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Directly above the Luther Window is the Window for the Apostle Paul and the Man from Macedonia. Listen to the story from Acts 16, and you will know how to read this window:

Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia Acts:16:6-15
⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. ¹¹ From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹² From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district^[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵ When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Garrett-Evangelical prays today for all those who are called to new fields of ministry: 
“We pray today to you, O  God, knowing that  sometimes you close the way to one place in order to open the way to another place. We give you thanks that we never do this alone. You connect us both to those in Macedonia who call us to service, and to those people like Lydia who are waiting to greet us  in the new place we are called to serve. Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN.”

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

 

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This detail from the  Martin Luther Window in Howes Chapel shows a figure who is clearly in an attitude of prayer. Luther turned often to the Psalms during his time of prayer. Particularly appropriate for Lent is Luther’s hymn based on Psalm 130. Garrett-Evangelical, therefore prays today for all those persons who cry out to God from the depths of their souls:

“From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee”
1. From depths of woe I cry to Thee, Lord, hear me, I implore Thee. Bend down Thy gracious ear to me, My prayer let come before Thee. If Thou rememberest each misdeed, If each should have its rightful meed, Who may abide Thy presence?

2. Thy love and grace alone avail To blot out my transgression; The best and holiest deeds must fail To break sin’s dread oppression. Before Thee none can boasting stand, But all must fear Thy strict demand And live alone by mercy.

3. Therefore my hope is in the Lord And not in mine own merit; It rests upon His faithful Word To them of contrite spirit That He is merciful and just; This is my comfort and my trust. His help I wait with patience.

4. And though it tarry till the night And till the morning waken, My heart shall never doubt His might Nor count itself forsaken.  Do thus, O ye of Israel’s seed, Ye of the Spirit born indeed; Wait for your God’s appearing.

5. Though great our sins and sore our woes, His grace much more aboundeth; His helping love no limit knows, Our utmost need it soundeth. Our shepherd good and true is He, Who will at last His Israel free From all their sin and sorrow.

Hymn 329 from The Lutheran Hymnal Text: Ps. 130
Author: Martin Luther Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1863, alt.
Titled: “Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir” Tune: “Aus tiefer Not”
1st Published in: Johann Walther’s Gesangbuechlein Town: Wittenberg, 1524

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

 

 

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The Martin Luther Window in Howes Chapel details a magnificent pose of this reformation giant, kneeling in prayer. One hand is lifted in openness to God, and the artists have painted the other hand showing the familiar gesture for blessing: thumb, ring finger, and little finger touching representing the trinity, and the first and second fingers extended  representing the dual nature of Christ. Immediately above Luther one can see the Nintey-five Theses nailed to the door of the church at Wittenburg. The lower panel to the right shows the pointing fingers from the bishops at The Diet of Worms in 1521; The Papal Finger is just as strong in the lower left panel. It was here that Luther made the famous statement,

Unless I shall be convinced by the testimony of scriptures or by clear reason, I must be bound by those Scriptures which have been brought forward by me. Yes, my conscience has been taken captive by these words of God. I cannot revoke anything, nor do I wish to; since to go against one’s conscience is neither safe nor right. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen. (Forell, The Protestant Faith, page 14).

Luther believed that the Psalms were a powerful pathway to prayer. So, today, Garrett-Evangelical prays Psalm 67 for all those who are in times of trial and need faith and courage:

Psalm 67:  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us. May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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Howes Chapel is a place of prayer; every window provides expressions of persons in fervent prayer. It is no surprise then, that these stylized praying hands adorn the peak of the chapel. Everyone is familiar with Albrecht Durer’s famous painting of  The Praying Hands.  These hands are reminiscent of that famous painting, but yet, have an identity all of their own. From a distance, the hands are often not even noticed; they are soft and unobtrusive. They are in keeping with Jesus’s instructions in Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

The hands seem most appropriate as a welcoming host to the chapel. In the play, “The Quilters,” a frontier wife said during her grief at her husband’s death that she sat down to make a quilt and she explained that  her mind did not know what to do, but her  hands did. Hands folded in prayer, opened to receive a blessing, raised in thanksgiving, tucked away in submissive love, extended to include the world—all of these gestures are appropriate ways to express prayer. So, today, we at Garrett-Evangelical give  thanks for the gifts of hands, and we invite your prayers that persons will learn to unclench their fists, and open their hands into loving gestures  of prayer.

“Relent, LORD! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, our splendor to their children. May the favor^[ of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us –yes, establish the work of our hands.  (Psalm 90:13-17)

Prayer of Blessing the Work of Our Hands
Blessed be the works of your hands,
O Holy One.

