Faith Daily | 12 June 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - PENTECOST APBA p550

O Lord, from whom alone all good things come:

grant that by your holy inspiration

we may think those things that are good,

and by your merciful guiding

may perform them;

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Matthew 5: 33 - 37

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

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Maggie Woolley

Jesus seems to be saying this out of frustration because although the same message had been passed down through generations, the dangers of making false oaths was still not being observed. They were simply not getting the message. How true it is even today.

Oaths are words of promise and as we all know, words are important. They convey a message, reveal what we believe and hold incredible power. Jesus is asking us to be truthful and is holding us to account by warning about thinking before we speak and making an oath "even by one's own head".

With the advent of social media and fast news comes a great risk of knowing whether what we read and hear is real, or truthful. It seems too that we can develop our own perspective on truth, but if our words contradict our actions, then we must look closely at what is truly in our hearts.

I think that Jesus is also warning us to guard our tongues from speaking falsely because our words can diminish the good work that God wants to do through us. He wants transparency, honesty and accountability; in other words, the simple truth and anything short of that is from the "evil one". The message I get from this passage too is that Jesus is clearly against hypocrisy in all its forms.

FINAL PRAYER: "A New Creed" United Church of Canada

We are not alone, we live in God’s world.

We believe in God:

who has created and is creating,

who has come in Jesus,

the Word made flesh,

to reconcile and make new,

who works in us and others

by the Spirit.

We trust in God.

We are called to be the church:

to celebrate God’s presence,

to love and serve others,

to seek justice and resist evil,

to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,

our judge and our hope.

In life, in death, in life beyond death,

God is with us.

We are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Amen