Brueggemann articulates rightly of American Christianity that “serious religious use of the lament psalms has been minimal because we have believed that faith does not mean to acknowledge or embrace negativity [1].” This, as Lutherans, we know all too well; that a de-emphasis on reality and over-emphasis on happiness, praise, and blessings sometimes skews the sinful condition we are in, and distances us from the contemplative life that leads believers to repentance and holy absolution. Many times we breeze past the sorrow to the inevitable cure too quickly. Why does the Church avoid these laments? Moreover, not just the Church, but society underscores and hands over human laments as if they can or must be fixed. Secular help (i.e., counselors, social services, clubs and oganizations) while basically good, and can make life easier, most times their foundation’s mission shuns the Gospel or claims that it is one of many ways to salvation. They do not have the cure and true reconciliation to our laments. Yet it seems as though people are getting filtered through these avenues first nowadays, before going to their pastors and the church.

In a commentary on Psalm 39, Luther states in a paradigmatic shift, “This is what happened to Christ…silencing himself from the good (Ps. 39:2), and becoming sorrowful for the unteachable and jealous souls.[2]” Who are these souls? Take a look in the mirror. Even though we may believe we constantly turn away as if WE can take Jesus’ place and save ourselves. Other examples of Christ’s anguish is His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane [Luke 22:39-46] and his cries on the cross. Consequently Jesus utters “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me [Mt 27:46]” on the cross, just as the Psalter had uttered in Psalm 22:1. Yet this was His own lament for all the world and himself! Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man was scorned, afflicted and humiliated for us, became sin in our stead, and fully atoned for us in His death and resurrection.

We cannot pretend that laments are somehow a ‘good thing’. Pain and suffering exists and that is exactly what it is. However, our prayers of lament, as in the Psalms, are conversations that acknowledge the truth about sin, and our relationship to God. The reality is that there is no earthly or temporary quick fix that will make sin, death and the devil go away. The testing and trials can and will happen. May these things turn us to Jesus Christ, the only One who truly understands and still paid for all of our sins at the cross. If your heart is heavy with sorrow, know that Jesus laments with you, and has taken your sorrow unto himself. Be encouraged to read the Psalms and all of Scripture; so you may realize that you are not alone. May you come to know that you can take all your laments to our Triune God, and receive the continuous and mysterious Words of consolation (Ps 34:18) through your Christ-sent pastor (Mt 28:20) and the Church, the only place that can give it.

Why Hebrew? It is a well known fact that Hebrew is the “dead” language of the Old Testament. All that backward writing, peculiar scribbling, odd sounding stuff is out of date and fashion since Christ became flesh to dwell among us. What is the point and purpose of the painful effort to absorb an ancient language?

Apart from job security for yours truly, an Old Testament Professor at the Seminary, there are many important and significant reasons to tackle Hebrew. First and foremost, it is one of the original languages in which the Holy Scriptures were written. Generally, that alone is considered reason enough to be about the task. However, there is much more. It is in the Old Testament Scriptures that we first hear the beautiful Gospel promises of a Savior. Man who is separated from God by sin is told, clearly, that this separation is unacceptable in God’s eyes and because man is unable to come to God, God promise to come to man in His Son. Unfortunately, translations are not always able to convey the depth of this promise or the rich texture of God’s covenant.

Knowing Hebrew opens up the Scriptures in a way no translation can hope to accomplish. Knowing Hebrew will not only help you preach and teach the Old Testament it will make you want to preach and teach it! Knowing Hebrew “sets the table” for the New Testament fulfillment of the covenant in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Knowing Hebrew is an essential tool for the pastor. Greek, well…

By Prof. Jeffrey Pulse, STM, Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology

By Prof. Charles Gieschen, Ph.D., Chairman of Dept. of Exegetical Theology

Such an “evil” thought has entered the mind of many a man considering seminary! Men who are excited about coming to prepare for the pastoral office often have their enthusiasm tempered by the reality that the first class they must take before formally beginning their seminary studies is New Testament Greek. They fear that they may not do very well because they do not like foreign languages or—even more frightening—they may fail the class and end their seminary studies before they have really begun.

As one of the professors who teaches Greek, I want to assure you that almost all of our students pass Greek and many do quite well. Moreover, most of our students find studying Holy Scripture in the original languages to be an exciting and rewarding experience, opening up a deeper and richer understanding of God’s Word. They come to realize why Martin Luther valued the Hebrew and Greek text of the Bible and urged the faithful use of these languages: “In proportion as we value the gospel let us hold to the languages. We will not long preserve the gospel without the languages. They are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined.”

Luther’s words remind us of a very strong motivating factor that has helped many students of Greek. We do not learn Greek for the sake of having another language on our resumé. We learn this language because it is the particular language used to reveal the very salvific words and deeds of our Lord Jesus, especially his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection for all sinners of all time. As we read the New Testament in Greek, we are reading the Spirit-inspired words of men who were eyewitnesses of Jesus. These life-giving words are the foundation of the faithful preaching and teaching done by pastors.

There is a familiar saying in education: “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” This is especially true of learning a language. It is not purely IQ that dictates how well students learn Greek, but how disciplined one is in repeating vocabulary, verb paradigms, and noun declensions. A very important element in taking an intensive course like our ten-week Greek class is that you simplify your life so that you can devote your time to learning the language. In fact, once Greek is over, you will probably no longer want to avoid Greek, but will be anxious to take an exegetical class and put your knowledge to work!

So, the bottom line to the question posted above is: no, but who would want to pass up this opportunity?

Reprinted from “Pilgrimage,” Volume 2, Issue 3, May/June 1998