Today is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany.  Epiphany means "manifestation," and in Christian terms it means the divine manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah.  The first Sunday in the season of Epiphany traditionally recounts the story of the Magi who followed a guiding star until they found the baby Jesus and worshiped him as the King of the Jews.  The last Sunday in Epiphany traditionally recounts the story of Christ’s transfiguration—his divine manifestation to certain disciples--and therefore this day is referred to as Transfiguration Sunday in many churches.

The story of Christ’s transfiguration is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and the three accounts are fairly similar with some subtle differences.  Our text is from the Gospel of Luke.  The title of our message is "Glimpses of Glory," which is another way to speak of an epiphany.  Three disciples are granted a glimpse of Christ’s divinity in a rather dramatic moment that we will explore in just a moment.  But first I would like to point out that Christ’s divinity was not always so obvious to the disciples who followed him.

Indeed, I would like to have been a fly on the wall when the disciples were hanging out and Jesus was not within earshot.  Without making too much of a connection with Jesus, I would like to be a fly on the wall when our church staff is hanging out and I am not within earshot.  I wonder what they say about me.  Maybe they have an unflattering nickname for me.  Maybe they roll their eyes and nod knowingly to themselves whenever I do whatever I do that annoys them.

Jesus had habits that annoyed his disciples.  He had the habit of wandering off to be by himself.  In Mark’s Gospel we read: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" (Mark 1:35-37).  One time Jesus told his disciples to row him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  Some of his disciples were seasoned fishermen upon that body of water.  They knew when a storm was brewing.  They probably tried to tell him about it but noooooo, he wanted to go anyway.  When the storm caught up with their little row boat in the middle of sea, I’ll bet there was a little eye rolling then.

What I am trying to say is that Jesus was regarded as a regular guy most of the time.  Sure he did some amazing things, but people can get used to a steady diet of amazing things.  I can almost see Jesus working over another blind man while his disciples are sitting in some shade during the heat of the day.  The blind man shouts, "I can see!" and one of the disciples says to the others, "What are we having for supper tonight?  I hope it’s not mutton again."

In the verses just before Matthew’s account of the transfiguration Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is.  Peter says that Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus says Peter is blessed for his good answer and then goes on to tell the disciples about God’s plan for his Son to be a sacrificial lamb.  Peter rebukes Jesus, effectively saying: "Hush your mouth.  Don’t even think such a thing."  Jesus responds by calling Peter Satan.  So Peter goes from being blessed to being Satan almost in the same breath (Matthew 16:15-23).

Sometimes Jesus is the Son of God to his disciples and sometimes, to them, Jesus doesn’t know what he is talking about.  Our own opinions about Jesus and the Church that bears his name probably fluctuate the same way.  Sometimes the faith seems so real and right and true, and other times we have our doubts.  Jesus knows this about human nature and every now and then treats us to "Glimpses of Glory"—his glory as God incarnate—to remind us once again why he deserves to be the Lord of our lives.

This is the kind of epiphany Jesus offers a few of his disciples in our text.  About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.  Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.  They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.  Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him (Verses 28-32).

They saw his glory.  The disciples gained a glimpse of Jesus’ glory.  They saw his face become as bright as the sun, and his clothes become as bright as a flash of lightning.  What is more, they saw Moses and Elijah (representing the Law and the Prophets) talking with him.  This is not the kind of thing you see every day, and the disciples were absolutely flabbergasted, Peter in particular. … Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here.  Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."  And then the text adds in parenthesis (He did not know what he was saying.) (Verse 33).  Here is long-gone Moses with dearly departed Elijah appearing out of nowhere with a transfigured Christ and Peter blurts out something about the accommodations.

So God interrupts him.  While he was speaking a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.  A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him" (Verses 34-35).  Well now this is turning out to be quite an epiphany, and I believe it made a lasting impression upon the disciples.  They still went on to have their share of doubts and failings, but in the end faith prevailed and they became the spiritual heroes of the early church and the exemplars of our faith.

And so it is for us today.  We have our share of doubts and failings, but we are also given "Glimpses of Glory" to sustain us through those challenging times.  I believe we are living in a challenging time right now for the Church. I  base this belief on several observations that I would like to share with you.  These observations are supported by facts that I would also like to share with you.  How the observations may be linked and what they mean are subject to debate.  But I have given much thought to them and would like to share that thinking with you as well.

