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“Looking Through Glass”
I Corinthians 13:8-13; I Peter 1:3-9
Before Easter, Tim did a series on the stained glass windows in our church. They represent the six great ends of the church as articulated by Presbyterians. Stained glass windows: every church should have some. When our partnership with the Russian Orthodox Church in Kirovsk was still active, one of the things that Father Mikail and Jaraslava loved about our sanctuary was the stained glass windows. So much so, that he took pictures of them and wanted to show them to artisans in Russia asking them to produce one for their new church being built. We saw the window in the church that he hoped would be transformed into a stained glass window. It was tall and narrow just like our windows. He had said there might be something about Alaska in it. We never got to see the window.
Throughout its thousand year history, the term “stained glass” was applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and cathedrals and chapels. In Western Europe, when people were illiterate and could not read the scriptures for themselves, the stained glass windows told the stories of the Bible and reminded people of God’s miracles and grace and wonderful love. They depicted religious scenes, figures, and moral lessons to all those who entered the edifice. These windows were not simply decorative art, but made the stories and lessons of people's faith visually accessible.
In the Middle Ages, the purpose of a stained glass window was not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even to let light in but rather to control it. For this reason, stained glass windows have been described as ‘illuminated wall decorations.’ When we first started putting the stained glass windows in this church, people asked whether or not all the windows would be covered. They wanted some of them left for the natural light to come in as well as to be able to look outside to see the beautiful snow falling, or the green trees being blown by the wind, or watching the cars and people passing by.
And I agree with that. The church is not suppose to close its members in from the outside world and control the light. We come to church to worship and be grounded and strengthened so that we can go out into the world to give God’s light to the world. We do not control the light, but are vessels to deliver the “Light of the World” to all people. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
As I was thinking about the resurrection this week, I thought of the stained glass window on last Sunday’s bulletin cover. It was from the First Presbyterian Church of Penetanguishene, in Ontario, Canada. As you know, we cannot look through stained glass windows. If we try to, the image on the other side is distorted, hard to make out, even blocked. Sometimes you can tell there is something on the other side of it but you are not quite sure what. Isn’t this the case with many people and faith. They know there is something on the other side of death, but they are not quite sure what. Our unbelief is like looking through stained glass windows. They are hard to look through. The resurrection is like this for so many people. They can’t quite get the picture.
Isn’t it a strange name for colored glass: stained glass. We talk about being stained by Christ’s own blood, who loved us so much that he laid aside the crown and traded it for a cross so that we can see through the windows of life with new eyes, restored and clear, with faith. A paradox it is: the stained blood of Christ that clears up the view. What is wiped away (washed in the blood, if you will) is now clear to see what is on the other side. What is on the other side? Living with Christ today and every day. The resurrected Jesus is inviting us to live in his Kingdom today. He has come that we too may have life, and not just any life, but life to the fullest. But for now, perhaps our disbelief keeps us seeing through a glass dimly. But someday as scripture tells us, we will see God face to face (I Corinthians 13:12).
I was talking to Tim about the image of stained glass and how it can be a metaphor for our faith and our doubt. He showed me something he had not noticed when he printed out the bulletin cover for one of our stained glass windows several weeks ago. You can see it on the front of your bulletin. It is the stained glass with the rainbow in it: “The Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.” Now when you look closely at the picture printed out, you can see some images in its background that our from outside, from the other side of the window. First you see a plant in the bottom left hand corner. Then you begin to see a shadow on the right bottom corner and you can follow it up on the right side. It is a tree with some branches and leaves in the background. Look at the picture of the Presbyterian emblem on the inside of the bulletin. This is a stained glass window at Zephyr Point Conference Center at Lake Tahoe. The shadows of gray and blue are trees and leaves on the other side of the window.
It makes for a good metaphor for our faith. Clear windows, even semi-clear sections of stained glass are like our faith. We know what is there, our sight is clear, our resolve is strong. But the parts of our faith where we do not understand or see clearly, those parts we doubt is like looking through stained glass. We can only rely on God and Jesus Christ in those times. We know in part. As I Corinthians 13:12 states: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
In Matthew 4:16 & 17 we read: “You who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” We see the image behind the stained glass window. We see shadows, maybe of death, and despair, but we know through faith light has dawned.
Have you ever seen the stain glass in the dark. I love it when we have evening services or when I am in the sanctuary at night time. The night lights shine in and the windows are lit up differently. The night makes the stain glass windows look even more magnificent. There is something different about the colors. They look more real and vibrant. They are alluring. It is easy to allow these windows to become our reality. It is easy to forget what is outside, on the other side, when they look so beautiful inside. It is easy to be content within the church.
In his book, The Present Future, Reggie McNeal says we are in the midst of a new reformation. “The first Reformation moved the church closer to home. The new Reformation is moving the church closer to the world......The initial Reformation was about church. The new Reformation is about mission” (pg. 43). Perhaps the universal church has focused too much on itself for too long. That is why many people are disillusioned by institutional religion, church-ianity, not Christianity! For many people today Church does not conjure up images of a body of people trying to live out radical obedience for Christ. It instead reminds them of an organization that seems to be out of touch with culture and day to day experiences of people. “A growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith. They contend that the church no longer contributes to their spiritual development” (pg. 4). There are more and more “churchless Christians” worldwide. We know that we have entered a new epoch of human history called the postmodern age. This new age will demand a new church expression. It will demand a church that engages with the world; with its community. How do we tell our neighbors that God is for them, not against them? How do we love and serve those outside the church?
The church must constantly be rediscovering its mission. We don’t ever want to become a consumer-oriented congregation wanting church for ourselves. We are to give away all that we have been given through our life in Christ. We need to take authentic Christianity into the real world.
So back to our windows. The clear windows gives us a picture too. It tells us God’s story. We look out the window and see God’s beauty He has created. We look out the window and we see busy people going here and there. We look out the window and see hurting people who are speaking in loud voices and rude gestures. We look out of our car windows and see people who are looking back not really seeing us. We look out and see those who are looking for anything because they can no longer see anything to put their faith in, nothing to hope for, no one to love them. They look through a mirror dimly. And so we go out to carry the message of God’s love to them. We have a message for them that they do not have to walk through life alone. As Jesus’ disciples we can give them the gift of hope and love; give them the Resurrected Christ who can make all things clear for He gives sight to the blind and life, abundant life, to all.
There is one more image I want to explore with you. After a phone call during this week, I needed to take off my glasses and rub my eyes and sigh. And then I looked out the window. It was a bit blurred. Every year I notice that I see more terrible without my glasses. What I notice is that I do not see the details anymore. I am not capable of seeing them without some help. Perhaps seeing details in the world around us means walking in someone’s shoes so that we really understand what someone else is seeing and experiencing. Perhaps we give time to someone before making judgments. We only know part of the story – this too is like looking through a mirror, a glass dimly. Clarity comes only when we begin to invest ourselves in the lives of others, in the life of our community. This is what Jesus did. He never seemed to be in a hurry. He gave himself constantly to those around him.
Perhaps the most important thing we do in worship happens at the very end of our time together: the Charge and Benediction. The Charge? GO! Go out into the world sharing the good news of Christ to all whom you meet. The Benediction? May the love of God, the peace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit be with you as you do go forth until we meet again.
It is Christ Jesus who helps us see on a new level. Let us have eyes to see; let us have hearts to see; let us learn to cure even our own blindness. Missiology is like optomology: testing and examining our eyes and prescribing glasses to correct our vision problems. We in the church who have had our lives transformed by the gospel must now see our hurting world and give them the Resurrected Lord. Amen.