The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for April 19, 2019

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Jesus was totally devoted to going to the cross but my own devotion to him is less than total. Throughout any day, this Good Friday included, my thoughts leave Him for whatever captures my immediate attention. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love.” 

“And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’” (Mark 14:27; Zechariah 13:7). Peter protested, “Even though they all fall away, I will not” (Mark 14:29) but you know that he did. Though I’ll be sitting in church today, my devotion scatters just as the first disciples did.

I am humbled by the present tense in Romans 3:23. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “All have sinned is past tense but “fall short of the glory of God” is present tense. It’s now. I believe in Jesus, I love Him, I trust His death and resurrection open eternal life to me, but I am still falling short of living in full accord with God’s will. “You don’t get it yet, do you, Dale?” “No, Lord. ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24).

“Until Jesus Christ is Lord, we all have ends of our own to serve; our faith is real, but it is not permanent yet. God is never in a hurry; if we wait, we shall see that God is pointing out that we have not been interested in Himself but only in His blessings.” (Oswald Chambers, April 4).

“Oh, to grace how great a debtor / Daily I’m constrained to be:

Let that grace now like a fetter / Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love.

Here’s my heart, O take and seal  it, / Seal it for thy courts above.”

(Lutheran Service Book, 686, 3)

The Meyer Minute for April 18, 2019

What does Maundy Thursday mean for us when the church is losing its special status in American life? Tomorrow, Good Friday, is clear: Christ died for our sins. Easter is clear: Christ was raised and in Him we shall be raised. But Maundy Thursday? Church services will not be as well attended today as tomorrow and Sunday. What’s compelling about this day?

Maundy Thursday is rooted in the Passover, when the angel slew the firstborn of the Egyptians but passed over the homes of the Hebrews who had smeared the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts (Exodus 12:12-13). It was a deliverance to be remembered forever. “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” (Exodus 12:26-27). Christians see ancient Passover in the light of our deliverance from sin and death by the sacrifice of Jesus. “You were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18).

What shall I preach on this night?  Two different themes are offered in Maundy Thursday readings. Shall I focus on Jesus’ keeping Passover and instituting the Supper of His body and blood, as Matthew, Mark, Luke stress? Or shall I focus on Jesus’ washing the disciples’ feet, as John stresses? Aha, both! The church is no longer privileged in society, people are drifting away from weekly worship, and many Christians are discouraged. Maundy Thursday proclaims Whose we are. Our greatest witness to the world is loving one another. “Love one another just as I have loved you” (John 13:34), and we are united in that love in the Sacrament of His body and blood. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

So when people ask, “What do you mean by this service?” it reminds us of the redeeming love that makes us a special people in today’s tortured times. “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

 

 

The Meyer Minute for April 17, 2019

One and done. Jesus’ death fully paid the price for our sins. “It is finished,” Jesus said as He breathed His last (John 20:30). “Christ…offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:12). “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

One and done does not describe our contemplation of the cross. Forgiveness from the cross has not removed the sin that continues in us. Forgiveness has not removed the Law of God from our lives. Yes, our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus. Yes, we are no longer under the impossibly demanding lordship of the Law, but we are not yet freed of sin. This, I think, is the great temptation for us practicing Christians, that we lose touch with our present reality. “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (Romans 7:18). Paul said that as a believing Christian. Martin Luther describes us as “simul iustus et peccator,” saint and sinner at the same time.

The fourth of the traditional penitential psalms comes from David, who sinned even while being God’s man. The Bathsheba affair turned that man of God to deep inner searching. “I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.” “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” referring to inherited, original sin that continues in our hearts also, forgiven though we be (Psalm 51:3, 5). There’s enough sin and consequences from sin all about us that we Christians dare not gloss over our own deeply flawed individual nature.

“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than now” (6-7). That newness of life comes only from being done with ourselves and one with the death of Christ. It’s never “one and done” in meditating upon Jesus!

The Meyer Minute for April 16, 2019

How sad the news from Paris, how devastating to the people of Paris, of France and to many Christians. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York described the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral as a fire in your home, your spiritual home. The smaller but dear churches where you and I worship… oh, the tears we would shed if they were destroyed by fire, water, wind or earthquake. Nonetheless, in tragedy we are reminded of spiritual truths.

There is no command in the Bible to build church buildings. When David proposed building a house for God, the Lord said, “Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling” (2 Samuel 7:5-6). God consented. Solomon built the Temple and in the dedicatory prayer said, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Have regard to the prayer of your servant…that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there’” (1 Kings 8:27-29). God’s “name” is His revelation. Why no command to build churches? Because Christian life is a journey, following God’s revelation in Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Hebrews 13:14-15).

