I am the Messiah

"I Am the Messiah." The woman of Samaria, in her conversation with Jesus at the well, said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming." Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am he." Beginning with the west clerestory nearest the pulpit, this window bears the theme of the messiahship of Jesus as forecast by His birth and childhood.

     In the first lancet, at the top, the angel appears to Mary with the announcement of the coming child. "Do not be afraid, Mary," says the angel, "for you have found favor with God." Next scene below, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth, in the hill country of Judea and who herself is to be the mother of John the Baptist. Under this, Mary and Joseph are turned away from the door by the innkeeper of Bethlehem. At the bottom, the shepherds on the hillside near Bethlehem hear the good news of the birth of the Savior.

     The second lancet has, at the top, the Holy Family in the stable under the star of Bethlehem. Then the child Jesus is presented in the Temple. Mary kneels beside the cage of  Turtle Doves, the sacrificial offering of the poor, while the aged Simeon takes the Holy Child in his arms and speaks the ancient hymn of peace, the Nunc Dimittis: "Now lettest thy servant depart in peace." Next is illustrated the visit of the Wise Men and at the bottom, the slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem at the hands of Herod's soldiers.

      The third lancet begins with the flight into Egypt. Next, the Christ Child is shown in the Temple at 12 years of age, "sitting among the teachers," the account says, "listening to them and asking them questions." Jesus on the homeward journey with His parents is shown next. Last, representing those hidden years of which there is no record, from 12 years old to the beginning of His ministry, He is shown helping Joseph in the carpenter's shop at Nazareth.

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