The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for December 21, 2018

“O Morning Star, Splendor of Light Everlasting and Sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”

The shepherds were sitting in darkness, normal for them, when suddenly “an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not’” (Luke 2:9-10). They were terrified by the glory of the Lord, but why now shouldn’t they fear? Because the newborn did not come in terrifying glory. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Just a baby, seemingly like every other baby.

I recall only one time when Jesus visibly showed Himself as “Morning Star, Splendor of Light Everlasting and Sun of Righteousness,” and that was the Transfiguration. “He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light… And a voice from the cloud said,’ This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear’” (Matthew 17:2-7).

Today’s antiphon is a prayer to the Son of God who became one of us to be our Sun of Righteousness. John on Patmos felt terror at the glory but heard the gentle Gospel, God for us, not against us. He saw “a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters… and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell as though dead, But he laid his right hand on me, saying ‘Fear not’” (Revelation 1:13-17).

 

Here’s the gentleness of God with you and me, that His glorious Son does not reveal Himself to us in terrifying glory but as God with us.

“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, / Hail the incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with man to dwell, / Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hark! The herald angels sing, / ‘Glory to the newborn King!”

(Lutheran Service Book, 380, 3)

 

 

The Meyer Minute for December 20, 2018

“I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

I’m not ashamed to admit I have my fears about dying. When some church people brush that aside, I’m reminded of something written by 19^th century theologian C.F.W. Walther. “Many preachers picture the Christian as a person who does not fear death.  That is a serious misrepresentation, because the great majority of Christians are afraid to die.  If a Christian does not fear death and declares that he is ready to die at any time, God has bestowed a special grace upon him.  Some have expressed this sentiment before their physician told them that they would not live another night, but after that they were seized with a terrible fear” (Law and Gospel, 313). One of my most soul-searching moments comes just before a funeral when you watch the coffin being closed.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). I do, and that’s why I pray and, invite you to pray with me the fourth “O Antiphon” as we move toward Christmas.

“O Key of David and Scepter of the House of Israel, You open and no one can shut, You shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

Look at little Jesus in the manger but see more. Jesus is the all-powerful Key and Scepter who frees us from fears that can imprison us. “I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open” (Isaiah 22:22). “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18).

So about my fears, and perhaps yours as well? “I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus. Words which Thou Thyself shalt give me / Must prevail.” (Lutheran Service Book, 729, 1, 5).

“O come, Thou Key of David, come, / And open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high, / And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.”

(Lutheran Service Book, 357, 5)

 

The Meyer Minute for December 19, 2018

“God can soon turn gloomy days into glorious ones.” What a thought to keep in mind! Matthew Henry, a 17^th century minister in England, wrote the encouraging words in his commentary on Isaiah chapter 11. If you want a glorious vision these last Advent days, enjoy a leisurely read of Isaiah 11.

Start with this image, the stump of a once mighty tree. The stump is all that’s left of the house of Jesse, father of David and the kings of Israel. God had intended Israel to be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:1), but through the centuries Israel turned inward, forsaking God’s mission to the Gentiles. Into the vacuum come worldly powers, Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, who take down the mighty tree. Now who bothers with a stump, the lowly Church? The God of resurrection! The roots are still alive. “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1). The new growth comes because God is persistent in His mission for a glorious future for all peoples. “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.” This is the promise of Jesus. “In that day (the day of Jesus, now!), the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant remains of his people…. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel” (Isaiah 11:11-12; cf. Romans 15:12).

Don’t we people of faith grow weary of pretentious worldly powers? Don’t we sigh, “How long, O Lord?” (Psalm 13:1). The gloom settles on the church, understandably. But where the Good News is present, the Root of Jesse is at work, turning “gloomy days into glorious ones.” For this we pray to Jesus in today’s “O Antiphon.”

“O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; before You kings will shut their mouths, to You the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.”

“Savior, since of Zion’s city / I through grace a member am,

Let the world deride or pity, / I will glory in Your name.

Fading are the world’s vain pleasures, / All their boasted pomp and show;

Solid joys and lasting treasure / None but Zion’s children know.”

(Lutheran Service Book, 648, 4)

The Meyer Minute for December 18, 2018

“We are all beggars,” wrote Martin Luther shortly before his death. In the last analysis, in extremis, what do you and I have except what God has given? And are we together as Church convinced of our total dependence upon grace, or are we fretting because today’s earthly church is in decline? “His grace has brought me safe thus far.” Where’s our confidence and joy that “His grace will lead me home”? (Lutheran Service Book 744, 3). The opulence of Christmas around us, the second “O Antiphon” is a contrarian call to you and me to pray as beggars.

“O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.”

“The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.  Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning” (Exodus 2:23-24). And God gave them what? Only a man, Moses, but a man with a promise of deliverance. The plagues were signs but the essence of Israel’s deliverance was beggarly dependence upon God’s promise. When they came to Sinai, God said, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt” and His grace would guide them to Canaan (Exodus 40:36-38). Note two things in the antiphon: God’s people had not yet arrived in their Promised Land and it was then Jesus came to them.

