Eve Tushnet
I suspect many of you have been here:
…Simcha wrote a funny post once about how stupid this song is, particularly this version. But this is one of my favorite Christmas songs, especially this version. It reminds me of The Clown of God…you give the Christ child what you have to give, even if it’s the only thing you have to give. Shane McGowan singing this song breaks my heart, because I recognize that kind of brokenness. There is an exquisite beauty in giving the only gift you can, even if it’s not particularly appropriate or noteworthy. The little drummer boy played his drums for the newborn Christ because he was a drummer boy, and that’s the only offering he knew to make.
Joanne said something to me when the car drama happened and I had a total breakdown, something that I can’t get out of my head. “One thing I am starting to understand: being on the receiving end of gifts that cannot be repaid in any measure is one hell of a lesson in grace.”
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