The Meyer Minute

The Meyer Minute for April 28, 2020

“All the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Today is a great day when we see God fulfilling a promise for us in Jesus Christ. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).

It’s Call Day, when concluding students learn where the Church is sending them to begin pastoral and diaconal ministries. Second-year students learn where they’ll be going for their year of vicarage/internship. Here are the numbers for Call Day: Concordia Seminary, St. Louis has 63 pastoral candidates and one deaconess candidate. Six have calls or placements pending, meaning that either paper work has yet to be completed or a congregation has yet to make an official decision to call. We have 48 vicarage candidates and one deaconess intern. Our sister seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., has 40 pastoral candidates and 35 vicarage candidates.

Those numbers are not enough for the growing number of vacancies throughout the Church. “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest.” And as you pray, promote. Encourage young people to consider church work. Today is my 16^th and last Call Day as president. Looking back I can’t think of a more wonderful career for a young person to choose than ministry. Recruitment raises an equally important question. Where will future graduates go? Even as we recruit, we need to pray and work and contribute now so that your congregation and my congregation flourish in the future, especially when we come out of the present crisis and move into the new normal. Flourishing in life and mission!

Please join us for our virtual Call Day service at 7 p.m. (CDT), April 28, at csl.edu/callday, on our YouTube channel and on Concordia Seminary’s Facebook page.

“All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Corinthians 1:20). It’s a great time to be the Church!

The Meyer Minute for April 24, 2020

Sunday’s Gospel will be the dear story of the Emmaus disciples, Luke 24:13-35. We know that one of the disciples on the Emmaus road is named Cleopas. The other disciple is not named. Who might that be? It’s you; it’s me.

I’ve been walking the road home for many years, and you have too. Many a time as a hard day drew to its close, I haven’t known what to make of things or what I should do next. Life and life as a Christian isn’t turning out as expected. “We had hoped…” In my many perplexities, my go-to prayer is Psalm 25:4-5: “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Strange to say, but these are some of the most blessed times of life. Perplexing times are motivators to go to Jesus and His Word. They are opportunities for spiritual maturation. Downcast and sad, wait on the Lord.

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” The answer to your prayer has a face, the face of Jesus. When you’re down in the dumps, Jesus will draw up beside you. Oh, you may not recognize Him, but He’ll speak to you through people. He sent Philip to the eunuch, Peter to Cornelius, and Paul and Silas to the jailer in Philippi. He’ll send someone to you with His words. Of course, many people will offer advice when you’re perplexed and discouraged, but the person sent by Jesus will share with you a Christ-centered word. “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”  This too will be a blessed time, a cleansing time. Out with self-obsession, be done wasting energy on a pity party, and look outward to the Christ-centered Word. Your hearts will burn within you as His Spirit revives your hope and zeal.

“I walk with Jesus all the way, / His guidance never fails me.

Within His wounds I find a stay / When Satan’s pow’r assails me.

And by His footsteps led, / My path I safely tread.

No evil leads my soul astray; / I walk with Jesus all the way.”

(Lutheran Service Book, 716, 5)

The Meyer Minute for April 22, 2020

“Did you wash your hands?” How many times we heard that when we were kids, and today it’s true for children of all ages. God is mysterious, beyond our understanding, but wants us to know Him as our Father and to think of ourselves as His dear children. “Unless one is born again” (John 3:3), and He’s begotten you to new life and hope as His child. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

“Living hope” means looking up to our heavenly Father when times are tough. If you had a good earthly father, you looked up to him when you were hurt or afraid. So we children look up to our heavenly Father, when “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter 1:6).

O Father, teach us that the darker hours / Are needed to bring forth more perfect flowers,

Cleanse Thou our minds, / And make us know aright / That vales of darkness lead to clearer light—

For this we humbly ask, most gracious God, / E’en though we pass beneath Thy chastening rod.

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:14). When a good father shows you unconditional love, you want to please him. “If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear (that is awe and reverence for Father) through the time of your exile” (1 Peter 1:17). It’s through this faith that our Father cleanses His children now and forever (1 Peter 1:22).

Give us clean hands, a broken, contrite heart, / That we may choose naught but the better part,

Help us to offer unto Thee our lives / One pure, entire, unbroken sacrifice—

Then we may hope for glory at the last, / When earthly trials and struggles all are past.

(Starck’s Prayer Book, 505)

How blessed we children are, loved, cleansed and redeemed! “God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children” (Martin Luther). Abba, Father!

The Meyer Minute for April 21, 2020

I didn’t write a Minute yesterday because I’m weary of hearing and talking about the coronavirus. I just want to live a normal life, although I’m not suggesting stopping the shutdown. I wanted to write something joyous but so many joyous Bible passages come after the believer has been delivered from evil. So I wrote nothing.

