The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for December 10, 2018

“Tiny Town” is out, and Diane says this year’s is the best ever. “Tiny Town” is the little village we put out every Christmas next to House One on campus. We started this years ago when I built a little church, modeled after the first church we served in Venedy, Illinois. In the following years, I built a parsonage, a convenience store, a barn, farmhouse and windmill. New this year is a machine shed, where our Tiny Town farmer stores his combine, tractor and other implements. A silo will show up this year and construction is under way on another house.  Diane puts out the lighted Christmas trees, shooting stars, and makes sure the full moon is always shining over Tiny Town.

What delights us most is parents bringing their toddlers to wander around the buildings. They move the cow from the barn, the combine ends up in various parts of town (once it ended up on the roof of the convenience store), and the kids wonder at all the lights. “Christmas was made for children,” but children like you and me live in “Real Town,” where work is hard, people can be difficult, and life is not a wonderland. Even the church in Real Town can be disappointing compared to our youthful ideas. More than children, we adults need the blessing of seeing our Real Town in the light of Christmas.

Isn’t this true, we’d like God to give us a carefree “Tiny Town?” The truth is God’s grace upends what we adult children imagine we know about life. Real Town is where we live and Real Town is where we see God at work in our own personal lives. He comes with countless gifts of loving kindness for life as we are really, honestly coping with it. We can indeed live in Real Town with good cheer because Jesus came, Jesus comes and Jesus will come again.

One of my first rough carpentry projects was the stable outside the Seminary’s chapel. Even better than children in Tiny Town are children going into the stable to be with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. You can depend on it every year. The children walk right into the manger scene and beaming parents take pictures. That’s how the next generation learns the key to life in Real Town, and that’s how we adults do too, marveling at the manger in our Real Town.

The Meyer Minute for December 7, 2018

This Pearl Harbor Day, with images from the funeral of President George H.W. Bush still fresh in our minds, we meditate upon duty. After President Bush lost his re-election campaign, he complained how liberal media had depicted him, but then shifted to a nobler thought. “What I want to have people know I stood for were ‘Duty, Honor, Country,’ and, yes, as Dad taught us, ‘service’” (Jonathon Martin, New York Times, December 7; A17).

I don’t hear people today talk about “duty.” Maybe they are and I’m missing it, but I suspect rampant individualism has made many Americans believe, “You owe me,” rather than, “I have duty toward you.” Doing our duty is, yes, our Christian duty. “Will any of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table?’ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink?’ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only down what was our duty’” (Luke 17:7-10). When you realize that everything has in one way or another been given to you, even what you imagine you’ve earned, nothing remains except thankfulness to God shown through doing your duty in service to others.

But for the good of church and country, how can we instill a sense of duty in young people? President Harry Truman said, “The next generation never learns anything from the previous one until it’s brought home with a hammer. I’ve wondered why the next generation can’t profit from the generation before but they never do until they get knocked in the head by experience” (in Jon Meachem, “The Soul of America,” 259). We graduate seminarians with some knowledge and some skills, but only time will tell if they will faithfully do their duty. So with every vocation. Teaching Jesus is the best we can do. If they follow Jesus by cross-carrying, by seeing and serving amidst what is wrong and evil, then they will rise to duty as honored previous generations did.

A memorable image is Senator Robert Dole, himself a war hero, rising out his wheelchair to salute the coffin of President Bush. “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

 

 

The Meyer Minute for December 5, 2018

Our week is bookended by funerals, one Monday, another Friday, and today the funeral for President George H.W. Bush. How hard these holiday weeks are for people grieving the death of a loved one. Grief is always hard, but the very first Christmas has to be the hardest of all. Cruel death hollowed loving hearts, and the empty place at the table or around the Christmas tree makes the hurt painfully fresh. “Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more,” says Jeremiah 31:15. That captures it well.

