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Click here for larger picture
Stained glass in St.
Andrew's:
The Font Window
Click
each small picture to see a larger image.
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The
window above the font continues the pattern of bringing together
the Old and New Testament. The left half shows the Hand of God
pointing down to Naaman, who was a Syrian general and a leper.
His wife had a Hebrew slave-girl, who had been captured in a
border raid, and who had said she wished her master could be
with the prophet Elisha, in Israel, who could cure him. The King
of Syria arranged for him to go, and Elisha sent a message
telling Naaman to dip himself seven times in the Jordan. At
first he was offended, but his men, one of whom is shown holding
steady a horses head, urged him to obey the prophet to 'wash and
be clean'. He was not too proud to yield to their persuasion so
he entered the water and was made clean.
The words
underneath 'Wash me from my wickedness and cleanse me from my
sin' from Psalm 51 apply the cleansing to spiritual wickedness
and so to baptism for the forgiveness of sins. |
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The
right hand half of the window represents the Baptism of our Lord
in the Jordan by John the Baptist with the Spirit descending
like a dove in the little window above.
Below are the words
'Thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness', as given in
St. Matthew's gospel, with which Jesus replied to St. John's
protest that it was he who should be baptised by Jesus, rather
than the other way round. By Himself coming for baptism,
Jesus fulfilled all righteousness as the pioneer of our
salvation. |
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Above, and between the two halves of the window, an angel holds
the words' Suffer little children to come unto me' - the words
of our Lord which have always been taken as welcoming children
to the font. |
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