I am the light of the world

    "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,' "

    When Jesus called Himself the light of the world,  He was referring to spiritual enlightenment, the knowledge that comes from a source outside man himself.  This theme runs through the scenes in this window.

    First, in the large medallion at the top, center lancet, our Lord is seated above His listeners as He gives that body of teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount.  The small symbol at the top is a chi rho, a monogram for Jesus Christ above a stylized mountain peak, which sheds rays of light on troubled water.  The other principal medallion, center lancet, represents Jesus blessing the children, an astonishing act in that day when children were suffered more than praised.  In the left lancet, at the top, He is shown preaching to the multitude from the boat.  At the top of the right lancet, Jesus honors children again by setting a child in the midst of the company to teach them to be as simple in their faith as a little child.

    The group He addresses next on the left is made up of  the Pharisees and Herodians  (strange companions indeed) who ask Jesus His views on paying taxes.  "Render to Caesar," He answers, "the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  Opposite, in the right lancet, He expounds on marriage,  which is symbolized by two lamps joining their flames under a cross.  "Consider the lilies," He says (left lancet, next to the bottom)," for their beauty and wildness point to all of His creation."  The sower, underneath, suggests the different responses His teachings will evoke:  Many will turn away; some will be "good ground" on which the seed of His Word will grow to harvest.

    In the right lancet next from the bottom, the scene represents Jesus's discourse with Nicodemus.  The rebirth of which they spoke is another metaphor for what in this window is called the light of the world.  Below, Jesus heals a blind man, opening his eyes to the light of the sun and his soul to the light of the world.

    The window is completed by the medallion at the bottom, representing a  passage in Isaiah :  "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has appointed me to preach good news to the poor."

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