If you look in the choir loft you will find three stained glass windows. The first one is Jesus carrying the cross. (Jn. 19:17) After Jesus was tried, mocked, and scourged, he was made to carry his own cross, it was also our cross. However, because he was so weak from the trial events, Simon of Cyrene was chosen out of the crowd to carry it for him. It is a powerful symbol that reminds us that Christ carries our burdens for us.

The middle one is Jesus the Good Shepherd. The two most extended biblical allegories of the shepherd are Ezekiel 34 and John 10. In Ezekiel 34:15-16, the Lord God says, "I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. ..I will seek the lost... bring back the strayed...bind up the crippled...strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them injustice.: " Jesus applies this to himself in John 10: II, 14, but with an addition which is inconceivable in the Old Testament tradition. Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Others might die, but no one ever anticipated that God's Son should die as stated here by Jesus. Very early in the catacombs the good shepherd became one of the most common representations of Jesus. He is the one who leaves the 99 to search out the one lost sheep (Lk. 15:3-7; Mt. 18:12-14) and who has compassion on the people who are like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). The crucial relationship between vulnerable sheep and the shepherd becomes an exalted and beloved picture of God's relationship to his people. Without Jesus a the Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for us - we would be harassed, and helpless (Mt. 9:36). So we turn to Jesus and heed his voice, "So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. " (John 10:16)

The third one is Jesus blessing the children (Mt. 19:13-15, Mk. 10:13-16, Lk. 18:15-17) There were times when the disciples wanted Jesus to send the children away because they thought they were a bother to him. But Jesus often placed children in their midst and said that we should all become like little children To believe requires simply a believing heart. Often we make it more than it should be by trying to make it into some deep philosophical understanding and thought process, or we feel we are not worthy of the gift of His Words of life. Belief requires a certain amount of simple acceptance, not the deep understanding we feel makes us worthy of his love. If we approach the Lord as a Child. simply in faith, we will surely receive a like blessing.

Before you leave the Chancel and Nave area, if you turn to look at the big stained glass window in the balcony, you will see a picture of the Apostle John writing down what was revealed to him. It is a command given to him in Revelation to John 1:11 "... Write on a scroll what you see..."   We at St. John's hope that this has been a spiritual witness to you of the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that the Lord will be your guide, strength, redeemer, and sustainer as He is ours.

The two Symbols on each side of the window are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Alpha and Omega, they signify Jesus as the Word which was in the beginning, is now and shall be evermore. God speaks of himself in this way three times in the Book of 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. 1:8,21:6,13) There is none other than the Lord God who can bring hope to our world. Whenever we fear the events of the day, the challenges of our life, remember it is the Lord who will sustain us throughout all these events. It is He who was in the beginning, and will be in the end. In Him we base our hope, let us always rejoice in His eternal being.

If you traverse through the door by the pulpit and look to your right you will see the symbol of a lyre in a small window in the step area. Because of the skill in playing the lyre, the shepherd boy, David was appointed to King Saul's court. "And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it - with his hand; so Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." (I Sam. 16:23). This is the marvelous example of the power of music. David's reputation as a music maker grew as he grew older. Famous as king, he also became famous as the composer of Psalms.

The Psalter so closely linked with David has a number of references to the lyre or harp, including the one which is the closing doxology, Psalm 150. "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing Symbols! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"

This exuberant picture of worship demonstrates how central music, including the harp and lyre, were in David's worship. Music is still important today in our worship.

We hope you will join us in worship whenever you are in our community, or if you are a member of our community, we hope you will join us regularly to rejoice in the story these Symbols represent. It is the community of believers joined together in His Name that make this a meaningful place to gather. God's word was given for His people, to care for the world and to rejoice in the gifts He has given. May we all be the richer for His Grace and Love as it is demonstrated in our lives.

We hope you enjoyed the tour of St. John's Symbols.

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