Daily Devotion for Lent 2024, Day 15

“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."

                                                    Matthew 5:33-37 (NRSVue)

In an age where truth seems relative to who's doing the telling, how does today's passage inform us?

In the ancient world, one might swear by the names of certain supernatural beings to validate one's promise.  If the promise was broken, said deity would presumably exert some type of punishment on the oath-breaker.  In my 20th century childhood, with the absence of a vast pantheon, this had evolved to "cross my heart and hope to die - stick a needle in my eye."

In the Bible, there is a tragic story regarding a vow made to God.  Judges 11 tells the story of Jephthah from Gilead.  He was a judge and led God's people in battle.  Unfortunately, Jephthah makes a vow to God to offer as a burnt offering, anything (or anyone) that came out of the doors of his house to meet him should he vanquish the Ammonites.  Well, he is successful in battle, and his only child, a daughter, came through the doors of his house dancing to celebrate his victory.  Because he made an oath to God, he felt compelled to carry out his promise.

The book of Sirach which comes from the apocrypha (the books not considered canon but between the Old and New Testaments), has a passage from 23:9-11 of which Jesus would have been versed:

"Do not accustom your mouth to oaths nor habitually utter the name of the Holy One, for as a slave who is constantly under scrutiny will not lack bruises, so also the person who always swears and utters the Name will never be cleansed from sin.  The one who swears many oaths is full of iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house.  If he swears in error, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he swears a false oath, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities."

The Epistle of James 5:12 almost mimics the Sermon on the Mount in stating, "Above all, brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation."

Does this practice go against the Sermon on the Mount?

In essence, Jesus seems to be saying that this may in fact be breaking one of the 10 Commandments - that of taking God's name in vain.  I believe that Jesus is indicating to us that if we live out of integrity, people will not need assurances of any additional oaths sworn by God.  We also don't want to make any vain promises that we don't intend to keep - or would bring harm to the people we love!

During this season of Lent, as we examine our own habits of speech, do we often say any common phrases that we perhaps should avoid?  Do we make statements that would cause others to question our integrity?

Prayer for the day: Understanding God, you surely recognize that our need for assurance may cause us to go to extremes.  Help us to retain integrity in all the things we say and do.  And may our words affirm to others who we are in you.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus, not out of a sense of binding you but to remind us whose we are.  Amen.

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