Genesis 17.1-7, 15-16; Mark 9.2-9

Pipes … thousands of pipes run beneath our feet … beneath our cities and towns, across the deserts and through the mountains … underground, unseen, beneath our feet.

On the wall in front of me, a giant map - red lines, blue lines, orange lines … converging on Tulsa, OK - a map of the underground pipes and pumps moving tons of product across the nation - from gas and oil wells to the refineries, to the tank farms, to the tank trucks and the local gas station … and to the ships in Houston, taking gas and oil across the seas.

Underground, invisible, unknown … day in and day out, year after year …  underground pipelines … 

And the glory of God, underpinning our lives … 

The glory of God: large enough to hold the universe, 

small enough for Mary’s Womb, 

small enough to snuggle in her arms, 

wrapped in swaddling clothes … 

small enough to find a room in our heart. 

The glory of God:

All around us:

the birds of morning, the crickets at night … 

our laughter, our tears … 

the noise of the day, the quiet of the night … 

when hell appears, when heaven dawns …

When I’m listening to one of my favorite authors, Jacqueline Winspear and her Maisie Dobbs detective stories … she’s a gifted writer, and ever so often, a moment: Oh my Gosh, a splash of insight, a shooting star, a get-my-attention split-second - the glory of God.

It happens all the time … in a million different ways … God shows up, but always in a way suitable to us, mostly quiet and gentle … Isaiah the Prophet says it so beautifully:

God … will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed [God] will not break, and a dimly burning wick [God] will not quench.

Frederick Buechner, Presbyterian minister and novelist, says this about angels: 

An angel spreads its glittering wings over us, and we say things like  "It was one of those days that made you feel good just to be alive,"  or  "I had a hunch everything was going to turn out all right,"  or  "I don't know where I ever found the courage." 

The glory of God … in special places … thin places … where we can more easily encounter the sacred … 

The Church, and it’s Bible … a text, a book, a page and its words.

hymns and prayers, sermons and liturgy.

Baptism and the LORD’s Supper.

stained glass windows, well-worn pews … the sounds of a great organ.

the Holy Spirit blowing where it will!

Who knows where and when the glory of God reveals itself to us … but it will come our way … God is a God of great love … not to overpower us, but to walk beside us … 

The glory of God … beneath us, around us, deep within us … at work - 24/7 365 … 

Someone might ask, How can you talk about the glory of God when all hell is breaking lose, humankind has lost its way …suffering and sorrow at every turn - greed and malice everywhere?

Yes, caution is needed!

Life is no fairy tale …

And neither is the gospel … 

Jesus rightly says to us: take up your cross … faith demands a great deal of us, love requires everything … this is our calling … this is the Word of God that comes to each one of us, here and now, in this place, this moment of time … 

The story of Abram and Sarai begins where there is no hope … they’re old … too old to have a family.

That train left the station long ago, that door is closed …

But it’s never too late to be great …   

This is truth-story, not a true story.

Any more than Moby Dick or Lord of the Rings are true… 

These are truth stories, and it’s terribly important that we know the difference, lest we miss the point. 

We don’t argue about Bilbo Baggins, or the white whale, or whether or not God could reverse the aging process and give this old couple a child. 

This is not about weird miracles; some kind of a crazy “facts of life” for an old couple … but the facts of faith all of us.

It’s never too late to be great!

If one train has left the station, another one is coming … if one door is closed, there will be another door to open!

Centuries later … Jesus goes up to a high place with Peter, James, and John … Jesus is transfigured … his clothing shines … Elijah and Moses are there …  the disciples see the glory of God.

A cloud comes upon them … a voice is heard: This is my son, the beloved … listen to him.

Peter stammers and stutters … Let’s gather some branches, make a few huts, enjoy the mountain … 

In a moment, it’s all gone … the light, the glory, Moses and Elijah … what’s left is Jesus; the glory of God in tunic and sandals … down the mountain they go, to meet the world … 

At the foot of the mountain, sin and sorrow, sickness and poverty, want and hurt, craziness and meanness … it was a mountain-top experience, but life goes on at the foot of the mountain. 

The glory of God … the call to be great … the light of hope … Elijah and Moses … Jesus our LORD.

Our souls need a North Star … a point of reference to guide our footsteps … we need the glory!

If we don’t move toward the light, chances are, we’ll move in the opposite direction. 

God says to Abram and Sarai: I am God Almighty … and I make my covenant between me and you. 

On the Mt. of Transfiguration: this is my beloved son, listen to him!

Can you see the glory?

The glory of God - that all should live, and live in peace … that every child should be fed … the naked clothed, the lost be found, the gospel proclaimed … can you see the glory?

Consider the blue ceiling above the chancel … the color of the heavens … heaven and earth are not so far apart, after all … can you see the glory?

Above you … hundreds of crosses, no longer carried by the saints - their work is finished - the crosses they carried have been laid aside and exchanged for a crown … can you see the glory?

Mine eyes have the glory of the coming of the LORD …

I have seen him in the watchfires 

of a hundred circling camps,

He has sounded forth the trumpet 

that shall never call retreat;

In the beauty of the lilies 

Christ was born across the sea,

He is coming like the glory 

of the morning on the wave, 

he is wisdom to the mighty, 

he is honor to the brave;

Can you see the glory?

Hallelujah and Amen!