Today’s reading are all about faithfulness and the many ways it is expressed. In the first reading Barnabas is faithful to the Lord and teaches others to be as well. These were the first people called Christians – the beginning of our faith. On his feast day today we celebrate him as a man of faith, and a man who encouraged others to express their faith. In the psalm we see the faithfulness of the Lord as well. He has “made his salvation known” and ‘revealed his justice.” “He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness.” The Lord is faithful to us; we should be faithful to him as well. He shows his faithfulness through kindness and what better way to repay him than in our faithfulness to him. We have models in the Lord and in those who are faithful to him. Jesus says that our own faithfulness is in our word. There is no need to swear an oath if our word is our bond. If we are true to our words, true people of faith and honor, there is no need to swear because all our words are true. These examples of faithfulness through the ages are important to hear today. Too many people are not true to their words; some even make false oaths. Life would be a lot easier if we could trust what people say. I think it’s especially sad when people say, “I swear to God,” and you doubt their word. But when you know people speak the truth, and they are faithful to their words in their actions, then there is no need to swear. The truth of our words should be our expression of our faithfulness to God and to each other. |