There is a certain bittersweet quality to these days following Christmas. Most of us have let out a sigh of relief that all the pressure of getting ready for the holiday is now past and we can breathe once again. It's a more relaxed and mellow time, when we may enjoy the company of family and friends, take advantage of the after-Christmas sales if we're so inclined, and take a break from many ordinary routines. And hopefully we are still in touch with the true joy inherent in this special season and in some way have made it our own once again. But the downside to Christmas is that it points to more than it can deliver. It can never bring all that we hope and yearn for-peace on earth, the healing of all relationships, the elimination of poverty and injustice and hatred. Some of our most deeply felt hopes and dreams remain unfulfilled. And soon the decorations will be put away for another year and we'll be back to everyday reality. So, it seems to me this is a good Sunday to hear the story of Jesus' presentation in the temple and the experience of old Simeon and Anna.

Mary and Joseph must have found their trip to the temple pretty mundane and perfunctory compared to the events surrounding Jesus' birth. To have the birth foretold by an angel, and then to have shepherds and magi come to worship the baby, with stories of the divine signs that brought them there-all this was heady stuff. The trip to the temple was only to fulfill prescribed religious rites and law. Three things were required: Jesus' circumcision, which made him officially a member of the Jewish community; a ritual animal sacrifice mandated for all first-borns; and the rite of purification of the mother following childbirth. Pretty mundane stuff compared to visitations of angels and magi. So, why did Mary and Joseph do it? For them it was a matter of trying to keep faith, as best they knew how, with the channels of God's grace to them. They may not have expected much from these rituals; but they were able to see them as part of a process through which God had chosen to work in their Jewish heritage. So, for Mary and Joseph, it was a choice of keeping faith that brought them to the temple that day.

And here the stories of Simeon and Anna intersect with theirs. Simeon and Anna represent much more mature models of keeping faith, though of course they hadn't been given all the divine signs that Mary and Joseph had. But here they'd each spent the better parts of their lives in prayer and devotion, looking for the fulfillment of God's promises to their forbears in faith. If they were in our congregation, doubtless we would recognize them as models of commitment and devotion-spiritual pillars of the church. So, when Jesus is brought into the temple, they are able to recognize that he represents a culmination of their faith journeys. "My eyes have seen your salvation," Simeon declares. Yet, he and Anna likely see Jesus for only a few minutes. And what they see is a helpless baby-not a messiah whose reign is fulfilled. Yet, that glimpse of salvation is sufficient for them. "I can die in peace," Simeon says, "for I see that God's promises are being fulfilled." That glimpse of the Christ was enough, for it assured them that their lifetime of devotion had indeed not been in vain.

I believe this is a word for us, especially at Christmas. More than any other season, Christmas seems to draw together all our personal hopes for meaning and reconciliation and a deep-going joy, as well as our yearning for peace and harmony and well-being in the social order. But as I've already suggested, that's way more than Christmas can deliver, no matter how earnestly or energetically we try to celebrate it. Two thousand years of Christmases have not accomplished that. Yet there is something vital that Christmas can do. It can remind us that One has come among us who assures us that these hopes are not misguided. We, too, can get a glimpse of a baby who gives validity to our longings and yearnings, and helps us know we are on the right track.

But we in our impatience are likely to respond, "We want more payoff than that! If God has some particular destiny in mind for our lives, why can't we see it more clearly? Why are joy and inner peace so elusive? Why can't we get all our important relationships squared away once and for all, instead of having misperceptions and differences always getting in the way?" And I'm sure we can't help but be discouraged by how far away peace and justice seem to be in today's world. The reality and threat of terrorism, a looming war in Iraq, gross economic imbalances in the world family, environmental degradation, the erosion of moral integrity in high places-all this and much more casts a pall over every thinking and caring person. In a world into which Christ's promise of shalom has been born, the reality of that shalom often seems conspicuously lacking.

But friends, a world like ours makes our glimpses of God's salvation all the more important. For even if they're only glimpses, they keep reminding us that God has something better in mind for us and for our world. Living in alienation and brokenness is not our only option. And even when we may have to struggle mightily to sense we're getting anywhere, still I believe knowing that we have promises to live for makes all the difference in how meaningful and worthwhile we find our lives. Like Simeon, we are given an enduring sense of affirmation that somehow makes it all worthwhile, so that we can live and die in peace.

But note also that Simeon and Anna were not given this sustaining glimpse of God's salvation out of the blue. Rather, it came to them in the context of lives of faithfulness and devotion. They had eyes to see the Christ when he appeared only because they had built a lifestyle of tuning in to God and to God's working in the world. And it will likely work that way for us as well.

If you found Christmas somewhat spiritually disappointing this year, this may be especially a word for you now. Our society tries to beguile us with "the magic of the season" as the answer to all our spiritual needs. But friends, that so-called magic is not the same as a deep-going conviction that God is with us and therefore we have something worth living for. That "seasonal magic" is mostly fluff, and it's likely to vanish even faster than our Christmas trees go out. No, if glimpses of that little baby in the manger are going to give us real assurance and hope, it will be because you and I are building enough of a relationship with a loving God to see the baby Jesus for who he is. We can believe in the coming of a Savior only when in our own dealings with God over time we come to believe God is there caring for us and healing us and pointing us to a fuller life. And how do we get to know God that way? By keeping faith with the practices of worship and prayer and meditation and study that point us to God. We need to find the particular channels that work best for us in building our God connection; not every practice will be right for us. But then we need to be intentional in pursuing the channels we have chosen, even and especially when nothing seems to be happening. Getting to know God is a discipline for the long haul, and we reap the fruit of our quest as we persist in keeping faith over time with the best practices we know.

One of Jean and my favorite vacation destinations is the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. To us, the quality and beauty of music that these student musicians produce is amazing, and it never fails to nourish our spirits. But part of the fun of being there for us is watching the students learn in master classes, and getting into conversations with them about their musical development. How have they reached their high level of musical competence, we want to know. We ask it with real humility, knowing our own music making will never come close to theirs. And the answer we most often get is that they practice, practice, practice. Yes, their lessons and master classes are important in helping them learn technique and musical interpretation. But their growth comes as they persistently practice incorporating what they've learned, so that it becomes a part of them. They practice feeling their way into their music until it begins to shape their own spirits and they can begin to articulate for themselves what it is trying to say.

And how do we get to know a saving God? By persistently keeping faith with whatever instruments of prayer or devotion we have chosen-even when our practicing seems mundane and uninspired-until the fruit of faith and conviction begin to grow in us. We do so in the faith that God wants to be known by us. And so, like Simeon and Anna, as we grow eyes of faith, we trust we, too, will catch glimpses of a saving God who goes with us even today. It's true those glimpses may not be all we would wish for, but they will be signs of God's presence to sustain us in our faith and keep us going. And in a surprising way, that will be enough for our needs.

At this season I often recall some words from the writer and pastor Howard Thurman. He wrote that at Christmas "a crown is placed over our heads that for the rest of our lives we are trying to grow tall enough to wear." Growing tall enough to wear the crown is a good description of our spiritual life journey. Did you see your crown this Christmas? It's there! May God give all of us eyes to see it and so find inspiration for the growing we need to do.