Saying "No"

Saying "No"

When I woke up this morning, it was not raining so I tried to sneak out to do my walk for a couple of miles before I had to take Yoda, the Wonder Dog, for his morning walk. It had stormed last night, so he was not going to be left behind and rushed down to the door a head of me. I told him “no” but he would not be dissuaded. MY walk for my health had to be postponed for a half an hour until we went through the ritual of his sniffing, looking and marking territory. I have a hard time saying no to my dog, or to my wife, or to my parishioners, or to beggars off the streets, or to myself.

As I walked with Yoda, the Wonder Dog, I got to thinking about Warren G. Harding, a President of the United States during a particularly scandal ridden administration in the early 1920's, who could not say “no” to his friends as they robbed the country blind. Warren was good looking and amiable, but his father had told him: “Warren, it is a good thing you were not born female for you would be in the family way all the time since you can't say “no”! Harding fathered at least two children by his at least four mistresses, one of whom was able to blackmail the Republican National Committee to keep quiet during the Presidential election of 1920. Harding, before his term was over, got food poisoning from crabs on a trip to Alaska and died because of the over-enthusiastic treatment of it by his homeopathic doctor. Some rumored that he was poisoned by his wife who refused to allow an autopsy be done.

When I took Yoda, the Wonder Dog, back home, I lit out for my own walk and I started to reflect on the lectionary for this next week. From the beginning of the Hebrew Testament Lesson for this coming Sunday: “God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.”

There are certain parts of the Bible I consider obscene and this is close to the top of my list where the insecure, like an adolescent in heat, deity pleads: “If you love me you will! How much do you really love me?” When we were in Jerusalem years ago, we went to the Temple Mount , to the Dome of the Rock and here we heard people religious experts speak obedience in praise of Abraham who loved God so much that he agreed to sacrifice Issac (for Jews) or sacrifice Ishmael (for the Muslims) or the sacrifice of Jesus as the second Issac (for the Christians).

There are times to say “no”. As I walked in prayer, I thought of the times when I said “no” and when I refused to say “no”. In Improvisational Comedy, the whole Idea is to not say no. Tina Fey in an address to college graduates, related in her bookm Bossypants gave rules for Improv and work:

    Rule #1 — Agree

        The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES.
          The Lesson: Respect What Your Partner has Created?
   Rule #2 — Not Only Say Yes… Say Yes And
         The Lesson: Contribute Something
     Rule #3 — Make Statements
        Lesson: Don’t Ask Questions All the Time
    Rule #4 — There Are No Mistakes… Only Opportunities
        Lesson: Stay Positive, Learn to Adapt

I guess saying “no” or “yes” depend if you see life as a pre-ordained tragedy or an improv comedy.