Jesus, our Adonai, our Lord comes to our journeys with words for you, for me, for the Church to trust. Are we different than the Israelites who received the word on Sinai and were guided forward to the Promised Land? “Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.” Come, so we can see the arms stretched on the cross for our deliverance from slavery to sin. Come, nurture our pilgrim faith with Your words and manna. Give us confidence that Your arm of power is coming for our final and full redemption. “You believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8-9).

“O Come, O come, Thou Lord of might / Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times didst give the Law / In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to Thee, O Israel.

(Lutheran Service Book 357, 3)  

The Meyer Minute for December 17, 2018

Little children are drawn into the nativity set outside the chapel of Concordia Seminary. They walk into the little stable, to the animals, shepherds, wise men, Mary and Joseph, but especially to the One in the center. Do you go to Him? Why?

“O Sapientia” is the Latin word beginning the first of the great “O Antiphons.” In English, “O Wisdom.” Jesus is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). There’s no lack of information at our fingertips, but wisdom? That’s why we need Jesus. His words offer order to lives bombarded on every side. “Does not wisdom call? ‘To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones learn prudence; O fools, learn sense’” (Proverbs 8:4-5). “Learn from me…and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). “Wisdom’s highest, noblest treasure, Jesus, is revealed in You” (Lutheran Service Book 536, 2).

“O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.”

Now we are praying to Jesus to teach us His wisdom. O Jesus, the wisdom of God, You are the eternal Word from the Father. “In the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). No longer in the manger or on the cross, You are ascended and fill all things. You are before all things and in You all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). Let me learn from You! “Humility there and simplicity reigning, / ln paths of true wisdom my steps ever training. If I learn from Jesus this knowledge divine, the blessing of heavenly wisdom is mine” (LSB, 536, 3).

But not all seek Wisdom. G.K. Chesterton: “If a man say, ‘I like to find something greater than myself,’ he may be a fool or a madman, but he has the essential But if a man says, ‘I like to find something smaller than myself,’ there is only one adequate answer—‘You couldn’t.’” (in Os Guiness, “The Call,” 118). Jesus approves your simple humility. “Wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:35).  

 

“O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, / Who ord’rest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show / And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel!

(LSB, 357, 2)

The Meyer Minute for December 14, 2018

“Agenda” is a Latin word that means “things that must be done.” You set your agenda for the day but how often doesn’t someone mess it up? For followers of Jesus the upset is an uncomfortable reminder of grace. Dr. Daniel Paavola, a professor at Concordia University Wisconsin, writes, “Grace upends our world, but it does so through difficulties we never imagined” (“Patience & Perfection: Finding Peace in God’s Plan for You,” Concordia Publishing House, 19).

The basic difficulty is that “grace” offends our natural way of thinking. We assume we’ve earned some things in life, and in a superficial sense that’s true, but deeper reflection – imagine you’re flat on your back, sick, perhaps near death – shows that everything ultimately comes from God. Grace is His gift of everything you are and have. “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Biblical faith focuses our total dependence, our giftedness, on God’s Son Jesus Christ. “All the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Therefore, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of your own works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Ouch! “Grace,” that nice, pious sounding word “upends our world.”

And God uses daily difficulties to keep bringing us back to His grace. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6; Proverbs 3:11). For example, think about the Virgin Mary. “Hail, Mary, full of grace” (Luke 1:28). Grace brought her difficulties. In a mysterious way she became pregnant for all to see. I assume the people in Nazareth thought she was immoral. Joseph also had his grace-caused difficulties. “Mary hasn’t been faithful,” he first thought (See Matthew 1:18-25). They never could have imagined what grace was doing in their lives, but they trusted in God and endured the difficulties for the sake of Jesus’ mission to bring grace to us all.

So thank God for the difficulties! When the Word plants in us “the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1), an upset agenda is a reminder we’re graced and grace-bringers to others. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11).

The Meyer Minute for December 12, 2018

Last Wednesday I led chapel at the Seminary, but it was painful. My right contact was making my eye tear, so much so that I was having trouble reading. The next day I stopped by my optometrist, Dr. Jeffrey Herberts, and asked that he clean and polish the lens. Turns out a small piece had chipped off. No wonder I was so teary. His office kindly scheduled me for an exam this past Monday.

“Turn your eye to the right,” and I did. “Turn it to the left.” “Look down.” “Look up.” After those eyeball calisthenics, I said, “Obviously there are muscles that turn the eye?” Dr. Herberts said, “Yes, in fact there are six muscles in the back. He showed me a chart. There’s the “superior rectus,” “superior oblique,” “inferior rectus muscle” and so on, daily knowledge to an eye doctor but taken for granted by the rest of us. “So when you told me what to do, my brain heard what you said, I agreed, and the command went down to the muscles to move my eye?” “That’s right.” “Wow.” And then Dr. Herberts delivered the moral of this teachable moment. “And some people say there isn’t a God?”

“You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:13-14).

Dr. Herberts looked at my right eye to see if the broken lens had scratched it. Nothing there. “Usually the eye heals itself within 24 hours.” Another testimony to the incomprehensible greatness of our Creator.

We commonly use the word “God,” but the word by itself does not convey any special content. And so following the Bible, the Apostles’ Creed gives content to the word “God.” “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” God our Maker, our Creator, is also our “Sustainer.” Martin Luther: “I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.”

“Look up,” says the doctor. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

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.