Pastor Hugh's Monthly Meditation
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SYMBOLS OF GOD’S PROMISE
We continue this month by highlighting two more of the symbols that adorn our stained glass windows. Facing the altar they are found to our right, in the window above the choir and in the window above the piano.
Click on image to see a larger view of St. Paul’s "Hand of God Window", in a separate window.
In the “Hand of God” window, God’s hand is found in the traditional two fingers curled and two extended pose of divine blessing. As the hand comes from a golden triangle, we are reminded that God our Father is one part of the Holy Trinity, symbolized by the triangle.
What does this window remind us? As in the words of Psalm 48, “Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory.” (Emphasis added.) It is in the nature of God to care for his people like a father: protecting, guiding, defending and holding. This promise was not only to the people of Israel as they were freed from enslavement in Egypt by God’s “mighty hand” and “outstretched arm.” (Deut. 5:15) This promise is there for us, too.
Advent is a time of waiting for this promise to be fulfilled in our midst. God’s mighty hand is to take on human flesh in the tiny fragile hand of a baby—Jesus. And that tiny hand would one day be pierced by the nails of crucifixion—God’s mighty act of love done for you and me.
Click on image to see a larger view of St. Paul’s "Alpha and Omega Window", in a separate window.
In our “Alpha and Omega” window we find the Greek letters Α (alpha) and Ω (omega), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet superimposed one on the other. These letters remind us of the words in Revelation, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8) In the King James Version of the Bible, we find these words in Rev. 1:11 coming from the mouth of Jesus. Thus, the Α and Ω, whether superimposed on each other or found separately, refer to Jesus, who is the beginning and the end, the first and last.
Why is this important? What promise do two Greek letters hold? They promise us, among many other things, that no matter what life may hold, our faith in Jesus is rock solid. He is from the beginning and will be there at the very last. When all other things in life are impermanent, when relationships can often prove unreliable, when the life we hoped for seems fragile and fleeting, Jesus, our Alpha and Omega, is rock-solidly there for us, no matter what.
And when our faith is rooted in him, it is founded in a reality that is stronger than death itself.
Advent is not merely a time of idle waiting. It is a time of preparation, too. Like Lent, Advent offers us the opportunity to prepare our hearts to receive our Lord, who comes to us in the finite and fragile form of an infant, and yet who holds a promise infinite love and eternal life.
As we look around at the symbols of our faith, let us take in their message of hope. And the promise born in our Lord is sure. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” (Rev. 21:6-7)
Now that’s a gift worth waiting for.
Hugh R. B. Haffenreffer
Pastor
December 2007
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