So Advent needs to be appreciated in all its depth. There’s plenty of shallowness these days. Shopping, cards, parties, economists wondering if consumer spending will put businesses in the black… Such things are not to be despised but who cares about that when a loved one is gone? For church kids, Advent means getting ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth – along with the presents – but Advent offers adults a deeper spiritual experience because it also focuses on Jesus’ coming now in the Word and Sacraments, and His return on Judgment Day. Both speak to those grieving with faith. There will be a joyous heavenly reunion: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until then, the Spirit of Jesus gives strength and hope.

Jesus comes in joy and sorrow, shares alike our hopes and fears;

Jesus comes, whate’er befalls us, cheers our hearts and dries our tears;

Alleluia! Alleluia! Comforts us in failing years.” (Lutheran Service Book, 353,4)

 

PS: This Minute is adapted from my book of devotions, “Timely Reflections,” available from Tri-Pillar Publishing.

The Meyer Minute for November 30, 2018

I like the comic strip “Dustin” by Steve Kelley and Jeff Parker. The other day Ed, an overweight, aging lawyer was at the doctor’s office. “Ed, you have a very simple choice. Start eating right and exercising more.” Ed says, “Wait. That not a choice. Having a choice means there’s at least one other option.” “Of course,” says the doctor. “You can shorten your bucket list.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Everyday,” November 28).

Life expectancy in the United States is falling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report it’s down to 78.6 years, putting us 29^th in a ranking of nations. Japan is first with 84.1 years, Switzerland second with 83.7 years. “The effects of addiction and despair, particularly among young and middle-aged adults, as well as diseases plaguing an aging population and people with lower access to health care, have contributed to a decline in life expectancy in the U.S.” (Wall Street Journal, November 29: A1, 6).

Doctors, like Ed’s, focus on treatment and health habits. Social agencies dedicate themselves to people at risk for various reasons. Who can bring together all the aspects of our years, whatever their number?  Birth, habits, stress, disease, health, aging and finally death… Who can put all that into a comprehensive understanding for you and me? The Church! The ministry of your congregation is, or should be, God’s answer to prayer. “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Not simply a social agency, although God has appointed good works for Christians to do (Ephesians 2:10), the Church helps us understand our lifespans spiritually, in light of our Creator and Redeemer’s word. If Ed went to church after being told to shorten his bucket list, he might have heard, “We do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  

For me, the new normal is getting close. Not to worry! “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).

The Meyer Minute for November 26, 2018

These days after Thanksgiving now have names, “Black Friday,” “Small Business Saturday” and “Cyber Monday.”  The names show what our culture truly values-stuff, buying and getting stuff, and all the businesses that thrive on this culture of consumption. Remember that “consumption,” the old word for tuberculosis, a dread disease? The culture of consumption is so pervasive that even church people may not see the fundamental challenge, this disease eroding our reliance upon God. Do we finally rest our lives on the stuff we can see, buy and enjoy, or faith, trusting in the promises of God? (2 Corinthians 5:7). Even tomorrow’s “Giving Tuesday” is disguised consumption. It just happens to flow to charities instead of capitalist businesses, but it’s still about money.

St. Paul: “You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain” (Galatians 4:10-11). Paul had labored to free the Gentiles from their notion that what they did (for us these days, acquire or give) made life good before God and others. Apply Paul’s arguments to our consumption. “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law (by what you buy, a legal transaction) but through faith in Jesus Christ” (2:16). “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law (by the things you’ve built up) or by hearing with faith?” (3:2). Yes, we do need stuff, “daily bread,” to live, but consumption is no Gospel; it’s in the law. If I do this then… If I don’t buy this, then… “‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (3:10). Consumption will prove a fatal disease.    

Can a person of faith shop on “Black Friday,” “Small Business Saturday,” or “Cyber Monday?” Yes, so long as you don’t value the quality of your life by what you have and acquire. Christ sets us free from slavery to stuff. “Giving Tuesday” thrives on altruism, selfless concern for the welfare of others, and that benefits countless people, but don’t give as a guilt offering because you spent on yourself the previous days. Give because He loves you so much that He gave Himself for you and now through you His gifts can flow to others. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). Who’s your Lord, God or mammon? (Matthew 6:24).