Blessed be these hands that have touched life.
Blessed be these hands that have nurtured creativity.
Blessed be these hands that have held pain.
Blessed be these hands that have embraced with passion.
Blessed be these hands that have tended gardens.
Blessed be these hands that have closed in anger.
Blessed be these hands that have planted new seeds.
Blessed be these hands that have harvested ripe fields.
Blessed be these hands that have cleaned, washed, mopped, scrubbed.
Blessed be these hands that have become knotty with age.
Blessed be these hands that are wrinkled and scarred from doing justice.
Blessed be these hands that have reached out and been received.
Blessed be these hands that hold the promise of the future.
Blessed be the works of your hands, O Holy One.

Prayer by Diann Neu from Imaging the Word: An Arts and Lectionary Resource, Volume 1, 1994.

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

 

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During Lent Garrett-Evangelical has been inviting folks to pray for the world through the windows of Howes Chapel. Today we look at the chapel itself.

The chapel was built in 1936 as a gift from Evaline Howes in memory of her husband, Frank. This Evanston couple used to take lovely walks across the Northwestern/Garrett campus and Frank would often say to his wife that there ought to be a small chapel where people could stop to pray. When he died in 1933 she began making plans to build this chapel in  his memory.

The gift plaque mounted on the wall in the narthex of Howes Chapel reads:

“To the Glory of God and in Loving Remembrance of Frank W Howes 1858-1933. This chapel for prayer and meditation was erected by his wife, Evaline Mason Howes, 1936. He met every obligation of Friendship, Every duty of Christian Citizenship and gave his allegiance unalteringly to the highest ideals.”

(The plaque describes Evaline Howes in these words:)  “A Devoted member of the Methodist Church who was concerned that its ministers be well trained; wise steward of great wealth, and a faithful trustee of Garrett Biblical Institute.”

“O Love that wilt not let me Go; I rest my weary soul in thee. I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer fuller be.”

United in Life, they are not separated in death. Together they dwell with God forevermore.

Today, Garrett-Evangelical invites us to pray for all benefactors whose gifts have made the world a more gracious and beautiful place:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:9-11)  Eternal God, we give you thanks for those whose generous tithes and offerings have made your world a place of beauty and peace. Through Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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Immediately above the Lincoln/Simpson Window is this very lovely window showing John Wesley laying hands on Thomas Coke (1747-1814) and making him a bishop in the Methodist Church. John Wesley was an Anglican Priest who had taken the church outside the buildings and ecclesiastical structures of the Church of England, and had developed a large following of eager souls in the Colonies. He needed ordained clergy and bishops in order to provide the sacraments of baptism and eucharist to the new christians, but  after asking repeatedly for the Anglican Church to ordain clergy for the work in the Colonies,  it was evident that this request would not be granted. Thomas Coke was an ordained Anglican Priest but in 1776 he was dismissed from the church because he insisted on preaching to the masses out of doors and taking the church outside the approved structures. In 1777, he joined Wesley and made numerous voyages between England and the Colonies to participate in this new movement. He and Wesley became great partners. In fact, Wesley called him, “The Flea,” because Coke could not stay in any one place very long. He was always jumping from one site to another.

By 1784 the Methodist Movement had grown considerably and it was time for an ecclesiastical structure to hold this movement together. Since the Anglican Church would not provide a bishop, nor ordained clergy for the Wesley movement in the Colonies, John Wesley ordained two men as the first two bishops of what would become The Methodist Church. Thomas Coke was ordained bishop in Bristol, England in September, 1784; and then at the famous Christmas Conference held in December, 1784 in Baltimore, John Wesley ordained Francis Asbury as bishop. The Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful at Garrett-Evangelical has a beautiful window with Wesley laying hands on Asbury. Here in Howes Chapel, we see the devote Wesley praying over the kneeling Thomas Coke. Behind Wesely is the horse, a testimony to the circuit riders who would carry the message of the Gospel; and behind Coke is the ship, which carried Coke on multiple voyages to spread the Gospel across the world. The open bible above, of course, represents the power of the Gospel. The name COKESBURY, which identifies the publishing enterprise and the official book store of the United Methodist Church, was created by using the names of the first two bishops of the Methodist Church

Today, Garrett-Evangelical invites us to pray for all Bishops and clergy in the churches. We pray in the spirit of the words of Thomas Coke:
“Real ministers of the gospel are persons of prayer. Prayer is their grand employment; their safety, their first and perpetual duty; and under grace, the grand source of their consolation. Our instructions will be always barren if they be not watered with our tears and prayers.”   Thomas Coke.

