Home
|
Our Windows
|
Sermons
|
Child Care Center
|
We Believe In
|
Calendar
|
Links
Our Windows
A Few Introductory Notes
Just as the Old Testament Church was filled with a multitude of symbols and images to direct the
heart, mind, and soul heavenward, so the New Testament Church very early began to use God’s gift
of art to direct Christian believers toward the heavenly realities that are present yet unseen ...
or to recall to mind with greater vividness those things which define the life of the Church and
every believer.
The Stained Glass Windows in the nave of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church were designed with the
goal of depicting in visual form many of the great stories and truths that God has revealed to His
people and the world through His Holy Word. The windows are, in general, paired as Old Testament and
New Testament revelations – the Old Testament on the bottom ... the New Testament on the top. The
windows are aligned from right to left (as one faces them) ... or from the entrance into the nave to
the chancel and altar. There is more or less a chronological order maintained. Where the Old and New
Testament paired concepts would not permit a chronological order, the New Testament chronology was
used. So, for example, though the Fall into sin (that brought death) came long before the Ten
Commandments (and the Flood), the fact that Christ received the full weight and punishment for our
breaking of the Ten Commandments places that pair of windows earlier in the order.
Admittedly God has revealed to us a great many important truths and recorded many other important
events throughout the history of His gracious interaction with the world and especially with His
Church. All twelve half-windows could easily have been dedicated to the task of depicting important
events in the earthly life of our Lord and the ongoing application of His gifts. It is our prayer
that these humble yet beautiful renderings will aid both member and visitor alike in beholding and
rejoicing in God’s manifold blessings – in particular, our forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life
in Christ the Lord.
Chalice
|
Keys
|
Baptism
|
Resurrection
|
Crucifixion
|
Nativity
|
Mercy Seat
|
Bible
|
Flood
|
Fall
|
Ten
Commandments
|
Creation
|
Nativity
Paired with the
Creation
window below, this window depicts the birth (nativity) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even
as God created all there is, so God the Son graciously descends from His glory in heaven to redeem
and restore His creation from the sin and death that separated it from Him. The symbol in the white
circle is the Greek
Chi-Rho,
symbols used for centuries in the Church for
Christ.
He Who is the Light and Life of the world comes into the darkness of our sin-filled world (the purple
glass) and already at His birth begins His work of shedding His Light into our lives (the rays of the
star and the and sky blue surrounding the manger and Christ symbol).
Creation
The Triune God’s first work was the creation of heaven and earth (and all things visible and
invisible, as we confess in the Creed). Holy Scripture says that in the beginning the earth
was formless and void – there was only chaos and deep darkness until God began speaking His
mighty and creative Word. In six days God created light, luminary bodies (the sun and moon
and stars), all planets, brought the waters together to forms seas and reveal the land ...
upon which God created all manner of plants and trees. Not depicted here in this window are
God’s creation of animal life (sea creatures, birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, etc.) and,
of course, Adam and Eve.
Crucifixion
After Christ came in the weakness of human flesh, His next great work in redeeming His fallen
creation was His death on the Cross of Calvary. Paired with the
Ten Commandments
window, we see in this window the lightning of God’s wrath against sin fall upon Christ – that
it might not fall upon us. Our Lord was crucified with two thieves (one on either side).
Above the Cross of our Lord was the human sentence against Him:
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
From noon until three the light of the sun was darkened (the purple glass). And yet, from the
Cross of Christ, the light of God’s forgiveness causes us to see the fullness of His love for
us (the sky blue).
Ten Commandments
Upon Holy Mount Sinai God gave Moses two tablets of stone, upon which He had written the
Ten Commandments.
Holy Scripture tells us that lightning flashed upon the mountain as God’s Law
was given. This teaches us both the seriousness of God’s commands and the severity of God’s
punishment upon those who sin against Him and His commands. God says that
all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23). And yet, by the faithfulness of the Son of God
in life and death, what we deserve (God’s eternal wrath) does not fall upon us, but upon Christ
(upper window). Still, we ought strive to keep the
Ten Commandments.
Resurrection
If Christ had remained dead and in the grave after His crucifixion, our salvation would remain
in doubt – and as St. Paul says, our faith would be futile (1Corinthians 15:17). But Christ has
risen from the dead! When the women arrived before sunrise on the third day, the stone was rolled
away, the tomb empty, and angels declared:
You seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. Behold the place
where they laid Him.
