I will play the harp and praise you.
    My God, I will sing about your faithfulness.
I will play songs on my lyre
    for the Holy One of Israel.
 I will shout for joy,
    singing songs of praise to you for saving me.

Psalm 71:22-23

“I played my drum for him; I played my best for Him.”

The Little Drummer Boy

Inspiration for me, this weekend, was found not so much at worship (even though I was happy to be with the good people of our new congregation Sunday morning), but at an unexpectedly meaningful event in the afternoon, over at Morton Presbyterian Church, a little south and west of Rocky Mount.

What made it inspirational was not any degree of perfection so much as what I call “The Drummer Boy Principle.” And by that I mean bringing the very best that we have, and offering it with our whole hearts.

Our friend (and Rebekah’s distant cousin) pastor Mary Harris Todd invited us to attend a Christmas music concert featuring two harpists, Carol Ludwig and Carole Mask.

Harp players of any kind are rare, even in busy metropolitan areas. But two relatively accomplished harpists, giving a concert in a rural North Carolina church? Now that is an anomaly any way you slice it!

“Any event that leaves us feeling smarter…”

I write about art fairly often in this space, and culture in general (read, for example, my recent post on The Carolina Ballet). I believe that art has the capacity to elevate us as human beings. Then Sunday afternoon it occurred to me that a great definition of bona fide “culture” is this: “Any event that leaves us feeling smarter and more keenly aware of beauty.”

There on folding chairs in the fellowship hall of a small Presbyterian church, a handful of people sat for an hour, listening to two women play the harp not only with their hands but with their hearts, gifting a dose of high art.

A man sat in front of me in rough jeans, a large ring of heavy keys pulling his belt down several inches, completely entranced by the kind of music you would only expect to hear in marbled halls in New York or Boston, limited to those with tuxedos and limousines and expensive season tickets at the Met.

When Rebekah was a child she wanted to learn to play the harp. But – even in the sophisticated city of Atlanta – there was no teacher to be found. Sunday afternoon, in a small church in the middle of nowhere, the place was rich with harps.

Our very best:

This season of Advent, this time of preparation for Christmas, is about giving with enthusiasm, worshiping with our whole hearts, and – always – bringing our best for Jesus.

Not rehashed, half baked, perfunctory, unimaginative, tedious, or boring, presented without imagination – but our enthusiastic heartfelt best.

“I played my best for him… Pa rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum….” – DEREK