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Psalm 47:1-2, 5-9

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, adapted

1 Clap your hands, all you peoples;    

shout to God with loud songs of joy.

2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,    

a benevolence over all the earth.

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5 God has gone up with a shout,    

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;    

sing praises to our Creator, sing praises.

7 For God is the Creator of all the earth;    

sing praises with a psalm.

8 God is ruler over the nations;    

God sits on the holy throne.

9 The future leaders of the peoples gather    

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;    

God is highly exalted.

Matthew 5:33-37

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Concerning Oaths

33 “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.’ 34 But I say to you: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Today’s scripture is situated after the Beatitudes and toward the end of a series of “You have heard that it was said… but I say to you” statements attributed to Jesus. These proverbs were so often repeated that they had lost their bite, they had become platitudes. Jesus pushes his listeners to hear them again in a new way, and to examine their lives in this new light.  

33 “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.’ 34 But I say to you: Do not swear at all… Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

The Oxford Dictionary definition of swear is to “make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case.” 

In this scripture Jesus says do not swear, or make an oath or a pledge. Why not? Were they to do nothing? Too many oaths and pledges were being disrespected; they were empty promises. Jesus was saying, just do it. Decide. Either yes you will or no you will not. And then do it. Or don’t do it. But don’t talk about it to gain attention or to look good and then go back on your word. Or as Star Wars fans learned from that sage, Yoda “Do or do not… there is no try.”

How many of us say ‘yes’ reflexively because we think it makes us a good person? Or it is because we think that is the answer being sought and it makes the person asking go away? And then we find ourselves committed to doing something we don’t have time for, have energy for, or have passion for? 

Let these verses from Matthew remind us all. Yes and no are both valid answers. The most important part of the yes or the no is prayerful consideration of whether or not the ask is something that we are called to do. And whether or not our yes or no keeps us in right relationship with God and with the greater good of others. Then do or do not. Yes or no.

Jesus always fostered humility. He was teaching us to be aware of unfulfilled promises that have the potential to bankrupt our souls, and to damage our relationships. 

Jesus is challenging how these proverbs were interpreted. He was challenging the community to rethink what they believed and how they lived together. He was challenging them, and us, to be accountable to a higher standard of responsibility, a higher standard of loving not only our families, and our neighbors, but also our enemies. 

Jesus was challenging them, and us, to do more than expected, to do more than minimally required. Jesus was teaching anyone that would listen to respond to the world around them with the same grace and goodness and abundant love that God bestows upon each one of us. This is so very difficult to apply to our often beautiful, sometimes awful, and always complicated lives. 

My take away from these verses from the Gospel of Matthew is how vitally important, and incredibly difficult it is to reconcile ourselves daily to God and neighbor. We do not do this once and done, but hundreds and thousands of times over the course of our lives. 

We have to choose anew each day. Multiple times per day. To drink or not to drink. To be honest or to lie. To cheat or to be fair. To return the found money or to keep it. To help or to look away.

Remember our Psalm from this morning. It declares that God is good and should be celebrated. It declares that all life, all of Creation is good and worthy of praise and celebration with clapping of hands and stomping of feet and shouts of joy and bursts of beautiful music. 

Our hearts break for those living in war torn places and places beset by violence. Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti.

Where we often get into trouble is trying to straddle the fence on issues of justice. We try not to commit to yes or no. Our brains are full. Our hearts are broken and weary. We try to remain unaware, uninvolved, neutral. You are likely aware of the wise words of Desmond Tutu… “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” The quote continues in part, “If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” 

What can we do? Pray, educate ourselves, vote, send aid, provide refuge. 

There is a Supper Club a mile or so from where I grew up. The sign hanging over the entrance to the dining room speaks volumes. “You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.”

Jesus taught us with his life. He was a teacher of God, a teacher of Love.

Our thoughts, words, and deeds matter greatly. Our yeses and our noes are critically important.  It is imperative that we make our decisions based on right relationship with God first, then right relationship with others. What we say with our lips we must follow through with our actions, with our hands and feet, with our very lives, because other lives depend on it. 

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – August 18, 2024