I’ll Just Say Yes

NCF Office – February 6, 2024 1 Comment

This week’s pastor’s note comes from Jeff Trask, NCF Adjunct Pastor. I especially appreciated Jeff bringing Fred Hampton’s story to us–a 20 year old who brought together unlikely alliances to work toward justice, and ultimately gave his life for what he believed in. May you and I be willing to live and die for what we believe in! May it be so!

–Melissa Logsdon, NCF Associate Pastor 

When it is cold outside, as often is the case in Illinois this time of year, sometimes the scripture found in James 4:14 that says that our lives are like “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” comes to mind. The thought is simultaneously challenging and encouraging. 

Granted, our life expectancy is longer today than it was in James’ day, but I do not think a few decades would have changed James’ perspective considering he was comparing our lives in this world to eternity. The challenging part is the reminder that, even if we are gifted of having a long life, time in this body and on this earth is limited and finite. Those words can provoke a feeling like we have a deadline we must meet before time runs out – like getting that report in for work, or that paper in for class, or obtaining a lifelong achievement or even completing our bucket list. For many, deadlines are anxiety inducing versus life giving. When considering we only have a vapor to work with, the anxiety can soar off the charts. 

However, there is an encouraging aspect of deadlines – they tend to provoke us to get things done. After all, who wants to face the repercussions of not getting in that report or paper on time, or falling short of your lifelong dreams and achievements? Considering human behavior is often driven by what one Ted Talk speaker called the Panic Monster (this entity that gets us in gear to meet our deadlines so we do not have to face the negative consequences of not meeting our deadlines), perhaps this statement from James is more life-giving than we may realize. Question is, can we apply it to fulfilling the tasks God wants us to fulfill?

The answer is complicated, multilayered and downright mysterious. First, to have a panic monster, we have to be concerned about the consequences of not meeting our deadlines. In our spiritual lives, this can be a challenge because it is the spiritual world after all. In other words, whatever the consequences may or may not be, they are contingent on our beliefs, our faith. Do we believe there are consequences to not using our vapor for God adequately? If so, what might those consequences be? Second, it feels like a vapor is so limiting, why bother? What could possibly be done in a vapor anyway? Can our vapor make a difference? Last (not to imply comprehensiveness, but a pastoral letter has to end at some point), how do we know what God wants us to do with our vapor? 

I will not assume to have the answers to these questions, but in light of Black History Month, I would like to share an example of someone that used his vapor and the subsequent impact it made on me. This individual’s name is Fred Hampton, a Black Panther from Chicago, Illinois. In short, Fred Hampton used his vapor to unite black, white, and other racial groups to take a stand against injustice. What amazes me about what Fred Hampton accomplished stands out in a PBS special about him where, after one of his rallies, they interview a white “hillbilly” who is donning a confederate flag on his hat. During the interview, this individual says, “the Black Panthers have my back and I have theirs”. I get chills even now as I write this letter thinking about the significance of that. Here you have two groups of people that could not be more diametrically opposed in the US at the time, coming together for a common cause of seeking fairness and justice. What is even more remarkable about Fred’s ability to bring races together was that he was only 20 years old.

Can you imagine where you were when you were 20? It probably was not building coalitions of unlikely alliances to unite against injustice. Just my guess. There must have been others impressed by Fred Hampton as well. At the ripe old age of 20, Chicago Police and the FBI decided Fred’s vapor had lasted long enough and fired 168 rounds of bullets at him while he was in his bed without a single shot in return fire. That December 4, 1969 night was one of the most profound lynching in American history. I love one of his quotes that ultimately rang true, “I believe I’m going to die doing the things I was born to do. I believe I’m going to die high off the people”.

I know you have been waiting anxiously for that encouraging part about James’ vapor I mentioned earlier. The encouraging part is that whether we can prove it or not (given that it is spiritual), our vapors can and do make a difference. The ripple effects of the willingness this young man to use his vapor to bring races together and take a stand for justice are immeasurable. One of those ripple effects is how this martyr influenced my desire to see races come together to take a stand against injustice. People like Fred Hampton influenced my vapor profoundly and I am sure many others. 

My belief is that our vapors matter in this world and the next. I have to imagine that God is concerned what we do with our vapors and other count on us using our vapors for God’s plan. So I encourage us all to “Just Say Yes”, day by day, to maximize our vapors before they vanish away. 

–Jeff Trask, NCF Adjunct Pastor