ACC ~ James 5 v12a

AN OATH ADDS NOTHING. CHRYSOSTOM: What if someone swears an oath and claims that he was forced to do so? The fear of God is more powerful than any force. For though you may start out by swearing all kinds of promises, you will not keep any of them. Moreover, you would not dare to swear or give an oath in matters of human law, which you accept whether you want to or not. You would certainly never claim that you were forced into doing so. Now the person who has heard the blessings of God and who has prepared himself as Christ has commanded will never claim any need to do anything of the kind, for he is respected and honored by all. What is needed beyond a simple yes and no? An oath adds nothing to these, for no one has to be told that evil is the source of both excess and its deficient opposite. An oath is a form of excess. CATENA.

DO NOT DEIFY CREATION. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Let the witness of our life be stronger than an oath, and if some shameless person dares to ask an oath from you, let your yes be yes and your no be no, instead of swearing an oath. James forbids us to swear by heaven or by earth for this reason, that we should not give the creation more value than it has by deifying it. For those who swear, swear by something greater than themselves, as the apostle says. CATENA.

HEROD’S OATH RECALLED. BEDE: This is the judgment to which Herod fell victim, so that he found that he had either to break his oath or commit another shameful act in order to avoid breaking it. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 2.23.

Jas