The Meyer Minute for November 21, 2018

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1).

What shall I render to You, Lord, for all Your benefits to me? How often do I ponder the greatness of the sun, the moon and the stars? I look at the beauteous flowers and trees, the mountains and the vast plains that give food to us and all creatures, but too often am distracted by my busy thoughts and endless tasks. All creation witnesses Your praise. You commanded and they were created (Psalm 148:5).  And my heart still beats, I still breathe, and I still can think… My! What of all this is my doing? Nothing. In Your hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10). In You we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:27).

You welcome home my prodigal ways, my wandering devotion. You sent Jesus to seek and save the lost and Jesus found me. He brings me home to You, my many sins forgiven, and reconciled You embrace me with a lively home and promise a heavenly inheritance. My heart falls at Your feet and You raise me up in hope, not only with the things necessary for bodily life, but with words of faith, Your promises that so often touch and warm my heart with the assurance of Your love. How blessed am I to be at home with You in thankfulness! “To whom shall we go?” (John 6:68). “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Hold me close when my heart breaks. Beloved family members and friends die. Fire, water, and weather can destroy home and livelihood. Age increases and health diminishes. “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). Give us wisdom; give us Jesus, who alone brings us through trials and troubles home to You. “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).

Your steadfast love never ceases, Your mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people” (Psalm 116:13-14). Amen.

The Meyer Minute for November 19, 2018

For many Americans, “full of things” describes the coming Thanksgiving days. Most tables will be creaking on Thanksgiving Day. Full stomachs will retire to easy chairs to watch football. Black Friday our media-fed frenzy for things will be on full display. And we’re thankful, yes indeed we are, for all the things we have, but, as the hymn says, “Watch against yourself, my soul, / Lest with grace you trifle.”

I took “full of things” from Isaiah 2, a condemnation of Israel’s obsession with stuff and a warning as we prepare for an enjoyable holiday. “You have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east…. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made” (Isaiah 2:6-8). They delighted in themselves, rich in things but poor in soul. That’s pride, the first of the “seven deadly sins.” Imagine if they had had “selfies” back in that day! All the stuff about themselves they would have posted, “full of things” indeed. We should be warned. “Pride and sin, / Lurk within, / All your hopes to shatter; / Heed not when they flatter.”

“The haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:17). Lord, be exalted these days in my life and our family. Remove pride and satisfaction in our fullness of things. What do we have that You have not given to us? And when it will all be taken away, as it certainly will be taken away, then what can we do? Only look to You on the cross, where You pleaded with the Father for forgiveness for our obsession with self. Good Friday is the day of deserved judgment on our human pride. “The Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” Keep us humble, lest we become “full of things.”

“God protects you day by day, / Strength and faith increasing, / So that still / Mind and will / Shall unite to serve Him / And forever love Him” (Lutheran Service Book, 663, 4-5).

The Meyer Minute for November 14, 2018

“Hey, Jake! Come here. Stop running and come here, just for a minute.”

“Thanks. Let me see your mouth.” “Lost your two bottom teeth? You’re 6-years-old; it’s time, but I’m wondering. Did they get knocked out?” “Opa, what?” “Jake, you’re as physical… no, rambunctious as any boy I’ve ever seen. Were you wrestling with your brother and he knocked your teeth out?” “No, Opa. Fell out.”

“Don’t race off. I’ll grab your arm. Opa wants to teach you.” “Opa!” “Jake, you’re growing into your name. The name ‘Jacob’ in the Bible has been explained as the ‘supplanter.’ The first Jacob was a twin. His brother Esau was born first but later the clever Jacob stole Esau’s birthright. ‘Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing” (Genesis 27:36). You and your brother Drew love each other, but I’ve seen you ambush your brother and start fights.” “Opa, can I go?”

