The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for September 30, 2014

I’ve been thinking about how practical the Bible is.  Consider the distinction between “now” and “not yet.”  In our ASAP culture we want everything now, and find ourselves frustrated and ready to walk away whenever it, whatever it is, doesn’t happen.  “Have patience” doesn’t work with someone living in the now, but accept the fact of not yet and you keep your inner peace.

Some Bible “now/not yets” that help us understand life: Now we have times of fear and anxiety; not yet are we totally confident in our Lord’s care for us (Mark 6:50).  Now we have times when we feel life has no purpose; not yet do we see that our “labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:57).  Now we believe Christ died for our sins; not yet are our guilty feelings gone.  Now we have grief over the death of dear ones; not yet has every tear been wiped from our eyes (Isaiah 25:8).  Now we see death coming to us; not yet have we gone through the valley of the shadow to the joys of heaven (Revelation 7:14-17).

How to lift our spirits beyond the “now” to the “not yet?”  Grab onto the promises of God.  God has “given us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).  “And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts” (Romans 5:5).  Hope does not disappoint you now.

The Meyer Minute for September 29, 2014

No reason for you to know this when you plunged into the new week, but in the calendar of the Christian church today is the day of “St. Michael and All Angels”

The archangel Michael shows up in the biblical books of Daniel (10:13-21, 12:1), Jude (9), and in Revelation 12:7-9, “There was war in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.  But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.  The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.  He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”

Michael is our protector.  Indeed, that’s the task God’s given to all the good angels. “He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11).

Angels aren’t objects of worship but servants of God.  They get only one day of honor in the church calendar.  Good thing God has them on duty more than one day a year for you and me.

The Meyer Minute for September 25, 2014

Have you noticed how we associate people with certain settings?  If I were to mention someone who works with you, you picture your place of work.  If it’s someone you know from church, you picture that person in church.  But when that person pops up in a different setting, “I know you but what are you doing here?”  Sometimes I even have trouble calling up the name, simply because I’m seeing this person against a different background.

Today our Jewish friends are observing Rosh Hashanah, their New Year celebration.  Unlike the Gentile New Year, Rosh Hashanah is solemn; it begins the Days of Awe.  The most impressive part of the synagogue liturgy is “Unitaneh Tokef,” a prayer which leads the worshipper to ponder “Who shall live and who shall die, who shall see ripe age and who shall not, who shall perish by fire and who by water….”  Writes George Robinson: “The God to whom we pray on the Days of Awe is not a cruel or vengeful God.  As the liturgy says, ‘It is not the death of sinners that God seeks but that they should repent.’”  (“Essential Judaism,” 94)  That last sentence reminds Christians of 1 Timothy 2:4, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Against what background do you picture repentance?  Followers of Jesus have our own rhythm to the year of worship.  Talk of repentance is common in Advent and especially Lent.  That’s what’s in the air at those times of year.  But now?  Maybe repentance isn’t what you’re thinking about.  “I know you but what are you doing here?”  Like learning to know a person in more than one setting, repentance in season and out of season helps us know our Jesus better.

The Meyer Minute for September 24, 2014

There’s an adjective I’ve been thinking about for some time, and I’m appreciating the adjective more and more as I get older.

Grandson Nick was with us last night.  When I came home from a meeting the little guy, 18-months-old, was crying because he was overly tired.  Opa took him, sat down in the easy chair, and he went asleep.  How precious that short time was!  In my younger years I understood intellectually that life was precious, but innumerable years stretched before me.  Now my perspective is different.  Holding a child is a fleeting gift from the Creator.

The adjective is “eternal,” as in “eternal life.”  For all that makes us unhappy, the problems, the evil, the weariness of the daily grind…  few of us would want to give up life.  As the days grow fewer, I’m increasingly aware that the words “eternal life” are more than religious jargon.  They express our deepest yearning that life continue forever.

Diane and I are stunned today.  Our physician, Dr. James Drake, passed away Sunday.  We’ve gone to him for 30 years and I don’t know that I’ve ever met a better person.  He embodied competence and caring, and his gentle voice and the twinkle in his eye revealed an inviting sense of humor.  I always thanked him, and did so most sincerely.  His calling was medicine, that is, the care of precious life, and he was God’s gift to our family and to so many others.  His family is in our prayers.

I am yearning for life, eternal.  John 17:3. 

 

The Meyer Minute for September 22, 2014

Barbara Brown Taylor writes about a friend whose father, a mechanic, died from a heart attack. "He kept a clean shop, and before he went home at night he scrubbed his hands with a boar's bristle brush, washing away the grime of the day. But as careful as he was, his hands stayed stained in places, and it was that my friend was looking for. Turning his father's big hand over in his own, he saw the motor oil in the fingerprints, the calluses dark from years of hauling engines, and he smiled. 'It's him,' he said. 'They tried to clean him up, but look, they couldn't. It's my daddy. It's really him." (in Paul Scott Wilson, "Setting Words on Fire," p. 23)

Morticians try to make us look good in death ... just as we try to make ourselves look good to others in life ... but we are what we are. Only God makes us clean in the grime, in the uncleanness of life in this sinful world.  “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)  And only cleansing by the Spirit of Christ will bring us into eternal life.  “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

The grime of your work day after day, the wrinkles from worrying and from laughing, the calluses and age spots that testify to the years, these make you a  witness of God’s steadfast love, they remind you of sin and grace and they speak to others.  “It’s really him.”  You’re really a dear child of God.

