St Paul Church

Pastor's Message for October 2011

In January when Sue and I first visited St. Paul Church we were struck by the beauty of the stained glass. None of the churches I have been part of since my birth had any stained glass windows. I love the beauty that can be seen in the art of the stained glass. And the beauty and inspiration of faith is definitely captured in St. Paul’s windows.

As I was reading a little of the history of St. Paul Church, I saw that part of the loss the church experienced in the fire was the destruction of those windows. Of course, while the windows may have been lost, their meaning has been part of St. Paul Church since its beginning … and that meaning is the importance of who Jesus is. The stained glass windows in our sanctuary reflect the unison of the founders of St. Paul Church, and their firm belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

Over the next 8 or 9 Sunday mornings I want to spend our time in God’s world looking at the symbolism that is found in the window titled “Holy Communion.” Then for Advent and the Christmas season we will look at the Nativity window.

While the windows are beautiful, it is more important that they identify who we are in Christ and who we are as a Church in Christ. It is important that anyone who comes to St. Paul Church doesn’t simply marvel at the works of art found in the glass, but instead that they see Jesus Christ in you and me.

There is a story I came across, attributed to Chris Rush. I think it is a great way to look at ourselves in relationship to our stained glass windows.

A fourteenth-century Italian stained-glass artist was summoned to design and create a huge portrait for the window of a cathedral in Chartres, France, a place well known for its stained-glass work. He laid all of the pieces he was going to use out on the floor of the cathedral. They were beautiful to behold; most of them were large and colorful. Some of the colors from that time cannot even be reproduced today. Among these awesome pieces of glass was a small, clear piece about as big as your fingernail. As the stained-glass portrait was assembled, that little piece remained on the floor. Only the big colorful pieces of glass were used.

On the day of the window’s completion, the tiny piece of clear glass was still lying on the ground. The entire city gathered to witness the unveiling of the brilliant and beautiful stained-glass portrait. The artist stood in front of the crowd, made his speech, and dramatically pulled down the cloth cover. The crowd gasped at the beauty of the colorful window glowing in the sunlight.

After a few seconds, however, the crowd grew silent. They sensed that something was missing, that the portrait was unfinished. The great artist then walked over to where the little clear piece of glass lay, picked it up, and placed it in the portrait, right in the center of Jesus’ eye. As the sun hit that little piece, it gave off a dazzling sparkle.

The magnificent stained glass window still draws visitors. The first thing they see is that sparkle in Jesus’ eye.

My prayer is that while the stained glass windows are magnificent … what will really be noticed at St. Paul Church is that sparkle of Jesus found in the eyes of each one of us.

God bless each of you,

Pastor Scott

Posted: September 24th, 2011 by Robin W under Pastor's Messages.