Stop Saying No

The Rev. Joseph Winston

March 4, 2007

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
During Ronald Reagan’s run for the presidency in 1980, Nancy Reagan wit-
nessed the terrible power of addiction. While on a campaign stop in New York
City, she visited Daytop Village. This facility for people dealing with substance
abuse was founded in 1963 with the innovative idea that people could be moved
away from their addiction to drugs or alcohol. When Nancy Reagan came to this
site, she learned about the destructive affects of drugs on children along with the
substantial efforts that are required to transform these children back into sober so-
ciety. This visit with the children stayed with Nancy and she soon returned to the
facility.
On her second trip to Daytop Village, Nancy Reagan asked what she could do
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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to help with the problem of addiction. One of the results of this visit was the “Just
say no” drug prevention program. The basic premise behind this effort was simple.
Everyone had the ability to reject the claims made by the drugs. In other words,
you could simply refuse to take the drugs and in doing so, you would remain free
of the damage caused by the drugs.
Nancy Reagan adopted this program whole-heartedly. During her husband’s
eight years as president, she took her anti-drug crusade, with its “Just say no”
message, to sixty five cities in thirty three states and nine foreign countries. In her
own words, she did this because her “role is to try to bring public awareness, par-
ticularly parental awareness, to the problems of drug abuse” since “understanding
what drugs can do to your children, understanding peer pressure and understand-
ing why they turn to drugs is . . . the first step in solving the problem.”2
While the overall impact of the “Just say no” anti-drug program is still being
debated, it is practically impossible to underestimate the power of saying “No.”
Think about the number of times that you have either heard or said no in your life.
Many parents report that “No” is one of the first words that their child learns to
say. “No, I don’t want to eat that.” “No, I don’t want to get into the car seat.” “No,
I won’t stop screaming.” Children have learned the power of “No” because their
parent’s have used it over and over in their lives. “No, don’t touch the lamp.” “No,
don’t run in the street.” “No, don’t throw a fit.” The use of “No” is not limited to
either young children or parents. Teenagers love to say, “No, I will not clean up
my room.” Or “No, I will not take out the trash.” Our use of this word does not
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decrease, as we get older. “No, I will not date you.” “No, I will not go to school.”
“No, I will not stop seeing that person.” Finally, the story repeats itself all over
again. We become the parents who teach our children the use of “No.”
The proper use of “No” is extremely powerful. When parents tell children
“No,” they are generally trying to look out for the child’s welfare. This use of
“No” keeps others from harm. “No” can also be used to set boundaries. This is
the primary strength of the “Just say no” slogan. It tells the world what you are
willing to do. Additionally, “No” protects you. After you have told someone else
“No,” you expect that they will honor your request.
Any word like “No” with so much control has the ability to be misused. Par-
ents can deceive their children about what is good and bad for them. We call these
individuals child abusers. Individuals that cannot say “No” are said to have addic-
tive personalities. People who lack the ability to set their own boundaries jump
from one broken relationship to another.
It is for these reasons, why we Christians are so concerned with the word “No.”
We expect, no, we believe that God always uses the word “No” correctly. More
specifically, we teach that when God says “No,” God really means “No.”
As Christians, in each and every utterance of “No” from God, we see love. In
the First Commandment we hear, “No, do not love another god because if you do,
you will end up dying.” The Second Commandment is similar, “No, do not speak
against God since this practice will ultimately cause you to discount God’s love
for you.” The remaining eight commandments follow this same basic principle
and they show us how much God cares for us.

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 A key, if often unspoken, part of the Lutheran belief about “No” is that God
never forces God’s self on us. So, when we specifically say, “No” to God, God
honors our request. This is concept important for two reasons. First of all, if God
compelled any of us to believe, we then would be nothing more than automata,
programmed machines that only look and act like humans. This is not how God
created us. We are humans with the ability to say “No” to God. Secondly, when
we speak our “No” to God, we are on our own. If you are told that the coffee is hot
and you still burn yourself when you try to drink it, the coffee is not to be blamed.
You are responsible for scalding your tongue. Likewise, if you turn your back on
God and you get hurt, it is your fault.
In our Gospel lesson for today, we hear Jesus lamenting over the “No” that
we have all spoken to God at one time or another. He wants to be like a hen, who
protects her chicks with her own body from every danger that might come (Luke
13:34). Instead of being underneath Christ’s wings, we have all strayed out into
the cold, cruel world. We have all said, “No.” We do not want a Savior that brings
God’s gifts to the poor nor do we want Jesus to give the inmates complete pardon.
We cannot tolerate the One who shows the vulnerable people how to live and we
cannot listen to God’s plan of economic equality.
Jesus clearly tells us what happens when we say “No” to God, He says, “See,
your house is left to you” (Luke 13:35). God retracts God’s protection from our
dwelling, leaving us to fare for ourselves. When the early Church heard this
phrase, they knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. The Romans destroyed

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the temple in Jerusalem because men and women had rejected God.3
Where have we said “No” to God and what is happening to us?
God is patient and gives us many different chances to change our mind and
say, “Yes. Yes I will stop rejecting God.” This is the Good News in today’s Gospel
lesson. Just like Eve who ate the fruit, we also have sinned against God by telling
God, “No.” No, we do not trust you. No, we do not need You. No, we do not want
You. The amazing fact for Eve, for her husband Adam, and for us, her children
is that God lets us live after we refuse God. During this time given to us, God
continues to come to us and asks us to change our mind. For Eve and her husband,
the Lord God gave them not so subtle reminders of their rebellion. Eve remained
attracted to her husband even though childbirth became more painful. Adam’s
work of putting food on the table became more difficult. Our mental notes have a
similar ring. Bringing life into this world is much harder than it has to be because
we continue to tell God, “No.”
God has even more Good News for the baptized. We cannot ever loose our
salvation. In baptism, we were completely joined with Christ. We have put on His
life, His death, and we also have His faith. Since we have become one with God,
we cannot say “No” to God because God is in us.
The “Just say no” program reminded Americans of the power of one simple
little word, “No.” It was Nancy Reagan’s hope that this phrase would enable the
youth to reject the drugs presented to them and to show parents the problems with
drugs. It is God’s desire that we never say, “No” to God’s love. But if we do deny
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God, God gives us many other chances to stop saying “No.”
However, God’s patience with those who say “No” does not last forever. Israel
has been taken into exile. The temple has been destroyed. The church has been
decimated. What God desires is that we stop saying “No.”
It was in the middle of the world’s rejection that Jesus spread out His wings.
He did this act of self-sacrifice for us even though not a single one of us chicks
was found underneath His cross.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”4

4
Philippians 4:7.