The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for March 4, 2020

“A person becomes sad in conscience and grumbles inwardly about the evil in life.” That line from Martin Luther struck me this morning as I looked at the news and mulled over the day to come. We preachers don’t have to convince people that sin exists. It’s present all around us and, if we reflect upon our deepest thoughts and urges, we realize that it’s within us too. What should I do about sin?

Psalm 32 is the second of the so-called “penitential psalms.” The psalmist first stuffed his own sin, but that didn’t work. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me” (verses 3-4). When you’re “sad in conscience…about the evil in life,” God’s hand is on you, oppressing you with the weight of sin. Theologians call this God’s “alien work.” Ever feel it?

Stuffing didn’t work, so “I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’’’ (verse 5). Here’s God’s “proper work,” forgiveness through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6).

Be thankful when God oppresses you, and then lay your sins on Jesus. “After a person becomes aware of sin and terrified at heart, that one must watch that sin does not remain in the conscience, for this would certainly lead to nothing but doubt. Instead, as soon as sins have flowed out from Christ and are recognized, so they must be shaken back on him and the conscience emptied of them.” (“A Sermon on the Meditation of Christ’s Passion”)

“Steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (verses 10-11).

The Meyer Minute for March 4, 2020

“A person becomes sad in conscience and grumbles inwardly about the evil in life.” That line from Martin Luther struck me this morning as I looked at the news and mulled over the day to come. We preachers don’t have to convince people that sin exists. It’s present all around us and, if we reflect upon our deepest thoughts and urges, we realize that it’s within us too. What should I do about sin?

Psalm 32 is the second of the so-called “penitential psalms.” The psalmist first stuffed his own sin, but that didn’t work. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me” (verses 3-4). When you’re “sad in conscience…about the evil in life,” God’s hand is on you, oppressing you with the weight of sin. Theologians call this God’s “alien work.” Ever feel it?

Stuffing didn’t work, so “I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin’’’ (verse 5). Here’s God’s “proper work,” forgiveness through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6).

Be thankful when God oppresses you, and then lay your sins on Jesus. “After a person becomes aware of sin and terrified at heart, that one must watch that sin does not remain in the conscience, for this would certainly lead to nothing but doubt. Instead, as soon as sins have flowed out from Christ and are recognized, so they must be shaken back on him and the conscience emptied of them.” (“A Sermon on the Meditation of Christ’s Passion”)

“Steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (verses 10-11).

The Meyer Minute for March 3, 2020

Creatio ex nihilo. That’s the Latin for God’s “creation out of nothing.” “Let there be” and “there was” (Genesis 1).  “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6).

Lent is about God making something out of our nothingness. Giving up chocolate for Lent? Giving up social media? Lent is deeper; it is dying to sin. If the Son of God was killed to pay the judgment of God against your sins and mine – He was – and if God forgives your original sin and your daily actual sins – He does – “Shall we continue in sin?” (Romans 6:1).

When you go to the funeral home to pay your respects to someone who has died, you stand before a body that no longer sins. He or she sinned in life, we all do, but death is the only way a person stops sinning. “One who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:7). Since sin is, or should be, so abhorrent to us, how can we who are still alive die to sin?

Repentance is our dying, our becoming nothing so God can create a new child, His believing and obedient child. This Lent I’m pondering what St. Peter says about Jesus. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again…” (1 Peter 1:3). Wrote the theologian Gerhard Forde, “God’s love in Christ is a creative act that brings believers into being. When all our human possibilities have been exhausted and we have been reduced to nothing, the one who creates out of nothing does his ‘proper’ work” (22). “Shall we continue in sin?” Peter reminds us that God’s given us new birth so that we lead holy lives for Him. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1:14).

So what should we give up for Lent? Ourselves! “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:19).

The Meyer Minute for March 2, 2020

Did your church yesterday in some way speak about Coronavirus? Something taught to me years ago is something I pass on to our students: TOMA, Top of the Mind Awareness. What are people thinking about when they come to church?  

I have no way to sort out all the confusing news reports about this health threat. Time will tell, but for now I can only think about it theologically. Although reflecting on God’s Word won’t necessarily stop a pandemic, it can lead you and me to say, “Whatever happens, it is well with my soul.”  

The virus can scare us because we don’t have control over it. Lack of control can lead to fear and fear can lead to anger. Some blame China; others blame our government. In the blame-game anger is present. Anger comes when something we hold dear is threatened, in this case our lives and the lives of those close to us may be threatened. When we follow the news with spiritual eyes, we see human nature as it really is, as we really are apart from grace. 

Psalm 91 sharpens our spiritual understanding of this health crisis. “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him…No plague shall come near your tent….” Like other threats that come our way, we’re doubting human ability to solve the crisis and call to God, but when we call to God in our need, is this psalm really true? Does God answer your every prayer? Does He rescue you from the trouble of the day? Long life? No plague?”  

Reading the psalm thinking only of yourself and God, you wonder. However, if you read it as promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ, then the promises are indeed true. God answered Jesus’ prayers and sustained Him in a world of hurt. Jesus has a long-life, thanks to His resurrection from the dead. While Jesus as a true man would have experienced illness, no illness took Him down. So Jesus calms our TOMA. “It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Baptized and believing in Jesus, it can be well with your soul. TOMA, top of the mind awareness, comes to Jesus.