The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for September 30, 2019

Yesterday at 1:30, I walked toward my rental car. With the key fob, I unlocked the doors. On cold winter days I can use that fob from inside to start the car so that it’ll be warm when I get into it. This technology fascinates me. The fob doesn’t even have to be directly “in sight” of the car; its commands go around corners.

So I got in for a two hour drive to Eppley Airfield in Omaha.  I had preached for the 100^th anniversary of Grace Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Nebraska. Thank you all for a great day and visit! As I pulled out of the church parking lot, my “girlfriend” gave directions. “Drive for 76 miles,” she said. “In two miles, exit for highway 36.” And finally, “Destination on left.” The GPS is following me, making my life safer and easier. Remember trying to look at the map while you were driving in a strange place?

I write this because yesterday was the day of St. Michael and All Angels. Fobs and GPS teach us that there’s much more than meets the eye. Radio waves, X-rays, gamma rays, infrared, ultraviolet… All mysterious to me but make my life and yours better. Do we step out of the door on Monday truly believing what we confess on Sunday? “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible” (Nicene Creed).

Even more than fobs and GPS, God’s good angels help us. Just as Jesus unseen is with you today, “I am with you always,” so also His retinue of holy angels. “By him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Matthew 28:20; Colossians 1:16). “Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14). “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11). Thanks, “girlfriend” and infinitely more, thank You, Creator and Savior, for angels!

 

“But watchful is the angel band / That follows Christ on ev’ry hand

To guard His people where they go / And break the counsel of the foe.

 

“For this, now and in days to be, / Our praise shall rise, O Lord, to Thee,

Whom all the angel hosts adore / With grateful songs forevermore.” (LSB 522, 7-8)

The Meyer Minute for September 27, 2019

Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” That’s a dear image, especially when we think of children. “I am Jesus’ little lamb.” Is the image also relevant to you as you face your adult, real world issues today?

In the Good Shepherd passage, John 10:11-18, Jesus contrasts the Good Shepherd with a hired hand, a “hireling” as the King James puts it. The hireling isn’t necessarily bad; he just clocks in and clocks out but isn’t going to run any special risk for the sheep. He’s not going to “lay down his life” for the sheep, as Jesus says three times that the Good Shepherd will do.

Who is your “hireling”? To whom do you, like a sheep, look for care? Marriage and family, work, education, medicine, excellence… The list is endless. Many of us look to our job and career. There was a time when a person would spend his whole working life with one company. The company took care of him and upon retirement gave him a pension. How that’s changed! Workers today know that the company is not going to lay down its life for you. No job, no career, no company and no institutional church is going to lay down its life for you. Only Jesus the Good Shepherd does. “I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15).

So to make the image of the Good Shepherd relevant to your adult life today, identify your current “hireling.” To whom or what are you looking to be taken care of? Sooner or later it will let you down; only the Good Shepherd goes all the way for you and with you.

 

Thank You, Father, for the work we do and the employer through whom You give us our “daily bread.” Give us the insight that this hireling will sooner or later fail us and by Your Spirit prepare us for that day of disappointment by deepening our love and devotion for our Good Shepherd, Jesus. Amen.

The Meyer Minute for September 26, 2019

The website Bored Panda posted letters to God. One third-grader wrote, “Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nan.”

A single man, Jesus brought love to many homes. He owned no home of His own, stayed in the homes of others. The base of His ministry was in Capernaum, where he stayed with Peter. It was a full house, Peter, his wife and her mother, brother Andrew, and who else? Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and many others who crowded around the house for His loving-kindnesses. Other homes put out the welcome mat for Jesus’ love. When he called Levi the tax collector to follow him, Jesus and the disciples went to Levi’s house. Others came too, disreputable people, but Jesus used that home to bring love into their lives (Mark 2:13-17). Third-grader Nan should read about Jesus coming to the home of Simon the Pharisee. While Simon’s family was outwardly religious, they didn’t know forgiving love. “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:36-50). Then there’s Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:1-10). You know the love He brought to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. “One thing is necessary” (Luke 10:38-42).

“Oh, blest the house, whate’er befall, / Where Jesus Christ is all in all!

A home that is not wholly His— / How sad and poor and dark it is!

 

“Oh, blest that house where faith is found / And all in hope and love abound;

They trust their God and serve Him still / And do in all His holy will!” (Lutheran Service Book, 862, 1-2).

 

Jesus, the Son of God, was a single man who brought forgiving love into families. Think about it, we’re all single, and all able to bring love into our homes and the homes of others.  

And reminding us of joy in loving families, another third-grader wrote, Dear God, thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Joyce.”

The Meyer Minute for September 26, 2019

The website Bored Panda posted letters to God. One third-grader wrote, “Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. Nan.”

