1 Kings 19:19-21 / Matthew 5:33-37 (2022)
Some Christians have taken Matthew 5:33-37 to mean that we must not, under any circumstances, utter an oath or vow.
So they refuse to take an oath in a court of law, or in any other situation that requires them to speak the truth.
This would be absurd in a in a marriage ceremony, or in a religious vow.
The point that Jesus is teaching in today's gospel passage is that if we tell the truth at all times, then there is no need to swear upon anything or even to swear upon the name of the Lord.
When we speak the truth and when we stand on the side of truth, then our "Yes" will mean yes, and our "No" will mean no.
Yet at the same time, we also would have realized that very often we try to qualify our "Yes" and "No" with other conditions like "if" or "but" or "maybe".
At times, we even do not want to make a confirmation of our response as to whether it is a "Yes" or "No".
So we will be able to identify ourselves with Elisha in the 1st reading. Elisha had wanted to follow Elijah but his "Yes" was not a firm yes. But he made a decision for that moment to firm up his "Yes".
So may our "Yes" be a firm yes, and our "No" be a firm no. Then there will be no need to make an oath or to let the evil one twist our words into falsehood.