The other day I noticed a beautiful picture on the cover of The Lutheran Witness for February 2020. It was a photo of a pulpit with a preacher in it (up to the neck). What struck me was the beautiful chasuble he was wearing: violet with an intricately embellished orphrey. And I thought, My, how far we have come. Our church would never have featured such an image on the cover of its official magazine some 50 years ago. Too many people would have complained: it's too Catholic; it's too much pomp; it's not how we've always done it! Of course, none of that would have been true. For as we know, "catholic" simply means according to the whole Christian Church, which from antiquity has dressed its preachers and celebrants in fine linen garments; and it isn't pomp, it's sublime beauty to adorn the heaven-sent Preaching Office. And the setting aside of such beautiful garments is most certainly not how Lutherans have always done it. Only anti-sacramental, anti-clerical Pietists of a bygone age are responsible for that nonsense.

It took years of careful catechesis and patient instruction in what is good and right about Christian worship to bring the church to the point where she is no longer afraid of such things. And why should she be? We know that, as the Augsburg Confession clearly states (Article V), the Preaching Office was instituted by God that we may obtain and receive the Gospel itself. 

We at Gottesdienst count it an honor to have been part of the earnest campaign to make Lutheranism the gem it once was, and to move forward celebrating the heavenly gifts from our Lord Jesus Christ: in our print journal, our blog, and our podcasts. You, our readers, are well aware of what has been done; yet there is still more to do, and the task is far from completed. People still need catechesis, and training in what constitutes good and salutary Christian worship in truth. People still need Gottesdienst.

So we are bold to continue to ask for your donations, and confident that as God blesses you to help, so will we continue to carry out our sacred task. Donations of $50 or more are entitled to any gift in our gift store, and $200 or more gets you a lifetime subscription. Thank you, and may God bless your Lenten journey to Easter and the resurrection of Our Lord.

In Him,

+ Burnell F Eckardt Jr.
Editor-in-chief