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Light Of The World
Home > Recent Reflections > Light Of The World
by David Bryan (Rector)
At St Andrew's we have a number of delightful stained glass windows. All but one are in the Chancel of the Church, which is approached through the great archway and houses the High Table. The windows add beauty and enhance the sense that this part of the Church is special and holy. And when the sun streams in through them they certainly inspire prayer.
Three of these windows were donated by the Summerson family who lived in Haughton in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They thrived from the burgeoning Railway Industry. Thomas Summerson (1810-1989) ran the Albert Hill Works in the 19th century. 
His son Robert (b 1856) succeeded him. Intriguingly all the windows that this family gave to St Andrew's are dedicated to the memory of women: Eliza Caroline Summerson (d.1895), Ida Rosewell Summerson (1862-1919) and Mary L. Summerson (1848-1938). To my untutored eye it is the more recent 'The Good Shepherd' and 'The Presentation of Christ' that stand out, not only from the 1895 window but also from all the others in Church. They appear to be the work of the same artist, both in terms of layout, use of colour and symbols. All the human figures have faces that are dark. It is almost as if the artist wanted to be realistic in his representations of Jesus and the old man Simeon: they were from the Middle East and they would not have had the appearance of white Westerners!
I have no idea who the artist (if it was an individual) was. But this kind of realism shows an influence from a movement in British art known as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Among the original group of artists of the PRB was Holman Hunt (1827-1910). Hunt, who hailed from Cheapside in London, had a special interest in biblical scenes. So serious was Hunt about authenticity that he spent two years in Palestine to try to get the scenery and costumes right. Among his most well known paintings is 'The Light of the World' (1853) which is in Keble College, Oxford. This painting was inspired by Revelation 3:20
'Listen!I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.'
Jesus stands, lantern in hand, at night time outside a door that is overgrown with foliage. The house too looks neglected and sad. Clearly something is badly wrong. Jesus' face is in the shade. Even his halo does not brighten the visage. He knocks at the door, which does not have a handle in view. Jesus is splendidly dressed, but he wears a spiky crown entwined with thorns. Regal, yes, but also vulnerable. In the background is a garden that looks autumnal. The presence of apples on the ground hints at the possibility of nourishment, but reinforces the sense that not only is it late in the day, but it is late in the year. He looks at the viewer pleadingly. The door might remain shut and he will not force it. The time to respond is running out.
Our 'Good Shepherd' window has many similarities to Hunt's painting. Jesus has a dark face and a similar posture. But his raised hand is not knocking at a door - it holds aloft a lantern whose beams radiate light in a darkened place. 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it' (John 1.5). The lowered hand holds a shepherd's crook. The Light of the World is also the Good Shepherd. Similarly Jesus stands on ground covered in foliage, but he is followed by a lamb and its mother. His eyes however are not on us, but are to the side as if watching for danger. Far from meeting a closed door, it is almost as if he is about to step through the Church's window and bring his flock into a safe place. Whether or not Hunt's painting inspired our window or not, this is a powerful expression of hope and prayer for our Church. In a world that is unfriendly to the vulnerable, may Christ find in St Andrew's a place where he can bring his people to safety and security.
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