“Your heavenly Father knows” (Matthew 6:32). As the day progressed, little things, specific things, cheered my mood. One was recalling what Dr. Julie Gary wrote. She’s our Coordinator of Health and Wellness and has a Ph.D. in epidemiology. She wrote, “Although it is important to stay informed, reading too much (COVID-19) information, especially from sources that are not reputable can cause more stress. Get away from the news and escape for a bit in fiction, non-fiction, or the Bible.”

“Your heavenly Father knows.” Another mercy yesterday was a day filled with blue skies and sunshine. It brought out the beautiful colors in the red bud trees, the dogwoods, the greening grass and opening leaves, and the tulips in full bloom. “Ye flow’rs, so wondrous, sweet and fair; / Ye live to show His praise alone, / With me now make His glory known.” (The Lutheran Hymnal, 30, 3)

Another mercy, a little thing from the Father who loves us, was the carillon playing. Mr. John Klinger, our Chief Information Officer, spent an hour in Luther Tower playing the 49 bell carillon. His music included familiar hymns, “Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens,” “Thy Strong Word Did Cleave the Darkness,” and “The Church’s One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Her Lord.” Having memorized the words to those hymns, the music ministered to my need for joy.

And in the course of the day, I did recall a passage of joy for us, even amidst our troubles, Habakkuk 3:17-19. “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord is my strength.”

“Ev’ry morning mercies new / Fall as fresh as morning dew;

Ev’ry morning let us pay / Tribute with the early day;

For Thy mercies, Lord, are sure, / Thy compassions doth endure.”

(The Lutheran Hymnal, 537, 1)

The Meyer Minute for April 17, 2020

“Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord” (Psalm 31:24).

Oh, we’re waiting! Diane asked this morning, “This is Friday, right?” That’s progress. In the first weeks of “stay at home” we had to look at our phones to figure out the day and date. In these disorienting times we’re waiting for many things, but for us in the Church waiting on the Lord is an inexhaustible source of resilient spiritual strength.

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28, 31). Those promises of renewed strength are more spiritual than physical. Waiting on the Lord renews our spiritual strength. Attitude is everything.

In ways the world cannot see, the power of the Creator is present among us now. From the Epistle appointed for this Sunday: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith” (1 Peter 1:3-5). The image in those last words is the image of a fortress. The Spirit of God and of our Lord Jesus has put you and me in the fortress of faith. Where’s home in “stay at home”? Where’s the shelter in “shelter in place”? It’s the teachings of faith. “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge…. Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 31:1-3).

“My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:15). Waiting gives us more time to meditate upon the promises of God. I know from my experiences, and assume you do too, that waiting on the Lord brings a resilient spiritual outlook, whatever’s happening around us. “With salvation’s walls surrounded, You may smile at all your foes” (Lutheran Service Book 648, 1).  

The Meyer Minute for April 14, 2020

Every late afternoon Diane and I sit together to wind down the day. Part of my winding down is reading the comics. Yesterday I paused on “Bizarro” by “Wayno and Piraro.” The strip shows Jesus and the Easter Bunny having a cup of coffee at the counter of a diner. The Easter Bunny looks beat; he’s just told Jesus about all he had to do these last days. Jesus says, “You think you had a rough weekend?” Now that Easter Sunday is past, are you telling Jesus about your trying times?

“Hunky-Dory” is the expression our pastor used in his Easter sermon. Pastor Kyle Wright made a significant point: After all we hear in church about the resurrection, you might think that life after Easter would be hunky-dory but it’s not. Our circumstances are the same as they were last week. It’s like we’re sitting at the counter with Jesus and saying, “Nothing’s changed.”

One thing has changed, or should be changed. I’m reminded again Whom I’m talking to. Last week we saw Jesus suffering and dying. We identify with that and thank Him for doing it for us. Easter snaps us to how things are today for Jesus. Now we’re talking to Jesus who is off the cross, out of the tomb, now ascended on high and exercising His full power as God. Theologians call this the “State of Exaltation.” You’ll find comfort for your not hunky-dory life by meditating on passages about our exalted Savior. For example, Hebrews 1:3 – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” So whether we’re talking to Jesus at the counter, in our daily thoughts, or more formally in devotion and worship, He didn’t rise and ascend to retire. In these very trying times, He is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

“He lives triumphant from the grave; / He lives eternally to save;

He lives all glorious in the sky; / He lives exalted there on high.

“He lives to silence all my fears; / He lives to wipe away my tears;

He lives to calm my troubled heart; / He lives all blessings to impart.”

(Lutheran Service Book, 461, 2, 5).

The Meyer Minute for April 10, 2020

“‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33).