“Built on the Rock the Church shall stand / Even when steeples are falling.

Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land; / Bells still are chiming and calling,

Calling the young and old to rest, / But above all the soul distressed,

Longing for rest everlasting.

 

“Still we our earthly temples rear / That we may herald His praises;

They are the homes where He draws near / And little children embraces.

Beautiful things in them are said; / God there with us His covenant made,

Making us heirs of His kingdom.”

(The Lutheran Hymnal, 467, 1, 5)

The Meyer Minute for April 15, 2019

This can be a very mean-spirited town.” That’s how departing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson described Washington, D.C. in his farewell speech to workers at the State Department.

Jerusalem proved to be a mean-spirited town after Jesus rode in on Palm Sunday. Sunday’s hosannas became “Crucify him” by Friday. Jesus’ “friend” betrayed Him, and the other disciples fled. He anguished in His heart about what was being done to Him (“being in agony,” Luke 22:44), and His body was tortured (Matthew 27:27-31). How did Jesus respond? “My Father, not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). “Put your sword back in its place” (Matthew 26:53). As the week wore down and evil closed in, Jesus let people have their mean-spirited way. “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 24:53).

In the third penitential psalm, Psalm 38, we see Jesus. The psalmist is plagued in body and soul. “My sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed because of the tumult of my heart” (7-8). His friends are treacherous. “My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off. Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long” (11-12). All this is sin, but the psalmist is most concerned about his own sin. “My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me” (4). Read Psalm 38 and see Jesus. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin a live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Is your town mean-spirited? Your work place? Your church? Someone in your family? So be it, sadly. Let Holy Week draw your thoughts more to your dependence upon God your Savior and less on what other people are doing to you. “Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. Do not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation” (20-22). “Our Father, thy will be done!” (Matthew 6:10).

The Meyer Minute for April 12, 2019

“A person becomes sad in conscience and grumbles inwardly about the evil in life.” That line from Martin Luther struck me this morning as I looked at the news and mulled over the day to come. We preachers don’t have to convince people that sin exists. It’s present all around us and, if we reflect upon our deepest thoughts and urges, we realize that it’s within us too. What should I do about sin?

Psalm 32 is the second of the so-called “penitential psalms.” The psalmist first stuffed his own sin, but that didn’t work. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me” (verses 3-4). When you’re “sad in conscience…about the evil in life,” God’s hand is on you, oppressing you with the weight of sin. Theologians call this God’s “alien work.” Ever feel it?

Stuffing didn’t work, so “I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’” (verse 5). Here’s God’s “proper work,” forgiveness through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6).

Be thankful when God oppresses you, and then lay your sins on Jesus. “After a person becomes aware of sin and terrified at heart, that one must watch that sin does not remain in the conscience, for this would certainly lead to nothing but doubt. Instead, as soon as sins have flowed out from Christ and are recognized, so they must be shaken back on him and the conscience emptied of them.”

“Steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (verses 10-11).

The Meyer Minute for April 11, 2019

One of the many things my father taught me is, “Remember, there’s always someone smarter than you are.”

Congressman Thomas Massie must be intelligent, he went to MIT and studied robotics, but in a hearing Tuesday he had a bad moment. The hearing was about climate change and former Secretary of State John Kerry was testifying. He had helped negotiate the Paris climate accord. Congressman Massie challenged him, “I think we should question your credentials today. Isn’t it true you have a science degree from Yale?” Mr. Kerry responded, “Bachelor of arts degree.” Massie: “Is it a political science degree?” Kerry: “Yes, political science.” Massie: “So how do you get a bachelor of arts, in a science?” Kerry: “Well it’s a liberal arts education and degree. It’s a bachelor…” Massie: “OK. So it’s not really science. So I think it’s somewhat appropriate that someone with a pseudo-science degree is here pushing pseudo-science in front of our committee today.” Kerry: “Are you serious?” (Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, on line, April 10)

It’s natural to see the congressman’s bad moment and think you’re smarter. But as a reminder of my dad’s truth…

The next day, yesterday, scientists revealed the first image of a black hole. “A black hole is a region of space so dense and compact that it creates a gravitational pull from which matter or even light can’t escape.” Albert Einstein had theorized black holes, the first was discovered in 1971, but scientists had to use mathematics to calculate the properties of black holes. Now through a network of observatories, radio waves and supercomputers, mankind has an image of a black hole 55 million light years from earth. This first-time-ever image shows a black center surrounded by light. The black hole’s gravitational pull is so strong that it’s bending the light. “The scene looks as if particles of light, called photons, were trying to climb out of the black hole” (Wall Street Journal, A5).