A single man, Jesus brought love to many homes. He owned no home of His own, stayed in the homes of others. The base of His ministry was in Capernaum, where he stayed with Peter. It was a full house, Peter, his wife and her mother, brother Andrew, and who else? Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and many others who crowded around the house for His loving-kindnesses. Other homes put out the welcome mat for Jesus’ love. When he called Levi the tax collector to follow him, Jesus and the disciples went to Levi’s house. Others came too, disreputable people, but Jesus used that home to bring love into their lives (Mark 2:13-17). Third-grader Nan should read about Jesus coming to the home of Simon the Pharisee. While Simon’s family was outwardly religious, they didn’t know forgiving love. “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” (Luke 7:36-50). Then there’s Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:1-10). You know the love He brought to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. “One thing is necessary” (Luke 10:38-42).

“Oh, blest the house, whate’er befall, / Where Jesus Christ is all in all!

A home that is not wholly His— / How sad and poor and dark it is!

 

“Oh, blest that house where faith is found / And all in hope and love abound;

They trust their God and serve Him still / And do in all His holy will!” (Lutheran Service Book, 862, 1-2).

 

Jesus, the Son of God, was a single man who brought forgiving love into families. Think about it, we’re all single, and all able to bring love into our homes and the homes of others.  

And reminding us of joy in loving families, another third-grader wrote, Dear God, thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Joyce.”

The Meyer Minute for September 25, 2019

Yesterday the Speaker of the House agreed to proceed with an impeachment inquiry. Without making any judgment about either party or the President, we know partisanship will increase and many of our leaders will have to turn their attention turned from their day-to-day business on our behalf. We church people should keep it all in perspective.

Let’s go back in history. “Make Rome great again!” might have been the public hope in 69 A.D. What a chaotic year – 4 emperors! 30-year-old Nero killed himself on June 11, 68. Galba succeeded him but didn’t enjoy power too long, assassinated on this date in 69 A.D. He was followed by Otho, who only lasted until April. Next came Vitellius who was murdered by Vespasian in December of 69. You think our country’s in uncertain times?
   

From Genesis to Revelation, God has looked down and seen various forms of government, from anarchy to dictators, from godly David to Nero, Galba, and all the others. You can find times of national peace and prosperity in the Bible and you can find times when “everyone did was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). In all these diverse forms of government and in common weal or common woe, the Bible tells us how the faithful lives. Jesus teaches, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Forms of government don’t do God’s heavenly will; people “on earth” do. “Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come.” That is, live holy lives under His rule and reign.

There is one form of government that is not found in the Bible, our representative republic. The year of 4 emperors reminds us there is something special about our American form of government, but the form isn’t divine. Time will tell what comes of our chaotic times, but that we live holy lives of faith in community and country for the good of all?  That is divine. May God help us in these troubled national times. Or perhaps I should first say, may more of us bow our heads in personal and national repentance and then pray. “O come, Desire of nations, bind / In one the hearts of all mankind; / Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, / And be Thyself our King of Peace.” (Lutheran Service Book, 357, 7)

The Meyer Minute for September 24, 2019

“What’s done on earth will pass. What’s done for Christ will last.” Yes, but earthly things, passing though they be, still are important.

I’m reading a 2008 book titled “On Thinking Institutionally.” Almost every place we look these days, institutions are struggling. Writes author Hugh Heclo, “Growing distrust is not confined to political institutions. In recent decades we modern people have grown more suspicious of almost all our society’s major institutions. That includes business, unions, public school, the legal and medical professions, religious institutions, journalism, and nonprofit organizations” (12).

 

Gripe though we may, we need institutions and Christians should appreciate that more than most. We’re taught to believe that the Son of God came from eternity into our world. He did not come as a disembodied spirit, not as a teacher of esoteric truths, not as a mystic on a mountain. He came as a real human, eating, drinking, sleeping, working, dying and living. He engaged the institutions of the first century, and established His own. Upon Peter’s confession that he was the Christ, He said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). We confess Him in the Church and are taught to value other institutions so “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:2-3). 

 

Whom do we blame for today’s faltering and failing institutions? Hugh Heclo: “Today we are caught up in talk about institutions failing us. But look closely and I think you will see that when institutions fail, it is mainly a matter of people failing institutions. People fail institutions by failing to think and act with due regard to the valued purposes embodied in institutions. To repeat an earlier point, the failure does not consist in simply making mistakes, errors, and miscalculations. It consists in failures of being” (126-127).

 

With many congregations struggling, do we remember our being, whose we are? Have we lost our first love, Jesus? “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10). What institution will you invest yourself in today?

 

 

The Meyer Minute for September 23, 2019

Diane and I thank all of you who shared your sympathies on the passing of our Ferdie. What we’re experiencing now is a change in our daily routines.

The Creator built routines into our lives. “There was evening and there was morning, the first day” (Genesis 1:5). These days our routines are shifting from summer to fall. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22). God wanted His ancient people to schedule spiritual time into their routines. “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:9-10).

Routines change. A young man and woman get married and two routines become one. Children come and the routines of bride and groom become routines of mom and dad. Years later they become empty nesters and relearn the routines of you and me without kids. Retirement comes. Can we stand to be with each other all day? And when you drive through town and see a ramp added to the front of a home, you know that age and illness change daily routines. “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). “Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:7-8).

That’s why you have times of devotion. “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29). The Spirit of God grows the seed of faith in you and me, day by day, until our home-going. Devotion is important, night and day, just as you are doing right now.

