Dr. Gene Edward Veith describes “vocation” masterfully in his book, “God at Work.” For Christians, we are renewed daily in our baptisms, knowing that Christ in us to bring us to repentance and console us that He abides. Furthermore, Veith, Luther and many reformed theologians declare that it is also in our day-to-day, mundane tasks–our vocations–that we find exactly where God is, too.

“Luther goes so far as to say that vocation is a mask of God. That is, God hides himself in the workplace, the family, the Church, and the seemingly secular society. To speak of God being hidden is a way of describing His presence, as when a child hiding in the room is there, just not seen.” (Veith, p. 24)

This exerpt led me to think about the correlation of the doctrine of vocation and diakonia (service, a response/reaction to God’s Gifts of Word with Sacrament) that has been having major surges globally within our Lutheran Community and Christians worldwide in the last two centuries, and especially in the last few decades. In uncertain economic times, a political society that undermines the value of life, and the intrinsic suffering we all endure, it seems that diaconia is the temporal answer to the eternal questions. This is not simply a Golden Rule tactic. But, as Veith’s title indicates, it is God Himself at work in and through each vocation, compelling them to diakonia. Veith concludes;

“To realize that the mundane activities that take up most of our lives…are hiding places for God can be a revelation in itself. Most people seek God in mystical experiences, spectacular miracles, and extraordinary acts they have to do. To find Him in vocation brings Him, literally, down to earth, makes us see how close He really is to us, and tranfigures everyday life.” (Vieth, p.24)

Remember the Tom Cruise flick, Minority Report?  It was based on the classic story by Philip K. Dick.   Set in the near future, the police were able to detect future crimes and stop them from happening.  The BBC will soon air a new series with a similar premise called Paradox. It actually sounds quite promising.

The lead director of the series, Simon Cellan Jones, said the series “will leave the audience asking themselves dark, complicated questions about fate, the future and who controls it.”

Read the BBC story here.

Who controls the future?  That is a very penetrating question.  All people are anxious about what tomorrow brings.  There is only One who is worthy to open the seal to the future.  And that is the Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5).  We can rest knowing our future days are in God’s hand.

Originally published at Burr in the Burgh.

By Prof. Charles Gieschen, Ph.D., Chairman of the Department 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?

From Volume 2, Issue 3, May/June 1998

Dr. James Tallmon

Professor of Rhetoric and Director of Debate at Patrick Henry College, presented a Fireside Chat on the subject of

“Excellence in Theological Disputation:

What Lutherans Can Learn from Aristotle’s Topica

(with examples from Monty Python)”

+  +  +

Part 1:

http://seminaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Tallmon1.flv
Download Part 1 High-Quality – iPod

Part 2:

http://seminaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/Tallmon2.flv
Download Part 2 High-Quality – iPod

This interactive discussion will help you to identify premises and presuppositions  in conversation, argument and debate.

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