Matthew 5:33-37 “Yes Be Yes”

On Tuesday I went to get my Hawaii Driver’s license renewed at the DMV in Lihue. I paid my fee and was having my new picture taken when I thought the flash caught me at a bad moment. So, I asked the clerk behind the glass if the picture was okay. She gave the thumbs up sign and said that I looked great. When I finally got the temporary license and looked at the picture, I realized that the clerk probably just wanted to move me along, not take the picture again, because it looks like I just got an electrical shock or something. Truly one of the worst pictures I have ever taken. It’s hideous.

I was the victim of the “little white lie” just to keep things moving at the DMV.

One of the participants later at the bible study at the Regency Pua Kea brought up the question of the little white lie, the minor or petty untruth, that is used in our world to keep things moving along. Was Jesus in our scripture for today telling us that we should not ever just say no is yes, or yes is no, just for the sake of convenience? I told him I would sleep on it because I was not sure of the answer. I am still not sure of the answer this morning either!

My whole existence is based on a little white lie! When my father passed away, my siblings and I came together to go through some of his old papers. My father originally came to this country from Germany on a steamship with my mother, who was an American. So, we opened the ancient steamer trunk to view the artifacts contained inside.

One of the documents that was uncovered was a declaration in German that was signed by my grandmother, so my father’s mother, stating the family was pledged to Adolf Hitler and the NAZI party. I later asked my uncle about this. He noted that every family had to sign that paper and enroll their children into the Hitler Youth program if they were to attend school. So, technically my father had been a member of Hitler Youth.

As we continued to dig a little deeper into the pile of papers, we found another declaration, this time from the US Army who were occupying the Rhineland-Palestinate section of Germany that my grandmother had also signed. “Have you or any member of your family ever been a member of the NAZI party?” The “No” was checkmarked. Well, if you wanted your children to attend public school after the war, you had to sign this other document apparently.

In both cases these were white lies that allowed my father to go to school. That is a good reason to lie on official documents. I know today that parents lie about their true home address in order to get their kids into better schools, too.

Eventually in our digging, we came to my father’s application for residency in the United States. If you have ever filled out this documentation, you will recall that one of the questions asked is “Were you ever a member of the NAZI party?” My father checked the “no” box despite the fact that he had been Hitler Youth. But, without that lie, I would not be here today.

The truth is sometimes complex, and we prefer convenience. So, today we have “convenient truth” where “yes” may be “no” if it is faster and easier. Who wants a long explanation? The French even have a term for this that is often coined in English “verite du convenience.”

Let me give you a biblical example of this: Jesus is arrested in Gethsemane and taken to see Pontius Pilate. Follow me in Matthew 27:11. “Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him ‘Are you King of the Jews?’ Jesus said ‘You say I am.’” Jesus could have just said yes or no. He probably would have been released by Pilate if he had said no. He would not have gone to the cross. He would not have died. He would not have been resurrected. We would not be saved to eternal life with Christ.

Jesus himself tells us that oftentimes it is not as simple as “yes” or “no.”

Let us look at Matthew 5:37 again: “Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no,’ anything more than this comes from the evil one.”

Whenever you see the word “LET” in the bible, you may count that as a mistranslation. The whole concept of “LET” does not exist in either Greek or Hebrew. It is used in the Bible in English because English does not have a “third-person imperative” form in grammar. What this means, in Hebrew and in Greek, one may command an object–a thing. This is an unabashed command. It is the verb “to be.” So, the command to our word is simply “BE”!

This is not “let your word be” as if it is a “let.” Let the fruit fall from the tree. Let your hair turn gray. Let the government take my paycheck. This is far more active than passive. This is something you have to do as it is commanded. It is not the old Beatles song “Let it be!” Remember, we are in the middle of the sermon series on the commands of God to us.

By the way, the verb “to be” here echoes God’s name. You will recall that when Moses asks God’s name at the burning bush, the voice of God responds “I am that I am.” In this case, we have to feel that bit of godliness in our own speaking. “Make your words speak godly Truth.”

I actually love the way the great theologian Eugene Petersen translates this in The Message: “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying , ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say yes and no. When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.”

In this scripture the word being used for “word” is not just the physical “word.” The word here is logos. It is the Word that is spoken by God in John 1: “And the Word was God.” It is a direct reference to Jesus being the True Word. It is not the simple word “lexis” that is a combination of letters to form a word. I have heard this translated as “Christian witness” in other sermons. “Your Christian witness be true yes or no.” (as a command)

When Saint Matthew is writing this gospel for the early Christians to read, the Christians were very much a new sect of Judaism. They were already being persecuted by their own. Matthew 10:17-23. “They will hand you over to councils and flog you in the synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors. . . .” “You will be hated by all because of my name.”

When Christians speak the truth today, we also can become rather unpopular. I speak the truth today when I say that if I want to get rid of somebody fast, I just start talking up the Truth in Jesus Christ. The people just think you are crazy and walk away shaking their heads. And, if they do want to continue to listen to you, then you have won a brother or sister to Christ. Good job.

Amen.