The Meyer Minute for September 17, 2019

Diane and I are very sad today. Yesterday afternoon we had to say “Goodbye” to Ferdie.

Ferdie was a rescue dog. He had been abandoned as a puppy, left on the street. Dogs live in the moment but they remember trauma, and so Ferdie treasured us. We never had to worry about Ferdie running away. He needed no fence. He was devoted to his people.

Ferdie was a major presence on campus. Four times a day Diane took him for a walk, and they’d always meet people. Sometimes little children saw him and called out, “Ferdie!” He went to them to be petted. Other times there would be a tour group on campus. Several thousand come to visit us every year, and when Ferdie saw them, he’d go right to them, get right in the middle, and in his own way welcome them. He knew his campus, knew which offices had yummies for him, and knew which workers carried yummies with them, just in case they’d happen to see the Ferd.

Fifteen years ago when I became president, people from the neighborhood asked if they could walk on our campus. “Yes, of course,” we said, but it was Ferdie who really let people know they were welcome. On those daily walks Diane and Ferdie met other dog owners, and conversations always happened. Over the years Ferdie had his neighborhood friends, Lola, Booj, Max, Bogie, Charlie, Gus, Mimi, Grindel, and many others. We like to attribute human qualities to dogs, but Ferdie really did help make Concordia Seminary a welcoming place. And when he wasn’t outside, he was at the front door, watching his neighborhood, and people walking by always looked.

He was in his home. Golden Retrievers are a gentle breed. There were two hunting dogs that made him mad, but the rest of the time he was a 120-pound gentle giant. He was smart, but in a way different from humans. He sensed things. Sunday’s he knew he was going to be left while we went to church. When I had a suitcase, he knew I was leaving, but when I came home from the trip, he smiled and wagged his tail. The explanation to the creed says, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures.” The Creator blessed Diane and me with Ferdie. With Ferdie gone, the house is emptier but the love he brought is greater than ever. We miss you.

The Meyer Minute for September 16, 2019

From yesterday’s bulletin at our church: “Intruder Training – Today! Sunday, September 15 at 1:00: The Board of Worship invites and encourages all members to attend this very important informative class to be presented by the Collinsville Police Department. We strongly suggest all Elders, Board Members, Faculty & Staff, Ushers and all Sound Board Personnel be in attendance. Training will be in the Sanctuary.”

It’s sad we’ve come to this in our country, but so it is. There have been many church shootings by crazed individuals. Ideologies have also tortured and martyred Christians. I remember visiting with pastors who lived in communist East Germany. Their phones had been bugged, government agents infiltrated their church services, and even some church members informed against the pastor and church. In the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin shut churches down, exiled Christians to Siberia, and imprisoned and killed thousands. And recently, don’t we all have in mind the photo of Coptic Christians in orange jump suits about to be beheaded?

Gruesome as it is, it reminds us in our individual congregations that we are part of a bigger church, a world-wide confession focused on the Lord Jesus. “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12:26). And this one persecuted church transcends time, as we sing in the Te Deum. “The noble army of martyrs praise You. The holy Church throughout all the world does acknowledge You: You are the king of glory, O Christ.” “Consider him (Jesus) who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your own blood…. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons” (Hebrews 12:3-4, 7).

So it is, our heavenly Father uses everything to train us up for heaven. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The First Amendment gives us protections that are the envy of many Christians throughout time. The other side of Intruder Training is raising up good citizens to go into our communities with good works testifying to the positive hope in us. “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 September 12, 2019

What follows is my Minute from September 17, 2001.

Where is God in all this? Once again I have been reminded – I trust we all have – how precious little we know about God.

Last December, some friends took me to dinner near the top of the World Trade Center. You can imagine how spectacular the view of the New York skyline was, but I was most amazed by how small, how insignificant everything looked below. Even the Statue of Liberty appeared only an inch tall from high up on the 106^th floor. After dinner, back down on the street, I knew I was back in real life: impatient motorists blowing their horns, business execs on cell phones, the homeless. A woman passes me. She’s crying and I wonder why. Down on the street, not up on the 106^th floor, was real life. I remember thinking that God sits high but looks low. Nothing down on the street is insignificant to God.

Oh, how we need the God who sits high to look low now! To look into the rubble caused by evil, to touch devastated families, to heal us, and to use us to make Liberty stand taller than she ever has stood before. With respect to people of other world faiths, I believe that’s what the cross of Jesus Christ is about. The most-high Son of God came down to suffer with us, and not only to suffer with us but also to suffer redemptively for us. The Spirit of God is in our land. He bends His ear to our sighs. He touches our tears with His mercies. He is ready to fill our hearts with new hope. God sits high but looks low.

Yes, there are so many questions about God that are unanswered, but He has shown us what He wants us to do down here. That is to follow Him, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). We know so precious little about God, but what we know is so precious.

“O God of love, O King of peace, / Make wars throughout the world to cease;

The rage of nations now restrain: / Give peace, O God, give peace again!” (LSB 751, 1)