Art: Apse Window of Dominus Flevit Chapel, Antonio Barluzzi, architect,
photograph by Amy Lenow
Written by Larry Lenow, Retired Elder, Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church

A picture containing building, window
Art: Apse Window of Dominus Flevit Chapel, Antonio Barluzzi, architect,
photograph by Amy Lenow — Art: Apse Window of Dominus Flevit Chapel, Antonio Barluzzi, architect, photograph by Amy Lenow

“As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.  He answered, “I tell you, if this were silent, the stones would shout out.”
As he came near and saw the city he wept over it, saying “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
Luke 19:37-42

Jesus weeps for Jerusalem, for her imminent destruction and the resulting diaspora. Yes, Jesus wept for Jerusalem, but make no mistake, Jesus weeps for all of us.  The Dominus Flevit (the Lord Wept) Chapel is a Franciscan church located on the Mount of Olives.  It was designed by architect Antonio Barluzzi in 1955.  I do not know the name of the metalsmith who crafted the beautiful Apse Window.  But the artistry is self-evident.  The window draws us to see the holy city of Jerusalem through the scrollwork fashioned as the crown of thorns.  Central to the window is the chalice and host, the broken body and shed blood.  Thus we are invited to see Jerusalem through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice.

In our view of the city we see the golden Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine.  But look carefully and you will also see the tin dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian sacred space.  Not visible but equally present nonetheless is the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism.  Collectively it is a snapshot of human faith, our highest hopes and ideals.  It is a Holy City, a place of prayer.  Yet it is also the most fought over real estate on planet Earth.  How much hurt and hate has arisen, how much blood has been shed over it throughout the centuries?  We see the walled Old City of East Jerusalem but also the high-rises of the West.  An ancient city yet the ancient quarrels remain real and current even in recent days.

To see the city through the crown of thorns and chalice and host reminds us that Jesus died for this.  It is precisely for our need – not sectarian nor merely historic – but for our inherent and universal human need for which Christ was crucified.  This window proclaims that he wept for all.  He died for us all. What would it mean for us to truly see our world through the lens of the crown of thorns, through the broken body and shed blood of our Lord?  Might we see others and even events in a different light?  How might it change us? How might it change our world?  It’s worth pondering, and perhaps confessing.  It’s only an image, beautifully crafted ironwork framing a window.  But Jesus wept.  Jesus still does.  Will we?