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James Window When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted with waving palm branches and cheers of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” But over the next few days Jesus incurred the wrath of the religious leaders, beginning by cleansing the temple and continuing with overt and repeated challenges to their authority and with predictions of his own death. As the week drew to a close, and Jesus’ death approached, he ate a last meal with his disciples, and with the bread and cup of wine, instituted the memorial of his body and blood. James had heard of this cup before. Not understanding Jesus’ mission, he and his brother John had asked to sit on Jesus’ right and left in his kingdom. Jesus asked if they could drink the cup that he would drink, and they said that they could, still not understanding its implications. Now, as Jesus shared the Passover meal with them, he took the bread and the cup of wine, blessed them and presented them to his disciples as his body and the new covenant in his blood—Jesus’ death would redeem humanity and initiate a living covenant in the hearts of God’s people. After supper, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was deeply troubled, and prayed earnestly for God to remove this cup from him, but remained committed to his Father’s will. Following Christ’s resurrection, his disciples began to suffer as well. James was the first apostle to be martyred, about A.D. 44. Eventually all but one shared his fate, yet they rejoiced in persecution, comforted by Jesus’ own suffering and confident that absolutely nothing could separate them from the love of God in Christ. As James receives the chalice, we are reminded that in his death he did indeed drink the cup of Christ’s suffering. The bread and the wine of the Last Supper have become for us the Eucharistic feast of Christ’s body and blood—solemnly remembering his death, and joyfully uniting Christ with his Church. The array of traditional Passover foods symbolizes the Messianic banquet of which the Eucharist is a promise. The seven-branched lamp is a Jewish menorah, the ancestor of our sanctuary lamp, which burns continually before the tabernacle, reminding us of Christ’s real presence at the table of the Lord.
Like Stars Appearing: The Story of the Stained Glass
Windows of St. George's Episcopal Church, Dayton, Ohio | |||
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