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Jesus said, “Again you have
heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false
oath, but make
good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But
I say to you, do not swear at all, not by heaven, for it is God’s
throne, nor
by the earth, for it is his footstool, not by Jerusalem, for it is the
city of
the great King. Do not swear by your
head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let
your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your
‘No’ mean
‘No.’ Anything more is from the
evil
one.”
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"Life’s
like this, chill out, whatcha yellin’ for? Lay
back, it’s all been done before. And
if you could only let it be, you will see I like you the way you are,
when we’re drivin’ in your car and you’re talking to
me one on one, but you’ve
become somebody else round everyone else. You’re
watchin’ your back like you can’t relax. You’re
trying to be cool; you look like a
fool to me. Tell me, why you have to go
and make things so complicated?"
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At
the time of Jesus, the Hebrew people were
accustomed to taking oaths and swearing by something else about the
accuracy of
a situation. It was a process that
involved some ritual and show. Jesus
knew about the process, and he also felt that it was not
necessary. "Do not swear at all," he says, "Let
your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No'
mean 'No.' That is to say, life is not that
complicated, and your speech and life should reflect basic
honesty. That is all that is needed.
Avril Lavigne says the same thing in her song "Complicated." Apparently the young man that the person in the song is dating is someone who changes according to the circumstances, and is into playing games. When other people are around, he is acting differently than when he is one on one with her. She says that that behavior is false and dishonest. "Why do you have to make things so complicated?" she asks. The dating scene of high school and college as well as life as an adult is often made up of people who are false, people who act differently with a group than they do with individuals, people who want to impress certain other people, people who put on airs, people who live a different life in public than they do in private. In terms of Avril Lavigne’s song, they have "complicated" their lives. Jesus and Avril Lavigne say that life should be relatively simple—we should be acting and speaking honestly and sincerely, and the rest will fall into place. Our world is complicated because we have made it that way. As we place all of this in a Christian context, perhaps one of our tasks is to simplify our lives by living the principles of Jesus Christ, and thus make the world a little less complicated. |
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THOUGHT
Do
you feel that most people act in an honest and sincere way most of the
time? Yes or no and why?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, in many ways it is a complicated world that we live
and work
in. But, if we accept your Son’s
teachings into our lives, and really want them, life becomes a little
less
complicated. Help us truly desire
Jesus’
guidance. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |