Adults Only. No children allowed. We had three children’s Masses
already, at 3:30, 5:00 and 6:30. And they were wonderful! And they
were crowded, I mean crowded out to the lawn outside. They were fun,
and they were absolutely exhausting! So, when I heard a local
psychologist and author write that “Christmas is for adults only, no
children allowed,” I kind of liked that.

The point that he was making was that Christmas is about serious
stuff. We are called to ponder and to challenge and be challenged,
and called to change. We are called to serious questions, questions
like “Where do we find God?” and “How do we welcome God?” and “What
changes do we have to make in ourselves and in our world if it’s
going to happen?” There is a serious sign right here in the
sanctuary, the tree. In the Middle Ages, there were miracle plays or
morality plays in the town square or in front of the local cathedral.
And it always started with a big tree because they started with the
story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Then, the tree remained
there all through the birth of Jesus up to the end, when it became
the cross.

We have a lot of serious crosses to deal with in our lifetimes, and
in our world. The crosses in the Middle East, the birthplace of
Jesus, torn by violence, as is Iraq, as is Afghanistan, lack of
safety for our young people, lack of justice, lack of peace, the
homeless that we really think of during Christmas time, but they’re
homeless all year long. There is the issue of immigration. One
response seems to be to build a wall. What is it? A seven hundred
mile wall, which will have to have a sign on one side, “Keep Out” and
on the other side, “Help Needed.” And there are personal crosses. In
the week ahead (Today’s only Sunday.) we have four funerals scheduled
already. Last week we had three. One was an eighty-six year old
member of our parish, a lovely lady, full of life, although the last
few years, she dealt with confusion and dementia. Another was a woman
in her young thirties, single, killed suddenly in an automobile
accident. Another was Richard Carlson, the author of “Don’t Sweat the
Small Stuff. It’s All Small Stuff.” He died suddenly a week ago at
45, leaving his wife and two teenage daughters. You know, in his book
“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” there are a hundred brief chapters.
And the last chapter is “Live this day as if it were your last. It
may be.” .... Isn’t that something about someone who dies so suddenly
and unexpectedly? Earlier he had written about the death of a friend
that had troubled him so much, and his conclusion was “The universe
knows what it is doing.”

Well, Christmas is a time where we say “Not only does the universe
know what it is doing, but it is something very personal. Our God
knows what is happening. Our God cares very much and our God is
always near.” It leaves us with the agenda that God has and the
agenda we have to have. You’ve read it by Howard Thurman on Christmas
cards before. “When the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and
princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the
work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to
feed the hungry, to release the prisoners, to teach the nations, and
to bring Christ to all, and to make music in the heart.” That’s
serious stuff.

That’s adult stuff. But I love the last line, “to make music in the
heart.” To make music in the heart.... One of the great Catholic
theologians in this past decades or past fifty years is Gustavo
Guiterrez. And he says that the task of Christian people, people who
believe in Christmas is to bring justice and peace to the world, but
not through anger and not through guilt. And he proposes three things
we must have. One is a prayer life that is both private and also
communal. The second is doing practical things for justice. And the
third thing is to have a cheerful, grateful heart. And he recommends
the recipe for it. He says, “You’ve got to have good friendships,
creativity, leisure and good wine.” How about that? How about that?

What we are really told by Christmas is “You know, don’t forget to
learn from the children. Don’t forget to lighten up. Don’t forget to
laugh.” There is a great poem written by a French priest about forty
years ago, and it’s called “I Like Youngsters.”

God says, “I like youngsters.
I want people to be like them.
I don’t like old people.
Unless they are still children.
I want only children in my kingdom.
This has been decreed from the beginning of time.
Youngsters, twisted, humped, wrinkled, white-bearded”
(....It doesn’t say “bald.”)
“All kinds of youngsters, but youngsters.
There is no changing it .It has been decided.
There’s room for no one else.
I like little children because they are still growing.
They are still improving. They are on the road. They are on their way.
But with grown-ups there is nothing to expect anymore.
They will no longer grow, no longer improve.
It is disasterous, grown-ups thinking they have arrived.
Alleluia. Alleluia. Open, all of you little old men and women.
It is I, your God, the eternal, risen from the dead,
Coming to bring back to life the child in you.
Hurry! Now is the time. I am ready to give you again
The beautiful face of a child, the beautiful eyes of a child,
For I love youngsters and I want everybody to be like them.”

I think we have to be a people about serious work, but a people who
lighten up and a people who laugh. That’s one of the things that I
like about Christmas. I like the jokes that go with Christmas. I got
a Christmas card a couple of years ago. It shows Joseph and Mary
opening the packages, frankincense, myrrh, gold. And Mary says, “Keep
looking, Joseph. There’s bound to be a gift certificate in here
somewhere.” I even like the lousy jokes about Christmas. Remember the
question is “Why does Santa Claus always have three gardens?” .... So
he can go “Ho Ho Ho!”

There’s another one I heard a couple of years ago. (You’ll get it.
Just hang in there.) This other one I heard and I shared it a couple
of years ago. Mrs. Santa Claus asked Santa Claus, “What’s the weather
forecast.” And he says, “Rain, Dear.” Well, I’ve got an improvement
on that and I don’t know if I can tell it and I don’t know if you can
get it. There’s a couple walking in the city of Moscow, and it begins
to rain or snow. They are not sure which. He says, “It’s raining.”
And she says, “No, no. It’s snowing.” It’s raining. It’s snowing.
They argue with each other and he says, “Wait a minute. We’ll ask
someone.” And they see one of the Communist Party comrades coming
down toward them. And they walk up to him and say, “Comrade Rudolph,
is it raining or is it snowing?” And he says, “It’s raining.” The man
walks back and says to his wife, “It’s settled. It’s raining.” And
she says, “How does he know?” .... Rudolph the Red, knows
reindeer! ....You have to be brave to tell that one, really.

You know, Jesus was serious but he was never criticized or accused of
being grumpy. In fact, what he was accused of was going to too many
parties. That’s the truth. Jesus tells us that our God gives us the
values and the direction and dreams we need for our world. Jesus
tells us that our God walks with us. Jesus tells us that our God
calls us to joy. That’s good news. So, lighten up. Laugh. Merry
Christmas!