THESE EIGHT WINDOWS
Keith Salter
August 12, 1990
Evening Service
Transcribed by Morris Mays
Since I began doing dramatic readings in some of our church services a little over a year ago, I had a person or two ask me, why I wore a robe. I don’t know. Makes me feel like Charlton Heston, I guess. And I’ve also had a person or two ask how I go about choosing what I’m going to read. Well the answer is very simple. I usually pick something because it says something to me personally, or I just like how it’s worded.
Tonight, however, my inspiration is a little different. There are some things in this church that are unappreciated and by many are taken for granted. They were the first things that struck me about this church building. Weekly I marvel at their beauty and their detail. My subject tonight is "These Eight Windows".
Let’s look at them one by one. And I mean really look at them, and feel free to turn and look at them as I speak about them. We’ll begin on my left.
As I gaze at this window, I’m taken aback by the figure of Christ illuminate only from the chest up, by a light beaming down from heaven. He wears a red robe, symbolic of His blood He will soon shed.
But I’m most intrigued by his hands. These are not the hands of a serene and happy man, casually placing them together, praying before retiring. These are the hands of a man facing certain death. Notice how tightly clasped they are. And with these hands the artist has illustrated Christ’s feelings that night when he prayed on the Mount of Olives.
Luke tells the story this way:
"And He withdrew from them about a stones throw, and knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from me; and yet not my will, but Thine be done.’ And there appeared to him an
angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground."
The next window obviously depicts Christ’s resurrection. Note the dawn in the background. And if you look very closely, there’s Calvary in a silhouette of three crosses. I just noticed that. The roses blooming in the foreground. The burial clothes lying discarded near the tomb. But the most breathtaking part of this window is the central figure, the angel. Depicted traditionally with feminine features, fair hair and wings. This depiction of one of God’s messengers is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living when among the dead? He is not here, but is risen’
"Remember how he spoke to you, when he was still in Galilee saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise. And they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.
"Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James also the other women with them who telling these things to the apostles; and the words appeared to them as nonsense, and they did not believe them.
"But Peter arose and ran to the tomb stooping and looking in he saw the linen wrappings only. And he went away to his home, marveling at that which had happened."
The third window is one of two that do not depict some aspect of Christ person. Here we see Moses, one of the greatest figures of the Old Testament. And as I look at this window, I thought, "What is the significance of what is depicted here?" As I studied it, I noticed these things all played an important part in the life of Moses.
We see the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the commands that make life worth living. We see the staff that forever changed the lives of the Hebrews and the Egyptians. And it you look closely behide him you see some patches of blue, that’s a body of water.
This could be the Red Sea, the thing God used to show His children that He would protect them from anything, as long as the kept the faith.
Or it could be the river Jordan, the body of water that Moses was not permitted to cross because of the rock on which he is standing.
"And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.’"
"So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him, and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Listen now ye rebels, shall we bring forth water for you from out of this rock.’
"Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. And water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
"But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as Holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore, you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.
"Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. And the Lord will do to them, just as he has done to Sehang and Og and the kings of the Amorites and to their lands when he destroyed them. And the Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you.
"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you, or forsake you.
"Joshua, you be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into this land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them. And you shall give it to them as an inheritance. And the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
"He said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ And Jesus replied and said, ‘A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jerico and he fell among robbers. And they stripped him and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
"And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
"And likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
"But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came up on him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.
And he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
"And on the next day he took out two denairi and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him. And whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.
"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers hands?
"And the man said, "Hng, the one who showed mercy toward him.’ And Jesus said, ‘Go and do the same.’"
The last window has so much detail, the donkey, there’s a staff laying on the road in the foreground, the small bottle the Samaritan is using to treat the wound on the man’s chest. And note how pale and sickly he is.
But the thing I had not noticed until last Sunday is, on the left side of the window we see the light blue figure of the Levite, who continues to walk down the road, having ignored the man'’ plea for help. This window illustrates one of the best known stories of the bible in a beautiful and vivid way.
The window back here was for the longest time was my least favorite, until I looked closely at it, and I wish there were a little more daylight outside, so that we could see the details. Again Christ wears the red robe. Fruit that looks like peaches lay on the ground. And really look at the lantern, when you have a chance and it’s daylight; really look at the lantern. Its neat, it has little stars and things in it. The thing I liked least about it, was Christ’s face. It seemed so pale and washed out, I thought, until I readjusted my perspective. The artist has significantly depicted a face at night lit by a lantern. The light washes out much of the face while other features are in shadows.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne as I also overcame and throne sat down with My Father on His throne."
In this window, the door has no handle. We must open it from the other side. If you ever looked closely, Christ wears two crowns, one of thorns and one of gold. The King of the Jews who died and was resurrected as the King of Kings, stands knocking at a door with no handle, while sins in the form of vines comes between Him and the persons behind that door.
The next window is my favorite, and ironically I have the least to say about it. The Shepherd in the red robe that himself became the slaughtered Lamb. I can only say that.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. And yea, though I, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over. And surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
In the next to the last window, we see Christ the King in a royal blue robe, above Him doves, possibly a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, watch over Him. Notice how the rafters in the ceiling form a cross. If you look closely on the left-hand side grapes hang from these timbers. And note that He is holding open a door, setting His sheep free.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
"But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hears his voice. And he calls out his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his
own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. And a stranger they simply will not follow but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers."
This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. So, Jesus therefore said to them again, "I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture.
"The thieves come only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and might have it abundantly.
‘I…I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a
hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees and the wolf snatches them scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and is not concerned about the sheep.
"I…I am the Good Shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me even as the Father knows Me and I know the other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice and they shall become one flock with one Shepherd."
And in the last window we see Christ, the King adored in a purple robe, coming to take His children with Him to live forever with the Father. Jesus gave us these warnings concerning His second coming. See to it..See to it that no one misleads you for many will come in My name saying "I am the Christ" and will mislead many. And he will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars, see that you are not frightened for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes, but all these things are merely the beginnings of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you. And you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another and many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold, that if anyone says to you, "Behold, here is the Christ" or "There He is". Do not believe them. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead. So as to mislead impossible even the elect, behold, I have told you in advance. If therefore they say to you, "Behold, He is in the wilderness" do not go forth. Or, "Behold, He is in the inner rooms." Do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. But, immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken, and the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send for His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other.
How do I know there is a God? When I read the Bible, I know there is a God. When I watch a play or hear a piece of music or look at a piece of artwork that touches or moves me, I know that there is a God. When I watch the television show "Nature" on PBS, and wonder at the glory of His creations, I know that there is a God.
When I marvel at the floral arrangements in front of the pulpit, I know there is a God. When I eat mashed potatoes, my favorite, I know there is a God. When I hold a baby in my arms, I know there is a God. When my students do well, I know there is a God. And in my times of weakness when I doubt that God truly loves me, has forgiven me, and has saved me, all I have to do is think of all my blessings and gaze at these eight windows. Thank you.