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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Again, today, we view the Lincoln/Simpson Window  in Howes Chapel as a way to reflect in Lent on how we can pray to bring about change in our world.  The window depicts the world of 1863, when the United States was in the midst of the terrible carnage of the Civil War. The Methodist Church was divided then as Methodist Episcopal Church North and Methodist Episcopal Church South. The nation was itself divided between North and South. This window expresses the  divine desire for unity with Jesus’ arms holding two persons close to his breast. President Abraham Lincoln and Bishop Matthew Simpson are both humbly kneeling in prayer praying for peace—Church and State in harmony! Look at Lincoln’s hands; they are open with his palms facing up in a sign of peaceful gesture, and his hands are pointing in the window to the Black man whose chains have been broken.  Yet, when we look closely at the small panel where the Black man is pictured we see little emotion on the face, no hint of joy in the eyes. Perhaps the artist wanted the viewers to know that the joy in the slave communities was not evident everywhere. The Emancipation Proclamation, interestingly enough, provided exemptions for many states to continue holding slaves. So the window holds both the promise of answered prayers and the agonizing reality that the power of evil and divisiveness continues to be present in the world. In  this window, Garrett-Evangelical continues to see the need for the prophetic voice which will sound the alarm and continue to identify the need for moral courage in the face of sin. Our prayer for the world, therefore, today is to continue forming Bold Leaders who will courageously speak truth and justice. Listen to the words of Bishop Matthew Simpson who identified these gifts in President Abraham Lincoln.

“He made all [people] feel a sense of himself — a recognition of individuality — a self-relying power,” Bishop Simpson told the mourners who gathered in President Lincoln’s hometown of Springfield, Illinois. “They saw in him a man who they believed would do what is right, regardless of all consequences. It was this moral feeling that gave him the greatest hold on the people, and made his utterances almost oracular.”… The bishop concluded, “Chieftain, farewell! The nation mourns thee. Mothers shall teach thy name to their lisping children. The youth of our land shall emulate thy virtues. Statesmen shall study thy record and learn lessons of wisdom. Mute though thy lips be, yet they still speak. Hushed is thy voice, but its echoes of liberty are ringing through the world, and the sons of bondage listen with joy. Prisoned thou art in death, and yet thou art marching abroad, and chains and manacles are bursting at thy touch. Thou didst fall not for thyself. The assassin had no hate for thee. Our hearts were aimed at, our national life was sought. We crown thee as our martyr, and humanity enthrones thee as her triumphant son. Hero, martyr, friend, farewell.”
Funeral Address Delivered at the Burial of President Lincoln, Simpson, Rev. Matthew, May 4, 1865,
Methodist Episcopal Church, Springfield, Illinois. http://beck.library.emory.edu/lincoln/sermon.php?id=simpson.001

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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The world of politics, religion, and social justice all come together in this wonderful  window which brings history, tradition and myth into interplay.  The window shows President Abraham Lincoln kneeling in prayer with Matthew Simpson who was elected bishop in the Methodist Church North in 1852, and later elected president of Garrett Biblical Institute in 1859. We can see the slave with the broken chains signifiing the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863. Jesus is pictured above with his arms around two people. I refer to tradition and myth because it is not entirely clear what role Bishop Simpson played in this historic event, even though a window is dedicated to Simpson and Lincoln. According to some sources, Bishop Simpson visited President Abraham Lincoln, and the following conversation took place:

The Great President said, “Then, bishop, you believe that emancipation, though unconstitutional in peace time, could be justified as a war measure?”
“Precisely,” said the Bishop, ‘justified and necessary.”
Said Lincoln, “I will do this thing at the earliest practicable moment, and let us get down on our knees and ask the heavenly Father to guide us as to time and place.”

In commenting on this event, Simpson said, “we prayed around twice.” (Clarence True Wilson, Matthew Simpson: Patriot, Preacher, Prophet. Methodist Book Concern, 1929, p. 70-71.)

So, in the window we see The Bishop and The Great President on their knees praying around twice. Later historians of the Methodist Church doubt that this conversation took place since historic records show that Simpson was travelling extensively on the west coast when this event transpired. What we do know for sure is this:  Bishop Simpson was one of several religious and spiritual advisors to President Abraham Lincoln. When Lincoln was assassinated and his body returned to Illinois for burial, it was Bishop Simpson who preached the funeral sermon in Springfield. We know that Bishop Simpson did pray with President Lincoln, but we have no other evidence that he influenced the decision for the Emancipation Proclamation as quoted in Clarence Wilson. For example, no references to this supposed conversation appear in Lincoln’s memoirs, and other histories of Lincoln know nothing of it. Ted Campbell, president at Garrett-Evangelical 2001-2005, took up this question and has suggested  that perhaps it was John Dempster, Garrett Biblical Institute’s first president who petitioned President Lincoln on the matter of the Emancipation Proclamation. See this article on the Garrett Web page:  http://www.garrett.edu/index.php/about-us/148 What is wonderful about this window is, whether it be Simpson or Dempster, the window is a powerful testimony to the power of prayer which can influence  leaders of the nations. We at Garrett-Evangelical, therefore invite you today to pray for President Barack Obama and for the leaders of other nations to bring about peace and justice.

