Christ the Master Window
Designed by Frederick Cole working with George Payne Studios. 1967.
This window has one major panel. The theme of the window is labor and is based on Matthew 11 :28.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Above Jesus, but hidden by the balcony, is a crown with a dove descending from it. The crown signifies lordship and authority. The dove reminds one of Matthew’s story of Jesus’ baptism in which God’s holy spirit, in the form of a dove, descends to anoint and bless his labours. To the right and left of Jesus are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – the alpha and the omega. Descriptions of God and Christ as “the first and the last, the beginning and the end”, (Rev. 22: 13) come from the Old Testament, which emphasizes God’s continuing sanctification of labour. Around the border of the panel are grape vines, leaves and clusters of grapes reminding us of human labour and that in all our works,
“I am the vine, ye are the branches.”
In the section of the Gospel from which the theme of the window is taken, Jesus proclaims that the kingdom of God is hidden from “the wise and understanding”, that is, those whose vision is blurred by pride and arrogance and revealed to “babes”, that is, to the humble and lowly. Jesus declares that he has been appointed by God as the revealer of God’s law and invites all those oppressed to believe in him, to learn his law, and to enter the kingdom. He promises that his law is not difficult, but easy to learn. It is the law of love:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 19:19)
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