“Hang on, one more thing. The first Jacob was also a wrestler. The Bible says, ‘A man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day has broken.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ Jake, he was wrestling with God and the Bible says God blessed him. You’re a jokester and a wrestler. You’re growing into your name.”

“Opa, let me go.” “Did the tooth fairy bring you money?” “Two dollars.” “Hmmm, the tooth fairy has more money than when I was a kid. Jake, go. And like your namesake, may God bless you.”

“And he’s off, chasing his brother around the house.”

The Meyer Minute for November 12, 2018

“Thank you for your service.” You heard that many times, perhaps said it yourself to someone in military uniform. We’ve learned since the Viet Nam War to thank our military personnel, whether we agree with our current conflicts or not. No doubt our soldiers, sailors and airmen would rather be safe at home with loved ones, but they live mission-conscious in our chaotic and dangerous world.

“Thank you for your service.” If someone said that to you as a civilian, what would they be thanking you for? What service are you offering that in some small way makes your community and our country better? Americans’ attitudes have changed drastically since 2 million of our young men went to fight in World War I. When the Barna Organization put this statement before people, “The highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible,” 84 percent of Americans agreed and 67 percent of practicing Christians agreed (Barna Trends 2017). If life is all about you, why bother with others who need your help, let alone go to war? How different from the Ten Commandments, which show our duties toward others for the good of community and country. The morality of self-fulfillment weakens us.

At the end of the war, President Woodrow Wilson wrote to Senator Henry Ashurst, “I am now playing for 100 years hence.” Wrote Ted Widmer of the City University of New York, “He would be dismayed at all the ways in which our world resembles his” (New York Times, Sunday Review, November 11, 2018; 10). If you disappeared tomorrow, or if your congregation suddenly disappeared, would people in your community care or even notice? No one said, “Thank you for your service” to the religious, to the priest or Levite who passed by the man beaten by robbers. Jesus’ approval went – Imagine, being approved by the Son of God! – to the Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).

The Armistice ending World War I was signed at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Eleven-o’clock signals there’s not much time left. God only knows how much time self-absorbed America still has, but it’s high time for followers of Jesus to be more mission-conscious than ever. “Christians live not in themselves, but in Christ and their neighbor” (Martin Luther, “Freedom of a Christian”). “Thank you for your service?”

The Meyer Minute for November 2, 2018

I’ve written hundreds of devotions over the years, but the following from “Timely Reflections” is one of my favorites. I’ve thought of this devotion countless times as Diane and I have marveled at the wondrous colors on campus this autumn.

“Euonymous alatus compactus,” the botanists call it. For us commoners, it’s the “burning bush,” and here on the Seminary campus it’s providing a spectacular display of fall color. True to its common name, its leaves have turned a brilliant red. The popular name comes from Exodus 3: “The angel of the Lord appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed” (Exodus 3:2). God said, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

How many people, I fear, are missing the awe of creation? How many are obsessed with the screen on their smartphone, computer or tablet? “When through the woods and forest glades I wander,” I have my attention focused on a screen? Duh! In this most beautiful time of the year, we’re obsessed with our own problems? Could it be that autumn is God’s billboard advertising that He is able to help you with your problems? “Earth’s crammed with heaven / And every common bush afire with God: / But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, / The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries.” (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

“And Moses said, ‘I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned’” (Exodus 3:3). Be a child again, a child of God, and take a long look. Marvel. And when you turn aside and look at a burning bush, you’ll see that old “Euonymous alatus compactus” has ridged branches, not round and smooth. I wonder why? Perhaps for no practical reason, save the Creator looking down with delight as you and I with childlike wonder marvel at nature. “And God saw everything the he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). So many opportunities to marvel at God’s creation, but what do we do? Rush on to the next meeting, click the next link, pluck our iPhone or what have you.