Almighty  God, you rule all the people of the earth. Inspire the minds of all women and men to whom you have committed the responsibility of government and leadership in the nations of the world. Give to them the vision of truth and justice, that by their counsel all nations and peoples may work together. Give to the people of our country zeal for justice and strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will. Forgive our shortcomings as  nation; purify our hearts to see and love the truth. We pray all these things through Jesus Christ. Amen. (Andy Langford.The United Methodist Book of Worship, page 442.)

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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The other panel in the Narthex Window continues the orange and green motif, but gives us the beautful blues again as well. Kommunion and Kreation, together define  the entry into Howes Chapel  now. The green is beautiful with the springs of wheat that turn golden when ripe and ready for the harvest that will become the bread that is broken and shared as the Body of Christ. The green leaves and the green vines carry rich nutrients to produce the lucious red grapes that will become the wine for the chalice. In addition to being a house of prayer, Howes Chapel has always been a sacramental space. For years, Eucharist  has been celebrated every Wednesday morning in the chapel, and The Order of St Luke meets in this space to magnify the sacraments. Eucharist is a time for confession and atonment and forgiveness. Remember the story of the missing window that once was here?  (see yesterday’s devotion) In the Spring of 2010 a man called the seminary and asked to speak to the chaplain. He explained that he was in a twelve step program with  Alcoholics Anonymous and he was doing his 8^th step, which is : “Make a list of persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.” He acknowledged that when he was in high school and lived in the Evanston area, that he and some friends had taken a window out of a small chapel on the Northwestern campus as a prank. He expressed his desire to make amends for what he had done.  He was sure the window, now some 40 years later, might still be in the attic of the old family home in the Chicago area. He needed to make amends and set things right. Seminary officials have continued to work with this penitent man and as of yet, the window has not been found in the family attic or elsewhere. So, how does one enter into a holy space?  At Howes Chapel, one enters this holy space by acknowledging the penitent prayers of those who continue to try to live into the possibility of making amends for our wrong doing, and living into the promise of forgiveness of sins.

Today Garrett-Evangelical prays for all those who seek to make amends:

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
( Psalm 51:1-12 NRSV, Thomas Nelson)

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor

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When one enters Howes Chapel, one is aware of stepping into another world. The architecture is English Gothic. The floor is gray slate.  The walls are massive and thick and the windows let in but a small amount of light. The chapel tends to be dark, and holy and mysterious. Howes Chapel was built  in 1937 as a house of prayer. Every window depicting pious, prayerful expressions of devotion to God. The Windows are dominated with strong blues and reds and they bring about a sense of peace and calm. But the narthex is different. As one enters this space one is aware of the small, cozy, inviting space, but the window here seems almost out of place. Its bold yellows and oranges and greens are strong and striking. The original window in the narthex was particularly fine. It had pieces of thirteenth century glass from English cathedrals. It was in the West Wall, and the afternoon sun cast gorgeous splashes of red and blue across the hard gray slate in the floor. It was early in the 1970’s when Buildings and Grounds opened Howes Chapel for the morning and discovered that the window was gone. Someone had come in the night, and removed the entire double paneled window.  Gone!  A space that once had been filled with magnificent colored glass was now just an open, vacant space—a reminder that churches and chapels are also places where “thieves break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20)  Those decision makers who chose the replacement window for the narthex did a good thing. The window makes its own statement by being so radically different from the other windows. The Creating hand in this window is harsh! Sharp rays of light pierce the window and sun, moon, planets, vegetation, water and dry land all appear in this expression of a bold and strong, KREATION. Strangely missing from this is any reference to animal or human life. The window which filled the empty space, now invites us into God’s magnificent space. Tomorrow, the story of the narthex window continues.

Garrett-Evangelical prays today for the Missing. Perhaps something or someone is missing from your life. If so, pray this pray often:

Eternal God, we offer up to you today, those who are missing. We offer up sons, daughters, lovers, friends, all those who for whatever reasons have been missing from us through physical or emotional distance. Help them to know the deep love we have for them. Keep them safe from harm’s way and guide them ever closer to you. We know, O God, that if they move closer to you, then they will also move closer to us. We pray today for all those who are missing. Watch over them and keep them in your love.  Amen.

 

By Al Caldwell, Retired Faculty, editor