Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Matthew 5,33-37

'Again, you have heard how it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God's throne; or by earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is "Yes" if you mean yes, "No" if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the Evil One.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

We need to restore trust among men and women, and to remove that diffidence that requires the supplement of swearing. Unfortunately, today we see mutual trust wither because of the exploitation of words and the scarce weight that comes from them. On one hand Jesus calls to humility that is at the foundation of the relationship among us. And truth and frankness follow humility. With a bit of humour, Jesus warns that it is of no use to swear by "your head", because we do not have the power to make a single hair white or black. On the other hand, however, Jesus emphasizes that the Lord created man and woman, giving them the dignity of speech. This is why Jesus says, "Let your word be "Yes, Yes" or "No, No"; anything more than this comes from the evil one." Our words have weight: they should not be vague or ambiguous. Our heart can be seen in our words, as it is for God himself. The evil one tries to increase his power by corrupting our words. Jesus' disciples must learn to say "yes" to the life that comes from the Gospel and, at the same time, to oppose the proposals that lead to evil for themselves and for others. It is also important to know how to say "no", that is, to discipline our hearts. We must say "yes" to the Lord who calls, but we must say "no" to the seductive proposals that only apparently would offer something good for our lives.