The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for June 10, 2014

“That’ll preach,” I thought as I entered Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles, Missouri.  A well-kept garden at the front door is dominated by a statue of an eagle.  It’s 3 feet tall, posed with talons out, ready to take its prey. 

It was Pentecost Sunday, the day the church celebrates the Holy Spirit, the third person in the mysterious Trinity who works saving faith in us.  “No one can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.”  (1 Corinthians 12:3)   Delivering the sermon, I asked with a smile, “The Bible and the Christian church depict the Holy Spirit as a dove, a gentle, non-threatening, comforting dove.  But I see you have a menacing eagle outside.  Is that your depiction of the Holy Spirit, ready to strike its unsuspecting victim?”  It takes some coaxing to get Lutherans to respond to a sermon, but eventually they said, “Dove.”  The eagle is their grade school mascot.

The Almighty can bear us up on eagle’s wings, yet the Spirit of the Savior comes gently. “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench.”  (Isaiah 40:31; 42:3)

The Meyer Minute for June 6, 2014

President Franklin Roosevelt offered this prayer when he addressed the nation on D-Day, 70 years ago today. 

“Almighty God, our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.  Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.  They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest until victory is won.  The darkness will be rent by noise and by flame.  Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.  Some will never return.  Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.  O Lord, give us faith.  Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade.  Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled.  With Thy blessing we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.  Help us conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances.  Thy will be done, Almighty God.  Amen.  (Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2012)

The Meyer Minute for June 5, 2014

Because our devices trap young people in the here-and-now, the next generation is being robbed of reference points necessary for wisdom. 

The Battle of Midway began June 4^th and concluded on June 6^th, 1942.  Midway is located 1,200 miles northwest of Hawaii.  The United States Navy had learned that Japan intended to capture Midway to serve as an outpost in the war.  As a large contingent of the Japanese navy steamed toward Midway, it was ambushed by forces under the command of Admiral Chester Nimitz.   American losses were heavy: one aircraft carrier and 150 planes.  Torpedo Squadron 8, flying outdated planes, lost all but one of its 30 pilots and gunners.  But their sacrifice allowed higher-flying Dauntless dive-bombers to attack.  Japan’s navy was crippled for the rest of the war, losing 4 of its 9 aircraft carriers.  The Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war.  Compare those brutal facts to today’s controversy about the exchange for Sgt. Bergdahl. 

I hear it said that young people aren’t learning history.  If so, we are not preparing them for wise living.  “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations.”  (Deuteronomy 32:7)

The Meyer Minute for June 4, 2014

You leave some church gatherings and can’t escape the conclusion that many Christians don’t take God at His Word.  Except for some routine readings and prayers, much of the institutional church can be a dreary experience.  We invoke God as a façade for a human centered church.  Excuse me, faith is to be confidence and optimism because God keeps His promises.

“This Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.” (Matthew 24:14)  That’s Jesus’ promise; here’s God’s faithfulness.  “The Church in China has grown dramatically, 30 times over, since 1949.  While the official number of Protestants in China is 23 million, unofficially, the total number of Christians in China could be up to four times the official figure.  Just over the last five years, 2.4 million believers in China were baptized.  It is one of the fastest growing churches in the world today.” (“The Bible Comes Alive,” 88)

Jesus Christ is “not Yes and No, but in Him it is always Yes.  For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.” (2 Corinthians 1:19-20)   Did you hear, Jesus is alive and present?

 

The Meyer Minute for June 3, 2014

A scientist named Aylmer married a beautiful woman named Georgiana.  They loved each other deeply and, since life was slower back in those days…  The story is set in the 1700’s…  Aylmer and Georgiana spent much time with each other.  But…

Georgiana’s beauty had one flaw, a small crimson birthmark on her left cheek.  The more time they spent together, the more Aylmer obsessed about that one physical flaw.  Georgiana, wanting to please her husband, also obsessed about it and consented to let her husband, the scientist, concoct a potion to remove the mark that was ruining their life.  He did…and in removing the birthmark he also took Georgiana’s life.  Her imperfection was part of her being.  The story is called “The Birthmark” and was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

How will you spend your time together in these somewhat slower summer days?  Sin makes us rationalize our obsession with other people’s imperfections.  The love of Christ suggests a better way.  “Love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

 

The Meyer Minute for June 2, 2014

Let’s do a quiz.  Why is Bowe Bergdahl in the news?  How about Ann B. Davis?  And why is Hilary Clinton getting special attention?

How’d you do?   Bowe Bergdahl…released in a prisoner exchange with the Taliban.  Ann B. Davis…the housekeep on the “Brady Bunch” died yesterday.  Hilary Clinton…of course!  She’s the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination.  We like to follow the highs and lows of people in the news.

Now my real point.  I’ll bet if you asked church-goers what one or two things they’re struggling with in their relationship with God, most couldn’t give you an immediate answer.  Of course, that’s very subjective on my part…but I’ve tried it in my preaching.  “Right now can you list one or two spiritual struggles you’re having?”  “What sins are tempting you?”  The reaction on the faces in the crowd suggests they haven’t thought about it.  We can identify what’s going on with people in the news.  We can identify our own physical and material struggles.  But when it comes to the most important news of all, our relationship with God, many of us haven’t thought about what’s going on.  Something to think about.