In these hard times of fear and deprivation, of isolation and loneliness, God wants us to lift up our eyes to the cross of Christ. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; Numbers 21:4-9). It’s at the cross where you’ll find God in this crisis. We’re suffering; on the cross Jesus suffered. We’re dying; on the cross Jesus died and was taken down, his lifeless body taken down limp to be buried.  We pray for deliverance but Jesus wasn’t delivered. We might wonder if God is with us but Jesus knew that He was really abandoned. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46: Psalm 22:1)

As Jesus thought about His coming death, He said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’” (which is what you and I are saying, understandably so). But Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27-28). The glory of God is far different from earthly glory, far different from the power and prestige and glamour that fills our society, vanities that so many people covet. The glory of God is that He brings forgiveness to sinners and promises everlasting life to people scared by death. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

“When I was sinking down / Beneath God’s righteous frown, / Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, / Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.” (Lutheran Service Book 543, 2)

The Meyer Minute for April 10, 2020

“‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:32-33).

In these hard times of fear and deprivation, of isolation and loneliness, God wants us to lift up our eyes to the cross of Christ. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; Numbers 21:4-9). It’s at the cross where you’ll find God in this crisis. We’re suffering; on the cross Jesus suffered. We’re dying; on the cross Jesus died and was taken down, his lifeless body taken down limp to be buried.  We pray for deliverance but Jesus wasn’t delivered. We might wonder if God is with us but Jesus knew that He was really abandoned. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46: Psalm 22:1)

As Jesus thought about His coming death, He said, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour?’” (which is what you and I are saying, understandably so). But Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27-28). The glory of God is far different from earthly glory, far different from the power and prestige and glamour that fills our society, vanities that so many people covet. The glory of God is that He brings forgiveness to sinners and promises everlasting life to people scared by death. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17).

“When I was sinking down / Beneath God’s righteous frown, / Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, / Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.” (Lutheran Service Book 543, 2)

The Meyer Minute for April 8, 2020

We are about to enter the “Triduum,” Latin for three days, the three days beginning the evening of Maundy Thursday and through Good Friday to Easter. Amidst our crisis, we will meditate upon the suffering and death of Jesus. We’ll contemplate punishment, sorrow, despair, death, and humility, things we find repulsive.

By nature you and I are drawn to good things, to uplifting things. Who doesn’t like days of health and happiness? Who doesn’t want to work and have enough money to pay the bills and then some? Who doesn’t want to have a loving family and good friends? Who doesn’t want to socialize in good spirit? We all do, and when we have good times and good things, it’s God who gives them to us and we are, or at least know we should be, thankful. But when the good things and good times are gone, has God abandoned us?

Even more fearful, when the horrors of disease and death, sorrow and fear are coming at us, is God punishing us? “The soul who sins shall die,” and you know we’ve all sinned (Ezekiel 18:3). “The wages of sin is death,” and the pandemic might be bringing the world what it deserves (Romans 6:23). There’s a haunting line in a hymn about Jesus. “When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, / When I was sinking down / Beneath God’s righteous frown.” We feel like we’re sinking. On top of all our problems, is our heavenly Father frowning, scowling down at us? 

The Triduum will take us to the answer. No, as real as our sins are in the sight of the holy and just God, He is not sinking us because of our sins. No, as repulsive as disease and death, sorrow, despair and death are in these crisis times, God will lift our eyes to His love in the cross of Christ. “The love of the cross…turns in the direction where it does not find good” and confers “good upon the evil and needy person” (Martin Luther, Heidelberg Disputation). The line about “sinking down, sinking down, sinking down”? It comes from the hymn, “What Wondrous Love Is This?” (Lutheran Service Book, 543). Indeed. These next days we see from the cross how much God loves you and me.

The Meyer Minute for April 6, 2020

We’re beginning a Holy Week like none we’ve experienced in our lives. As our devotion goes with Jesus into suffering and cruel death, we’re afraid for ourselves and others as suffering and death keep increasing. The ancient litany of the Church is appropriate, and below I share its opening verses. One truth to keep in mind as we pray to Jesus for mercy: Jesus came through suffering and death to life. So shall we. He knows what we’re going through and He’s alive to hear our pleas for mercy. Easter is coming.

O Lord, have mercy.

O Christ, have mercy.

O Lord, have mercy.

O Christ, hear us.

O God the Father in heaven, have mercy.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy.

God the Holy Spirit, have mercy.

Be gracious to us. Spare us, good Lord.

Be gracious to us. Help us, good Lord.

From all sin, from all error, from all evil; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death; from pestilence and famine, from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion; from lightning and tempest, from all calamity by fire and water; and from everlasting death: Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity; by Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial; by Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter: Help us, good Lord.

 In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment: Help us, good Lord.

 We poor sinners implore You to hear us, O Lord.