The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for October 14, 2011

A Dennis the Menace cartoon has stuck with me for obvious reasons.  The cartoon showed Dennis standing in the midst of one super messy bedroom, his exasperated mother glowering at him.  Dennis looks up at her and says, “Now, what’s the problem?”

If you ever visit Concordia Seminary, and I hope you’ll take this as an invitation to do just that, you’ll see that the president’s office is neat and clean.  That’s because I want it to look good when we have the privilege of welcoming people to campus.  But there’s another reason.

It’s probably not an accident that Dennis and Dale are close together in the alphabet. The official office is clean because I work from another office on campus, and that office is filled with piles, piles on the desk, piles on the floor, piles on the shelves.  When I go to heaven, that office will be sealed with yellow disaster tape. 

“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”  Paul said, “The time for my departure is near.”  Mindful that he wouldn’t always be here, he told Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”  (2 Timothy 4:6-7, 2:2)  Now, what’s the problem?  Leaving piles of unsettled stuff for those who will be left.

The Meyer Minute for October 13, 2011

Dietrich Bohhoeffer: "Now each stands in Christ's place.  In the presence of another Christian I no longer need to pretend.  In another Christian's presence I am permitted to be the sinner that I am, for there alone in all the world the truth and mercy of Jesus Christ rule."  (Life Together, 109)

Growing up in a worldview shaped by evolution, we assume things inevitably get better.  Some things do and people can change for the better but at the end of the day or the end of life we're still sinners.  You're not as OK as I want and I'm not Ok as you'd like, but when we follow a forgiving and patient Jesus, "I am permitted to be the sinner that I am."  "Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me and that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come."

People talk about being "comfortable in your own skin."  That should be true of Christians with one another.  "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." (1Corinthians 12:27)

The Meyer Minute for October 12, 2011

Robert Jeffress caused a stir when he introduced Gov. Rick Perry by saying, “Every true, born again follower of Christ ought to embrace a Christian over a non-Christian.”  Two candidates for the Republican nomination, Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney, are Mormon.

Article VI of the Constitution says, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”  According to Politico, “Jeffress said he does not believe that Mormonism is a disqualifier for the presidency but added, “Private citizens can impose all kinds of religious tests.”

Does the Christian faith compel you or me to vote only for Christians?  The Bible suggests the answer is no.  When Paul encourages us to pray for government officials (1 Timothy 2:4), when Paul was on trial (Acts 24-26), when both Peter and Paul write about the positive effects government can have on the life of the church (1 Peter 2:13-17; Romans 13), they were referring to non-Christian government officials.  Narrow down.  Do you think you need Christians in office in order to advance Christian causes?  Shouldn’t the church be doing that on its own?  If you want to make the government an instrument of the church, the day will come when the church becomes an instrument of the government.  

 

The Meyer Minute for October 11, 2011

Stephen stoned to death, Paul beheaded, Peter crucified upside down, countless others… 

Living in America we easily take religious liberty for granted.  Bible stories about Christians persecuted for their faith strike us as long ago and far away.

Sunday clashes in Egypt left 26 dead, most were Coptic Christians.  The promise of the Arab Spring has turned into chaos in Egypt and without the iron hand of Hosni Mubarak or the military, Christians are targeted.  Samuel Tadros, a Copt and research fellow at the Hudson Institute, asks, “Will the Middle East be emptied of its Christians, like the earlier pogroms emptied by Middle East of its Jews?  How will the world deal with 8 million Copts?”

A sobering answer comes from Bret Stephens in today’s Wall Street Journal: “The answer is that they won’t.  The overwhelming majority of Copts do not have easy exit options and will have to fend, and fight, for themselves in a country that despises their faith, envies their wealth, and suspects their allegiance.  It’s a recipe for repression and murder on a mass scale.”  (A15)

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.”  That’s a peaceful prayer in America but not in Egypt.  Let’s add intercessions to our prayers for persecuted Christians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Meyer Minute for October 10, 2011

Going regularly to church, you have to struggle against the ritual becoming routine.  Listening to the Bible readings can become akin to listening to background music in an elevator or store.  “Oh, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Yesterday many people heard Philippians 4:4-13.  “Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.”

Did you ever wonder why the crowds that sang “hosanna” to Jesus on Palm Sunday turned on Him by the end of the week?  A nice Sunday Bible reading like Philippians easily goes bye-bye on Monday when we get back to the grind.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer had the practice of meditating on one passage throughout the week so that wherever he was he had a word from God to make a difference in the day.

“Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:2)

 

The Meyer Minute for October 7, 2011

Years ago Newsweek did a cover story entitled, "Teen Depression."  According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, 3 million adolescents-that's 2 our of every 5-have symptoms of depression.  Still true?  Depression can lead to academic failure, social isolation, drug abuse, and suicide.  Almost 1 in every 5 high school students has thought about suicide and 2 million have actually made plans to take their lives.  Most troubling: Symptoms are often waved off as adolescent moods.

Dr. Harold Koplewicz says, "Parents have to know their children.  Adolescence is not a good time to introduce yourself.  Money should have been put in the bank earlier.  Then, during adolescence it's a continuation of a close relationship."

Isn't that the way of Christian love, not only for depression but for so many other problems of life?  Instead of spiritual bromides..."Have faith," "Pray", "You'll be OK, all things work together for good"...Instead of copping out with quick-fix platitudes, which don't solve the deep brokenness of our sinful world, the call is to take up the cross for the long haul.  "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:7-8)  Spend time with your children!  Always true!

The Meyer Minute for October 6, 2011

There is no app for facing death.  Our smart phones and tablets can be loaded with apps for almost everything but not for facing the end.

The news today is the death of Steve Jobs.   "Remembering that you are going to die," he said in June of 2005, "is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose." (WSJ, A6)

Death is an experience you don't have until you have it.  We can only wonder about it, sometimes fearfully.  I remember Mrs. Knipp, an active person and member of my church who suffered a stroke that left her unable to do anything, including talk.  I shared with her that life is finally about trusting God's grace, that we can't forever control or work through life.  God slowly but surely removes His blessings to us until only one thing is left.  "Whom have I in heaven but You?  And earth has nothing I desire besides You.  My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:25-26)

Martin Luther wrote that we haven't preached the Gospel unless we've preached the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He's the only one who's been their, done that.  "Lord, take my hand and lead me."

The Meyer Minute for October 5, 2011

Today the Supreme Court will hear a case about church hiring practices.  Hosanna-Tabor in Redford, Michigan is a member of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod.  When the church concluded teacher Cheryl Perich could not fulfill her duties because of narcolepsy, she threatened to sue.  The church then dismissed her.  Perich and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued, claiming her dismissal violated the non-retaliatory provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

According to The Pew Forum, this case is about "ministerial exception."  Ministerial exception exempts religious organizations from employment statutes.  Used by lower courts for 40 years, this is the first time it's gone to the Supreme Court.   The church argues ministerial exception applies because Perich was specially trained to teach religion and was the church's primary minister of religion to the children in her classroom.   Perich and the EEOC argue ministerial exception does not allow a church to violate the non-retaliation provision of the ADA.  The decision will most likely have far reaching consequences.  There are some 300,000 religious teachers in the United States.

I get complaints about the cost of seminary education.  You'd be surprised how many times we think it wisest to consult with lawyers before we make a move.

The saddest fact to me is that Hosanna-Tabor closed it's school in 2009.

 

 

The Meyer Minute for October 4, 2011

Diane and I have been watching Ken Burns' new miniseries on prohibition with great interest.  That failed social experiment offers a teachable spiritual moment.

Laws and the threat of punishment can do some good.  We might not pay our taxes were it not for threats of the law.  But law can't change the heart.  St. Paul says, "The good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." (Romans 7:19).   What's more, laws can create even more evil.  Again, St. Paul, "Sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.  For apart from the law, sin was dead." (Romans 7:8).

Jesus says, "There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man." (Mark 7:15).

Not laws, not threats but the Spirit of God changes people.  "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."(Romans 12:2)"

Monday night an unnamed prohibition era clergyman was quoted:"Very little good has ever been done by the absolute 'shall.'"

The Meyer Minute for October 3, 2011

This year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.  A monument of the English language, the KJB is the medium by which God worked faith in Jesus Christ in countless millions, including me and perhaps you.

That said, early editions of the KJB had some amusing typos.  For example, the translators got the Sixth Commandment right but the printer left out the word "not." "Thou shalt commit adultery." That edition came to be known as the "Wicked Bible."

Another amusing printer error: In Luke 14:26 Jesus says that following Him even means hating our own life.  Again, the translators got that right but the printer published that we should hate our wife.  That edition came to be known as the "Wife Hater Bible." 

In another marriage misprint, "hate" came out "ate."  A1682 edition from Amsterdam: "If the latter husband ate her (for 'hate her'), her former husband may not take her again" (Deuteronomy 24:3).

And here's a typo for dog lovers:  An 1805 edition had this heading: "How we muts love our enemies."

So many things can get in the way of communicating the Word!  The Bereans searched the Scriptures to make sure they were getting it right (Acts 17).  May we also understand Scripture correctly!