The Little Drummer Boy

It has been almost two months since I blogged (funny how that word has forced its way into the English language). One of my friends, who will remain unnamed, but I will give him the name George, wrote to me, "You had a nice Christmas letter, but that didn't make up for the fact that I Reid has been vacant for two months. Slacker."

Nothing like a nice little slice of guilt cake for the holidays, topped with a inch thick icing of sarcasm. Thank you, George.

George is one of my good friends and it pleases me to no end (perhaps even inflating my ego more that it should even though George, if he looks closely, could spell the word 'ego' out of his own name - I digress once again) that people are reading the blog and even more than one person has said they enjoyed it. What a nice little Christmas gift.

Another woman e-mailed me this week and asked about the history of the song "The Little Drummer Boy." Her question was, "I don't ever remember a story in the Bible about a young boy bringing a drum to play for the baby Jesus." Well, here is the rest of the story.

As the shepherds were tending their flocks by night, lo and behold an angel of the Lord appeared behind them, scaring them witless and said - "Go to the city of David and there you will find this day the Savior born, the one who is to be the Messiah." Of course the shepherds were extraordinarily frightened, but then a whole company of angels appeared in the sky playing their trumpets and singing loudly, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those he favors."

The youngest of the Shepherd boys, George, said to himself, "Himself, that brass section needs a drummer!" So George decided it was time to make for himself a drum, but what should he use? He couldn't very well use one of his own flock - the owner might not feel that was a good use of resources and surely he couldn't use tree bark. But then, as the angels were singing, he heard the sound of a ram caught in a thicket behind him. The ram's voice miraculously morphed into human, "I waaaant to be a baaaasssss drum." Thinking that this ram was heaven sent, young George took the ram and sacrificed it, taking the best parts for himself and his fellow sheep herders. George said, "Now that we are full, let us go to the town to see what thing has occurred."

The shepherds ran as fast as they could, over the rivers and through the woods. George stumbled once and fell, but the little drum stayed intact. His friend Richard helped him to his feet and said, "Hurry up, the Christ child doesn't have all day."

And so they ran faster until they reached the place that the angels had told them. A star shone high over head casting down a beam of light on the strangest of places. In the midst of the squalor and noise of a tiny town like Bethlehem, the rays of the moon came to rest on a stone cave, where, at the entrance, a mother and a new born were watching the festivities of the night. George and Richard pushed their way through the human mass, passed the animals in the streets and stood at the feet of mother and child. George looked at Richard and said, "Do you think this is the right baby?"
Richard said, "The baby would be wrapped in swaddling clothes so this is a pretty good bet."

George asked the woman, "Shall I play for you?" The woman smiled, not saying anything even though she secretly did not like percussion instruments. George said, "I call this song, 'Pa Rum Pa Pa Pum.' I'm not very good at lyrics, Miss. When I get some good words, I'll come back and play for you again." So, young George the shepherd, played his song "Pa Rum Pa Pa Pum" for the mother and child. The people of the town began to grow agitated and began shouting for an end to the one note symphony. "Be Quiet!" But George shouted back, "Go to sleep! I'm playing for the Christ child." George continued his monotonous bass beat until the baby Jesus became disturbed by his playing and began to cry. Mary wished that George would not play his drum any more but George and Richard had lulled themselves into a trance. So, the baby Jesus took matters into his own hands and reached out for the drum. George noticed that Jesus wanted the drum and he was very honored. So, handing the drum to Jesus, the savior reached out and touched the drum and it was once again turned into a living ram. All were startled except for Mary who pondered this in her heart.

Thus the little drummer boy lives in legend.

Thus this, of course - and hopefully very cheek full of tongue - is not legend or fact but hopefully a humorous way to introduce the most wonderful time of year - Christmas. The real message behind the littlest of percussionists is that a gift is not truly about volume but about substance. Jesus is faithfully committed to receiving all gifts even if they are not gold, frankincense or myrrh. What is important for me to always remember that the greatest gift that God wants of us is our hearts - for the essence of our love to be placed at the foot of the manger - that our lives are gathering of breaths that expel forth the air that proclaims "Glory to God in the highest!" And, from the knowledge that we are no longer subject to darkness of this world, we realize the light has come and we receive peace. Peace that passes all understanding. We don't need to place a Wii at Jesus feet, nor the newest thing in the catalog - not even a nice polo sweater for the little baby Jesus on a cold winter's night, even if those swaddling clothes are dirty and threadbare. No, just your heart. Just your love.

Return to the manger this Christmas and remember the gift of the Little Drummer Boy - it was not his drum playing, but his heart.