Beyond No

One of the first words a toddler learns is "No!"  As he gains more freedom of movement, he tests out newly available opportunities.  On the other hand, his older, wiser, and loving parents want to keep him safe from  harm.  One theory suggests that "if they touch that hot burner once, they'll never touch it again."  That's probably true, but for me, I have always hoped to head off that painful lesson with a firm "No!"  Sure, I would eventually explain why this is not a good idea, why it would be harmful, but my priority was preventing certain pain.

Even as adults, we need these firm No's in our lives - things we just should not do.  What if we all decided that red lights were just silly restrictions on our freedom to drive as we wished?  Chaos would ensue.  Most of our civil laws similarly are "No" laws, written to keep chaos and anarchy at bay.  They keep us safe.

When God first revealed His law to the Hebrews, they were primarily "No" laws, or as we have them in our minds, "Thou shalt not" laws.  They were good laws, for they set limits on actions and attitudes that destroy relationships - relationships between us and God, relationships between us and our neighbors.

They are still good laws, but they are just the beginning, the basics.  We need more than laws that keep us from destroying relationships.  We need tools to nurture, to enhance and to enrich our relationships with God and our relationships with each other.

Enter Jesus.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus insists that we get beyond the No.  We are not to ignore the No, but we must go far beyond it.  Jesus' life and his teachings challenge us to follow him to that which lies far beyond the No and into the land of "Yes."  For Jesus' "Yes" rules teach us what we should seek and what we should do.  Jesus' "Yes" rules form us into who we should be.

Speaking to the disciples on the night before he was to die, knowing his time was short, Jesus summarizes all of his "Yes" rules into something new: "I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." (Jn  13:34)

This is really hard.  I've lived most of my life under the discipline of "No."  It is a simple life, and I am really good at it.  The objective nature of the law appeals to me.  It is generally easy to tell if I've broken a "No" law. It helps that most of these "No" laws actually make sense.  It is clear to me that their purpose is to avoid harm, destruction, or chaos, so I've trained myself to almost naturally conform to the "No."

But to love as Jesus loves, without condition and without limit, who can do such a thing?  How would I even know if I was doing it enough?  It seems I can never be good at this, for I am constantly falling far short.  No matter how hard I try, I'm not feeling the love when I see someone who is not all like me, who doesn't appreciate me, or who may even hate me.  Jesus' "Yes" even seems dangerous.  How can I be safe if I love the one who tries to hurt me?

But despite the difficulty, despite the seeming lack of sense, despite the seeming danger, something in my heart tells me to follow.  I sense that despite my success and apparent happiness in conforming the limits of No, there is something worthwhile beyond those limits.  I sense that beyond my selfish wants, beyond my selfish fears, there must be more.  I sense, as St. Augustine intuited so long ago, that my heart will always be restless until it rests in Jesus' land of Yes.

Step beyond the self-centered world of No and follow Jesus into the God-centered life of Yes.  Step beyond the temporal world of No, and follow Jesus into the eternity of Yes.  Step beyond the safety of No, and follow Jesus into the salvation of Yes.