(St. Mark 16:6)
The butterfly in the window is a long-used symbol for the resurrected Christ. For just as the
caterpillar enters its tomb-like cocoon, but emerges in glory, so also Christ arose in great glory
after His death.
Fall
Christ’s death and resurrection are the undoing of what happened when mankind fell into sin. For
just as God had said of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:
in the day you eat of it you shall surely die
(Genesis 2:17). The serpent beguiled Eve and Adam. Before this Fall, creation was
beautiful, good, and full of life (left side). After the Fall, death entered the world ... not only
mankind but also the whole creation fell under a curse ... the ground would yield thorns and thistles
... mankind walked in the darkness of sin and impending death (right side). It is by Christ’s work on
the Cross and His Resurrection (above) that this curse and death have been undone!
Baptism
Water in Holy Scripture carries with it a twofold action – that of killing ... and that of delivering.
In the waters of the Red Sea the army of the Egyptians was drowned, but through the parted waters God
delivered His people, Israel ... and ultimately brought them into the promised land. So also in the
waters of Holy Baptism God does a twofold work – He puts us to death, together with our sin and
unbelief, uniting us to the death of His Son ... and He also delivers us from sin, death, and the
devil ... sundering us from the world of unbelievers and delivering us into the safety of His Holy
Christian Church with the promise of eternal life in heavenly paradise.
Flood
In Noah’s days, man’s wickedness had become so great that God determined to destroy everything by a
great Flood. But God found one man who hearkened to His Word and waited for His promised deliverance.
God revealed His plan to Noah and gave him directions to build an ark, by which He would save not
only Noah but also his family (8 people in all) as well as the animals of the earth. While Noah was
building the ark, he proclaimed God’s judgment against sin and His promised deliverance through the
waters in the ark – yet none heeded the warning. Afterward God set the rainbow in the sky as a promise
that He would never again destroy the world by flood.
Keys
When Peter confessed Him, our Lord said:
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound
in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven
(St. Matthew 16:19).
After His resurrection, Jesus gave authority to
forgive sins to all His apostles and to pastors who follow in the apostolic office as called and
ordained servants of the Word (St. John 20:23). The silver key is the “binding” key – when unrepentant
sinners are declared to be still under God’s condemnation. The gold key is the “loosing” key – the
declaration in the stead and by the command of the Lord Jesus that sin is forgiven for Christ’s sake.
Bible
God’s Word is the sole rule and norm of faith and life in the Church and in the life of believers.
It is here that we know precisely Who God is and what His attitude is toward us. Only in His Holy
Word does God reveal to us that He is a God Who loves us and forgives us for Jesus’ sake. The whole
of Scripture – both the Old and the New Testaments – point to Christ and to His work of salvation on
the Cross for the life of the world. The symbols on the Bible are
alpha
and
omega
– the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Christ – the Word of God made flesh – declares
Himself to be the Alpha and Omega ... the Author and Perfecter of our faith ... from first to last.
Chalice
Of all the gifts of God to His Church and people ... of all the ways God comes to us to give us
the fruits of Christ’s work for our forgiveness, salvation, and life, there is no greater expression
of our communion and fellowship with Christ than the
Lord’s Supper.
In the bread and the wine of the chalice, Christ promises that He Himself gives us His Body and
Blood for the forgiveness of sins –
Take, eat; this is My Body ... Drink of it, all of you; this is My Blood of the new testament,
which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
(St. Matthew 26:26-28; St. Luke 22:19-20).
In
Holy Communion
we receive Christ and all the benefits of His Cross.
Mercy Seat
When God gave Moses instructions to make the Tabernacle, the most elaborate, ornate, and important
item was to be the
Ark of the Covenant
in the Most Holy Place. It was to be overlaid with gold. And on the covering were to be two angels
made in gold, bowing, with their wings stretched out. God had promised Moses, saying:
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between
the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony
(Exodus 25:22). There the glory of the Lord of mercy shone (white glass). Today God still comes to
His people in great glory and mercy ... especially in
Holy Communion
(see above).
© 2005 - 2012 St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Colton, CA