a Catholic Church
Corpus Christi Church
Clifton Nottingham
| Around and About a Catholic Church |
A Tour of Corpus Christi Church Clifton Nottingham |
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The two panels at the top of the window depict the creation of the world. The Book of Genesis tells the story. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep and God's spirit hovered over the water." (depicted here as a pair of hands) Our window shows the sun and the moon, and the array of stars in the sky described as being created on the fourth day in Genesis: "God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vaults of heaven to shine on the earth'. And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. " |
| The long panel to the left of the window tells more of the creation story. Near the top of the window is a wavy line, depicting a river which continues across each section of the window. In this section we can see a tree bearing fruit above the river. "God said 'Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth'. And so it was." The second account of creation in Genesis tells us: "Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. Yahweh God caused to spring up from the soil every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden." Later in the account we are told: "Then Yahweh God gave the man this admonition, 'You may eat indeed of all the trees in the garden. Nevertheless of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat for on the day you eat it you shall most surely die'." Later again we are told: "So Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. Yahweh God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. ... Now both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame in front of each other." At the bottom of the window we see the naked man and woman and next to the man a small tree, perhaps the tree of life. |
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At the top of this section, above the river, are birds flying. Genesis recounts: "God said '... let birds birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven'. And so it was." Adam and Eve meanwhile have been tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. The serpent can be seen curled round the tree of knowledge of good and evil and Adam and Eve are now seen clothed. The account in Genesis says, "Yahweh God made clothes out of skins for the man and his wife, and they put them on. Then Yahweh God said, 'See, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch out his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live for ever.' So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life." The flame from the flashing sword can be seen at the bottom right of this section. |
| Genesis tells us "God said , 'Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beast'. And so it was." The top of this section shows two wild beasts, one perhaps a lion. A little lower we can see the river in flood and Noah's ark. Above and to the right we can see a rainbow. Genesis gives us an account: "God spoke to Noah and his sons, ... 'I establish my Covenant with you : no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.' God said, 'Here is the sign of the Covenant I make between myself and you and every living creature with you for all generations: I set my bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the Covenant between myself and you and every living creature of every kind'." Many, many years later Luke tells of what Jesus did at the Last Supper "Then he took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them saying, 'This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me'. He did the same with the cup after supper, and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.' The new covenant is the redemption of mankind through Jesus' death and resurrection and is represented at the foot of this section by the chalice and host. |
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At the top of the final section a moving star can be seen. This depicts the star which settled over Bethlehem and which the Wise Men followed to find the infant Jesus. But that infant would later be crucified on the hill of Calvary, which is seen a little lower in the window. Encircling the hill we find four intertwined strands representing the Crown of Thorns placed on Jesus head by his executioners to mock him. Here though, if we look closely, we can see fish. Genesis tells us, "God created great sea serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters team". The fish sign was used as a code by the early Christians because they noticed that the letters of the Greek word for fish, IXTHUS, stood for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour". This completes the story of creation in every way. The creation, the fall, the struggle in the wilderness, culminating in Christ's death and resurrection through which all may be redeemed and enter God's glory in heaven. Finally in this panel is a tree bearing six crowns, taken to be the tree of life. Adam and Eve were not allowed to take fruit from the tree of life after they had disobeyed God. Jesus atoned for their and our sins through his death and resurrection and through his redemptive act we may all enjoy the crowning glory of heaven and the right to feed on the tree of life. The Book of Revelation (also known as the Apocalypse) again makes reference to the tree of life. The conclusion of the last book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, includes this passage: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Happy are those who have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city." |
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