asks you, ‘who do you say I am?’ can He trust your answer? Is your Yes, yes Lord real?
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 