This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we established a large context and noted the continuity with the posts of last week noting that the lessons continue to make clear the personal responsibility of freely entering into the covenant relationship with God – and to answer the question, what does it mean to truly be God’s people? In today’s post we consider the fifth example used by Jesus as it is one that perhaps most goes “against the grain” of our human reaction. Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time for Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel reading is from the discourse popularly known as the Sermon on the Mount which we began on the 4th Sunday. Last week we considered a number of preceding verses that were marked by “…you have heard it said…But I say to you…” Our gospel continues with the teaching under the same instruction framework which offers a succinct comparison of the current Jewish teaching (You have heard it said…) with a more complete understanding of what God intended (but I say to you…) as offered by Jesus. As we covered last week, the lesson is to make clear the personal responsibility of freely entering into the covenant relationship with God.  To answer the question, what does it mean to truly be God’s people?

There are some commentators who would group vv.33-37 with our gospel reading:

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

The reason for this is that these verses represent a transition from situations anticipated in the Law – e.g. murder, adultery, and divorce – to actions and locations not discussed in the OT. There is no precedent in the OT for the absolute prohibition of oaths. The Misnah has entire tractates on oaths (Shebuoth) and vows (Nedarim). Yet Jesus had provided a vision of discipleship and life that abolishes the distinction between words that must be true (oaths) and words that must be performed (vows). All speech is to be truthful. All promised action to be performed, not just the ones associated with oaths and vows.

Image credit: Cosimo Rosselli Sermone della Montagna, 1481, Sistine Chapel, Public Domain