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I Am the Bread of Life (John 6:35) In the center, two
figures are silhouetted. These are Jesus Christ and the lad who offered to share his lunch
of five loaves and two fish. Jesus is shown accepting a loaf and blessing it in order to
multiply the small lunch to feed the multitude. Two fish are at Jesus' feet. Baskets stand
around, in which the fragments were collected after the meal.
At the top of the window the five loaves and two fish are shown more symbolically. Next
below are wheat and grapes. Near the bottom the communion bread and wine chalice are seen. |
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I Am the Messiah (John 4:28) When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at
the well, he conversed with her at length until she said to Him "I know that Messias
cometh which is called Christ". Then Jesus replied "I that speak unto thee am
he". Their two figures are seen in the center of the window. Above is a stylized chi
rho (the XP which is the Greek monogram for Jesus Christ) from which the living
water flows down. The heraldic rose at the bottom has long been considered a symbol of the
Messiah (Christ). |
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I Am the Light of the World (John 9:5) Here is illustrated the
story of Jesus healing a blind man by anointing his eyes with moistened clay. Upon close
attention, the little pile of mud can be seen beneath the figures. At the top, a healed
eye is superimposed over an archaic lamp. At the bottom are three sheep. |
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I Am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) The central figure is Jesus as
the shepherd carrying a lamb. A long symbolic crook ties in the scene above which is Jesus
frightening away a wolf, unlike the hireling shepherd who does not care for the sheep. At
the bottom is the door of the sheepfold. |
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I Am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) Here Jesus is shown
calling Lazarus back from the grave. The two women kneeling are the sisters Mary and
Martha. When Jesus asked if Martha believed He was the resurrection, she showed her faith
in Him. The symbol at the bottom is the mythical phoenix who, the ancients believed,
instead of dying, set fire to her nest and arose rejuvenated from the flames. |
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I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) Jesus
used these words when He comforted His disciples telling them that His life on earth was
drawing to a close. Here He is shown with arms outstretched in invitation. When Philip
asked "show us the Father", He replied "he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father". This explains the symbol, the yod, Hebrew initial for Jehovah in a
triangle.
Above is a symbol derived from an ancient bishop's ringstone: a basket containing a
fish flanked by two other fish who draw near to enter. This is used as a symbol of the
disciples becoming "fishers of men" or following Jesus' way. At the very top is
the cross set above lines, which suggest a road in perspective. |
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I Am the True Vine (John 15:1) If Jesus is the vine, all believing
practicing Christians are the branches that bear fruit. In this window, Jesus is shown
surrounded by fruitful vines and also some birds. At the bottom is a heart, symbol of
love. |
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The Baptistry Window: Here Jesus Christ stands with arms
outstretched inviting the faithful to the waters of baptism. Above His head, the Holy
Spirit descends, as a dove, as it did on the occasion of His own baptism. The waters wave
around a fish, which in this case, symbolized the Christian. |
