This set of windows might easily be entitled the Window of the Resurrection,
for the characters depicted here are intimately associated with the
disciples' experiences of the risen Christ. As has been the case in most
of the windows of the east wall, our artist seems to be inspired by events
recorded in the Gospel according to St. John.
It was Thomas who was absent when our Lord made His first resurrected
appearance to the disciples. His inability to believe their reports of
what had happened may perhaps be understandable, but it created a spiritual
crises in his life which was not resolved until Jesus reappeared in their
midst, this time with Thomas present. Jesus invited Thomas to do that which
he said he must do if he was to believe: to put his fingers into the nail
prints in Jesus' hands and the thrust his hand into the spear prints in
Jesus' side. Thomas responded with his famous affirmation of faith, "My
Lord and My God" (John 20:28). This spirit of surrender and commitment
our artist has captured by including these words in the diagram over
Thomas' head.
One other thing is of interest about Thomas. There is a sense in which
each member of the apostolic band was a builder, for each went out from his
encounter with the resurrected Lord as an evangelist laying the foundations
of the church. But tradition has it that Thomas was a builder in the
literal sense. There is an ancient story that he traveled to India and was
instrumental in founding the church in that land, even to the extent of
helping build the first house of worship with his own hands. Thus our
artist has depicted the tools of the builders' trade, which are the
traditional symbols of the Apostle Thomas - the square, the plumb, an the
building plan.
Mary Magdalene also played a part in the resurrection events. It was she
who, with Simon Peter, came to the tomb early that Sabbath morning, bearing
oil and spices to anoint the body of Jesus (thus the crucible in her hands
and in the diagram above her head). The body is not here, of course, and
Mary sits weeping. When Jesus appears she does not recognize Him, and in
response to his question about the reason for her sorrow, replies in words
which our artist has inscribed in the diagram, "They have taken my Lord
away" (John 20:13). Then Jesus speaks her name and she recognizes him.
The quatrefoil continues the theme of the resurrection by displaying the
Risen Christ outside the tomb, while the solders sleep in the foreground.
The inscription under this window reads: "In memory of William Francis
Bradshaw, and William Francis Bradshaw, Jr.