As he does in so many places in the Gospels, Jesus takes the old law and expands on it.  Rather than asking the bare minimum of us, he invites us to something more.  It is not enough to simply avoid making a false oath.  We are called to be people of such integrity that we do not need to swear oaths; our word is authentically true.

In our lives, we often have different “selves” that we show to different people.  We play a certain role at work, another at home, and perhaps a completely different role online or on social media.  While it is certainly appropriate that there are certain things we don’t talk about at certain times–no one wants to be the one who overshares around the water cooler–Jesus calls us to be our authentic selves at all times.  

Are you someone who people know to be an authentic witness to Christ?  Are you living the life of a disciples in both your words and your actions?   

—The Jesuit Prayer team