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| Integrity for authenticity |
Elisha accepts the call of God to follow Elijah as servant called to become a prophet in the passage from the First Book of Kings.
* [19:19–21] Elijah’s act of throwing his mantle over the shoulders of Elisha associates him with Elijah as a servant (v. 21). Elisha will later succeed to Elijah’s position and prophetic power (2 Kgs 2:1–15). Elisha’s prompt response, destroying his plow and oxen, signifies a radical change from his former manner of living.In the Sermon of the Mount, from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus underlines the importance of avoiding oaths that may imply that sometimes we don’t speak truthfully.
* [5:37] Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’: literally, “let your speech be ‘Yes, yes,’ ‘No, no.’” Some have understood this as a milder form of oath, permitted by Jesus. In view of Mt 5:34, “Do not swear at all,” that is unlikely. From the evil one: i.e., from the devil. Oath-taking presupposes a sinful weakness of the human race, namely, the tendency to lie. Jesus demands of his disciples a truthfulness that makes oaths unnecessary.Mike Cherney is drawn to reflect on how he lives out his call in the inspiration of the great prophets and Jesus call for integrity.
My trust is far from total.I try to insure my well-being rather than putting my faith in you.I am not ready to show my commitment with a dedication like that of Elisha.I admit my weakness rather than claim a higher level of integrity.I ask for your strength to move away from fear-based decision making.I pray that I may grow in the uprightness that trust in You brings.Don Schwager cites The Light of Truth by Chromatius (died 406 AD) to develop the argument that we do not want a gap between our oath and our ordinary speech.
"By the grace of gospel teaching, the law given by Moses acquired an advantage. The law prescribes that one must not swear falsely; but according to the gospel one must not swear at all. The Holy Spirit had seen fit to order this through Solomon when he said, 'Do not accustom your mouth to oaths' (Sirach 23:9). And again: 'Even as a well-chastised servant is not deterred from envy, whoever swears and does business will not be purged from sin' (Sirach 23:11). Therefore it is absolutely inappropriate for us to swear. What need is there for us to swear when we are not allowed to lie at all and our words must always be true and trustworthy, so much so that they may be taken as an oath? On this, the Lord not only forbids us to swear falsely but even to swear, lest we appear to tell the truth only when we swear and lest (while we should be truthful in our every word) we think it is all right to lie when we do not take an oath. For this is the purpose of an oath: Everyone who swears, swears to the fact what he is saying is true. Therefore the Lord does not want a gap between our oath and our ordinary speech. Even as there must be no faithlessness in an oath, in our words there must be no lie. For both false swearing and lying are punished with divine judgment, as the Scripture says: 'The mouth that lies kills the soul' (Wisdom 1:11). So whoever speaks the truth swears, for it is written: 'A faithful witness will not lie' (Proverbs 14:5). (excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 24.2.2–4)The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Kings 19:19-21 comments that Elisha probably didn’t focus on what he had left behind. Instead, he likely looked ahead to God’s promise of a new beginning.
Transitions in life can require us to undergo a similar “sacrifice of change.” Often, embracing a new opportunity means leaving something behind: leaving home to get married, leaving one job for a promotion, leaving the world of “couplehood” to welcome your first child. Even smaller changes, like changing our schedule or making a new friend, entail leaving behind some aspect of our “old life.” Like Elisha, we can look ahead and trust that God will walk with us as we cross the threshold into that something new. Because we know that God is with us, we can take that next step in faith.Friar Jude Winkler explains that saying goodbye to family in the culture of Elisha often took a long time. Sometimes we need to answer the call, burn our bridges and not hedge our bets. Friar Jude notes our tendency to play games with our words as he reminds us to live our word and be authentic.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, summarizes his writing on justice acknowledging that have a great deal to repent of, offer reparations for, and seek restoration for, including the genocide of Native peoples, centuries of slavery, the internment of Japanese citizens, and the current injustices such as mass incarceration and police violence.
Forgiveness and restorative justice do not mean that we forget wrongs. On the contrary, as I shared earlier this week, for the healing of both the perpetrator and the victim we need to expose the truth and hold those responsible accountable. This honesty is important for individuals as well as organizations, churches, and countries.Speaking and living the truth equips us with the compassion and credibility as witnesses who expose the truth of the ways in which we have neglected our reconciliation with individuals and communities.
References
(n.d.). 1 Kings, chapter 19 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1kings19:8
(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 5 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from http://usccb.org/bible/matthew/5
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 16, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). 10th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved June 16, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 16, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/
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