 

 

The Meyer Minute for September 19, 2014

As I think about my friends with cancer, and for that matter all the various problems we all face in our lives, the words "salvation" and "savior" become filled with meaning.

Kathleen Norris wrote about an acquaintance who thought he could make some good money dealing drugs but got out when he discovered that drug dealers would kill you if you got in their way. "I decided to get out,' he said.  'This was over my head."' And Kathleen Norris writes, "And that is salvation, or at least the beginning of it." (“Amazing Grace,” p.20)

Christians often talk about salvation as if it were some kind of airy, non-body experience but that robs the Good News of its help when we're hurting. The word "salvation" generally means preservation in (not from) danger and deliverance from impending death. The "savior" is the deliverer (Greek-English Lexicon). Indeed the Bible uses the words to describe Jesus winning for us forgiveness and eternal life but don't miss the here-and-now implications. God so wants you to be His that His Spirit comes to be with you in whatever problems this sinful and broken world throws your way.

In "A Mighty Fortress," Martin Luther wrote, "He helps us free from every need that hath us now o'ertaken."  Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son reminds us that the need for salvation often comes to us slowly, in the events and problems of life.  (Luke 15:11-32)  Salvation isn't escaping problems; it's God’s saving presence in them.

 

The Meyer Minute for September 18, 2014

I’ve got the story of Zacchaeus on my mind.  You know, that “wee little man” who climbed up the sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus coming through town.  “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’”  The verses that have captured my thoughts are Luke 19:6-7:

“So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’”

What’s the culture of your church, sinners who joyfully receive Jesus and let it show?  Or religious people who grumble about others?  Every place has its own culture, its attitudes, assumptions, spoken and unspoken ways of acting.  A place’s culture is not spelled out in the bulletin or official words but is something you sense, you experience.  I recall going to guest preach at a church in Illinois.  Got there before the service, obviously! I stood in the narthex with my robe in hand and no one, no one came up to greet me.  I felt like a leper with my white leper’s robe in hand!  “Good luck if you’re not one of us.”  What kind of culture does your church have?

At the root of this problem, too common in churches, I fear, is the deception that our outward religious life makes us better before God than others.  False.  I’m the sinner, you’re the sinner who needs Jesus to stay with us.  Hurry down from your lofty perch.  Contribute to a culture of joy.

The Meyer Minute for September 17, 2014

Year by year I am increasingly awed by the rule of law.  People debate and decide what rules, what law, will govern us all, and all pretty much agree to abide by those rules.  Isn’t this amazing, that we independent-minded people surrender our self-willed ways to live under the laws we pass?  It’s also a fragile way to life.  The criminal who breaks the law, the anarchist whose principle is rebellion, the mob that disregards the law...  The rule of law we tend to take for granted is often challenged and could easily be lost.

Welcome today, September 17^th, Constitution Day!  On this date in 1787 the new Constitution of the United States was adopted by 39 delegates in Philadelphia.  They had met to revise the Articles of Confederation but behind closed doors came up with a whole new document.  “In order to form a more perfect union” was their goal.  4,440 words in length, the oldest and shortest constitution of any major power in the world, today is the 227^th anniversary of the ratification of “The Constitution of the United States.” 

Thank God!  While we Christians gather around the revealed word of Christ, today is a reminder of God’s lavish gifts of wisdom on Christian and non-Christian alike.  “He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)  The Founders’ learning and wisdom crafted one of the greatest documents of all history.  Please take time to remember the munificence of God’s love for all people… and take time to teach the next generation our blessed but fragile way of life, the rule of law.    

The Meyer Minute for September 16, 2014

During my time as Speaker of The Lutheran Hour, we were privileged to do a television show called, “On Main Street.”  The primary purpose of the program was to connect with viewers outside the church and show the relevance of biblical faith for living.  As we prepared the scripts for each broadcast, we constantly asked the question, “W.I.I.F.M.?”

What’s in it for me?  That may strike you as a selfish question to ask, but we all ask, “What’s in it for me?”  You don’t stick with a TV program or a hobby or a computer game or whatever unless there’s some reason that compels you to participate.  I ask my students to always ask the W.I.I.F.M. question as they prepare their sermons.  What will the preacher say that will make me, the listener, sit up and pay attention?  Is he going to bring the Word of God to me in a way that not only points me to heaven but also helps me in this often difficult life?  I’ve found that a hard lesson to teach young seminarians.  Hopefully their post-Seminary degree from the University of Hard Knocks will help them prepare sermons that are spiritually helpful and eternally faithful.

Unless you’re the preacher, you sit in the pews.  Ask, W.I.I.F.M.?  Is your honest answer that the church is your nice, comfy ritual?  Or is your answer, “Lord, to whom shall we go?”  (John 6:68)  What makes you participate?

Monday, when you’re back to the noise of life, it can be difficult to listen to just one person, to hear that one important voice amidst all the other voices.  Phone calls, voice mails, E-mails, instant messages, snail mails.  Beepers and Blackberries.  Conversations on the run, interruptions.  Too many voices, too much clamor.

The key to inner peace is to hear Christ’s voice above all others.  “I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  Salvation is a gift, a grace given by God, not the result of our busy-ness, as important as today’s busy-ness may be.  Shutting out the clamor, the demands, even people… some moments every hour is the only way to hear the one quiet, calming voice, and to be graced with peace. 

 

In life’s bewildering strife and eager rush

I lose so much of Thy sweet gentleness;

But in the peace and solace of this hush

Strengthen and soothe me with Thy blessedness;

Give to me what Thou wilt; here at Thy side,

Whate’er it be, I shall be satisfied.

 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27)