First observation: our new member classes have been smaller than normal for the past year or so.  Normal for me is based upon the preceding 12 years when going through a certain process almost automatically resulted in a certain number of new members.  The data we keep will support the conclusion that the average size of new member classes has declined during the past year, or year and a half.  As a senior pastor I have to ask why, and I always begin with myself.  Is there something I am not doing that I have done before?  Am I not doing it as competently as before?  Is my motivation lagging?

After struggling with those questions and arriving at the conclusion that I have not changed in what I do, I move on to the church.  Is there something the church has not done that it has done before?  We did not have much of a youth program for awhile, and therefore were not drawing families with youth.  That may have compounded a problem, but it did not account for it entirely in my view.  Why not?  Because of some other documented observations I have made, observations that involve the larger culture in which we live. In other words something is happening and it is not just happening here.

In the January 29 issue of the Christian Century, a publication you will find in the libraries of most Christian Churches, there is an article about the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago.  Willow Creek is a megachurch of 17,000 weekend worshipers.  More than that, it has spawned 12,000 churches nationwide that belong to the Willow Creek Association of Churches.  In short, Willow Creek Community Church is the megachurch by which all other megachurches are measured.

In the article, the senior pastor, Bill Hybels, "…said it was ‘almost unbearable’ to learn that almost a quarter of his congregation’s people were either ‘stalled’ in their spiritual growth or dissatisfied with the church, with many considering leaving."  Almost a quarter.  I took this article to the last gathering of the Aurora Clergy Association and those present, representing clergy from Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic and independent churches unanimously agreed that the findings were consistent with their experiences within their own congregations.  I also mentioned it to our staff which believes that respect for the Sunday morning worship hour is waning as our youth increasingly have to choose between church and other activities.  Again, something is happening and it is not just happening here.  It is happening in our larger culture.

During the past year or so at least three books on Atheism have made in onto the New York Times Bestseller List.  This is a list based upon retail sales reports, that is, books actually purchased by individual buyers.  One of them was on the list for 32 weeks in a row.  Another made it to the number one slot.  In other words somebody is buying and reading these books, although you might not have noticed.  One fellow in our congregation dropped a copy of one of these books off for me to read.  For the sake of discretion he had turned the paper cover inside out to conceal the title.  At first I thought it might be from an adult bookstore.

There have always been books about atheism on the market.  That is nothing new.  But you have to ask why arguments against religion are gaining such traction with the reading public right now?  Here I am leaving the arena of documented facts and entering the arena of personal opinion.  I think the answer may be multifaceted.  Following the events of 9-11-01 there was a short-lived boost in church attendance while our culture was in shock and seeking an answer to the questions "why?" and "what does this mean?" and "where do we go from here?"

But I also believe that a certain population of people belonging to no religion at all was provoked by this religiously-fueled attack and the seething hatred it represented.  To these people religion was no longer amusing or harmless.  It was part of a big problem for civilization and not part of the solution.  These provoked people who were usually content to remain quiet and on the margins of society all of a sudden became vocal through their most articulate constituents.  And people listened to their case because there was a nagging doubt about religion in general and its consequences.

As I said, the answer is multi-faceted.  The recent alignment of the Religious Right with the Republican Party (coinciding with certain financial excesses and sex and drug scandals within both camps), and a similar alignment of certain ethnic churches with the Democratic Party just doesn’t smell right to most people.  The suspicion is that religion is bent to support our own causes and concerns rather than bending us to God’s will and ways.  The suspicion is that maybe this is all it is and ever has been.

From the Christian perspective we could put it this way: sometimes Jesus makes all the sense in the world.  Other times we have our doubts.  Throughout our culture’s history there have been several Great Awakenings.  This period of our history has not been one of them.  We could use some "Glimpses of Glory" right now.  Hopefully we will get them and the great religious pendulum will begin swinging the other way.  It is either that or we are not talking about a swinging pendulum but a great slippery slope that will lead to a largely secular culture.

Indeed, this happened in Britain which is functionally unchurched today.  However the Anglican Church, a.k.a. The Church of England, is bigger than ever with a world membership that far exceeds the population of England, indeed, that of the entire United Kingdom.  So it goes for the larger Church of Jesus Christ.  People and even cultures may opt in and out, but the faith prospers and grows.  The question is: will we, as a culture, prosper and grow with it?