Just minutes ago Greta (our nine year-old daughter) came into my office to ask what I was working on.  I told her I was writing something for The Clerestory. 

“Clerestory?!” she exclaimed as an expression of puzzlement covered her face, “What’s a clerestory? Why clerestory?”

I was about to explain the meaning to her when her face changed and brightened and she interrupted, “Oh—I know!  It’s a clerestory!  You know, a clear story!”

She was triumphant that she had solved the mystery and continued, “It’s that Jesus is the truth and so He’s clear, and the newsletter is like a story about Him.”  Before I could congratulate her on a very reasonable interpretation of the word, she was moving out the door.  Actually, she had done a great job of pointing at the symbolic meaning of our title.  But to understand a word’s symbolic use, it is wise to have a grasp on the literal definition.

A clerestory (as the reader will see in the sidebar to the left) is that part of a cathedral that allows natural light  to penetrate into the nave—the primary area in a church used by the congregation for worship.    

The cathedral is a marvel of architectural ingenuity and engineering.  When one considers that cathedrals were constructed almost entirely of stone before the age of hydraulic lifts and cranes and that in some cases—as with the famous cathedral at Chartes in France—the interior of the church measures 118 feet from the floor to the vaulted ceiling, it is, when rightly appraised, truly a cause for amazement. 

As John Ruskin (a prominent art critic in the 1800’s) noted, Gothic architecture “has a higher nobility when considered as an index , not of climate, but of religious principle.”  He is saying that the designers of cathedrals built them not to protect worshippers from the weather, nor to glorify their own abilities, but to make a statement about God.  When viewed this way, cathedrals are fitting places to worship.In their design, they demanded genius, and in their production they required years of superhuman labor. And it was the intent that such genius and such labor should work in concert as an offering of praise to the Maker of all. 1

Within this context, the clerestory served a vital function.  It was (in the earlier structures) the source of light in the church.  And the light it supplied was dramatic indeed! One can imagine entering the tall doors of a cathedral, proceeding through the vast center of the nave and meeting, at intervals, illuminated squares on the stone floor where the light from the clerestory created an oasis of almost blinding brightness.  In what would otherwise be a dark sanctuary, this light, proceeding from above, served both a crucial practical as well as symbolic function. 

That said, we return to the observation made by Greta and the reason for the name of our church’s publication.  The clerestory symbolizes the purpose and mission of this journal.  As  the clerestory in a cathedral provides light to those who seek God, so the aim of this journal is to provide a window for the Word of God.  When we seek God and worship Him, we do so by the light of His Word. The Word proceeds from above, from “the Father of lights” and it is “a lamp to our feet.”  Through what God has said, we know that “He is light, and in Him no darkness dwells,” and through the Word of God, we know that in Him “was life and that life was the light of men.”   2   As Augustine is said to have stated, “God is to the soul what the sun is to the eye.” 3   Not only does God give us light about Himself through His Word, but His light illumines all else.  As the brilliant stream of light descending from a cathedral’s clerestory reveals not only the smallest imperfections on the stones of the floor but also the otherwise invisible motes in the air, we see things as they truly are only when we see them in the piercing light of Scripture. 

It is our belief that all true human understanding finds its ultimate foundation on the Word of God and, behind that, on God Himself.  It is the mission of this publication to exalt God through the clear teaching of His Word, and through the application of that Word to all areas of life. 

Therefore, The Clerestory will feature expositions and commentaries on sections of the Scriptures, as well as articles examining a wide range of topics, including matters relevant to practical Christian living like prayer, education and evangelism.  Our contributors will also seek to treat biblically such topics as history, philosophy, government, and all things cultural.  And we may even review books and music from time to time.  As long as we keep Christ in the exalted central position that He does in fact occupy in history, thought and existence, we will, as Greta surmised, have a clear story in The Clerestory. May God grant it.    —MWT

1. By praising the genius and labor of the medievals we do not imply an ignorance of two things that marked the church at the high point of cathedral-building in the 11th and 12th centuries, that is: a) that the Catholic Church, while erecting monuments of great architectural beauty, was constantly buttressing (and making additions to) a theological structure that was rife with doctrinal error; and b) that the leaders of the church at that time were quite often corrupt and concerned about little more than money and power.  All this to say that in admiring some of the artifacts of the period, and some of the theological motivations that inspired them, we do not endorse the whole of what the Church was teaching and believing and doing at the time. 

 2. James 1:17; Psalm 119:105; 1 John 1:5; John 1:4.

 3. Nash, Ronald. Life’s Ultimate Questions. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000

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