An Oath Won’t Fix It
June 14, 2025 - Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:33-37
You’ve heard it before:
“I swear I’m telling the truth.”
“I swear on my life.”
“I swear to God.”
And still—
people lie.
They place their hands on Bibles in courtrooms.
They sign contracts and break them.
They make promises in relationships and disappear when things get hard.
We live in a world of blurred truths.
Of half-yes and half-no.
Of “I didn’t mean it like that”
and “I never actually said that.”
It’s exhausting.
Jesus sees that ache.
The weight of empty words.
The damage of broken promises.
He doesn’t give us a legal rulebook.
He just says:
“Let your ‘Yes’ mean yes.
Let your ‘No’ mean no.”
That’s it.
No swearing. No drama. No clever cover-up.
Just truth—quiet, solid, real.
The first Christians took that seriously.
And centuries later, a group of radical Christians in Great Britain did too.
They refused to swear oaths in court or business deals.
They lost jobs. Got arrested.
But they knew: if your word can’t be trusted,
an oath won’t fix it.
They believed your life should speak for itself.
That your honesty should be enough.
Jesus believes that too.
He’s not calling us to be loud.
Just to be true.
To say what we mean.
To show up when we say we will.
To be real—especially when it’s hard.
Maybe you’re tired of pretending.
Tired of promising more than you can deliver.
Tired of people doing that to you.
He gets it.
He’s not at the top with the influencers.
He’s at the bottom—
where trust has been broken.
Where lies have done damage.
Where people are still waiting for someone to mean what they say.
And He says:
Start here.
Be honest.
Be clear.
Be brave.
You don’t need to swear.
Just be someone whose word still means something.