There’s always someone smarter than me, than you. God made the point to Job: “Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness?” “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?” (Job 38:19, 33). More than any time in history, science can enhance our awe of the Creator. And to think, He teaches us to call Him “Father.”

The Meyer Minute for April 10, 2019

Do I watch Jesus suffer the same way I watch sports or an engaging show, as a spectator? Paul saw no separation between himself and Jesus: “I have been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). This Lent I ask myself, How can I more identify my very being with Christ?

Part of the answer is to realize that forgiveness has not removed my sinfulness. The first penitential psalm in the Psalter is Psalm 6. It is prayed by a man who is godly, like you and me. “Depart from me all you workers of evil” (verse 8) is something a true Christian prays, and yet this spiritual man feels his guilt, feels it deep in his being. “I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?” (verses 2-3). Here we have no spectator in a pew but a true believer still troubled by his sin. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Note that the verse says, “fall short” – present tense, still failing. Shouldn’t that be troubling?

“They contemplate Christ’s passion properly who look at it with a terrified heart and a despairing conscience,” said Martin Luther in his 1519 “Sermon on the Meditation of Christ’s Passion.” That is more than looking on as a spectator. It’s desperation focused on Christ, an obsession to know His love. “Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love” (verse 4). Do you as a believer still pray this way?

“Depart from me all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping” (verse 8). Therein the psalmist move s through the conscience troubled by sin to total dependence upon God. Luther again: “If we look at sin in our heart, it will be much too strong for us and will live on forever. But if we see that it rests on Christ and is overcome by his resurrection, and then boldly believe this, then sin is dead and nullified.”

The Meyer Minute for April 9, 2019

Yesterday’s weather in St. Louis was great, so at the end of my work day I sat outside. Temperatures were in the upper 70’s. The branches on the trees still look like sticks, but not bare. You can see buds promising the leaves to come. From my Adirondack chair – that’s amazing in itself, me sitting, just sitting in the midst of creation – I saw hyacinths and daffodils in bloom; tulips are coming. The warm weather encouraged the hostas to pop out of the ground. No book in my hand, no iPhone… it was a spiritual time. 

Robins all around looking for worms. An occasional rat-a-tat-a-tat from woodpeckers. Blue jays screeching. Are the hawks around? The jays alert one another to danger. And a bit later in the day, the sun down, you hear the owls hooting. Speaking of the dark… the sky was cloudless. In nighttime darkness, you can see stars. True, not as many as you see in the country because of city lights, but even what you see prompts the question of Isaiah, “Lift up your eyes and see: Who created these?” (40:26).

You and I live in a time of immense cultural change. Technology outpaces our ability to keep up. Who am I? We’ve lost our sense of place in the great scheme of things. Creation is a place to regain that sense of who we are. God has placed us in His creation, and in His Son He recreates us to know that we are His beloved creatures. Sooner or later, spring will come where you live. Take a pew in the cathedral of creation!

“This is my Father’s world, / And to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings / The music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world; I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; / His hand the wonders wrought.”

 

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Meyer Minute for April 8, 2019

Before You created the world, O God, You determined to recreate it by sending Your Son. Your truth and love through Jesus has brought us into His Body, gathered us in the Church, and through the Church He wants the Gospel to go into our community and to every corner of the world. You have blessed the mission of every congregation with marvelously gifted people in the Body of Christ, lay people, pastors, teachers and other workers.

Our Lutheran church is facing a shortage of pastors. Over half are above age 55. When they soon retire or you call them home, many congregations, perhaps ours, will have trouble finding a pastor. Your flock needs shepherds; a congregation needs a pastor. The gifts of the laity are vital to Your mission but congregations need pastors who to go to the Scriptures to teach us, who lead us in worship and community outreach, and who seek the wandering and lost. Your Son teaches us to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Matthew 9:38). This we do.

We pray Your Spirit will motivate us to encourage young people to consider give themselves to pastoral ministry and church work. What a wonderful calling! A person in ministry learns to know people as they really are, their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears, and into their real lives a pastor gets to speak Your good word of help and hope in Jesus. A pastor is blessed to lead a congregation and hold before the gathered believers their uniqueness as the Body of Christ, a place of love and support for individuals and families in their real life journeys. What a blessed life is ministry in Your Church!

We ask You to help those already in ministry radiate joy in their calling and exude confidence in Your promises. Even as we now pray that You raise up workers for the harvest field, we know that Your beloved Son is also interceding with You for more workers in His saving mission. With Jesus and in His name we humbly pray. Amen.