what were they doing today?
cleaning toilets
trying to forget
their dreams
draining away?
maybe Peter wished
he was home
eating Passover
leftovers
trying to find
a way
out of his
wilderness?
did Joanna
have her Saturday list:
groceries to buy,
errands to run,
a soccer game,
a full honey-do jar?
were Herod and Pilate
nursing hang-overs
out too late last night
hitting every pub
on the Street of Tears
until they got
thrown out at the
Last Station?
were children
being shushed by
fear-ridden parents,
told
to stop playing
'soldiers and messiahs'?
did the angels
tip-toe
around heaven
afraid
to speak too
loudly
wondering
what with the Word
God was doing
behind that stone?
what were they doing today . . .
before God
yanked the legs
out
from under
death?
(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Good Friday
will there be enough
nails?
i've brought one . . .
i found it in the street
after some neighbors
took off a door
to carry a paralyzed
friend
down the street
to some faith
healer;
a group of Galileans
came to the big city
for Passover
so
i had to put some
tables together last night
for their dinner party.
here's a
left-over nail;
years ago
i bought a cradle
at a yard sale in Nazareth.
just the other day
it finally fell apart;
i was going
to throw the pieces
into the garbage
but you can
have one of the nails
. . . if you need it.
on Good Friday
we never run
out of
nails.
(c) 2001 Thom M. Shuman
nails?
i've brought one . . .
i found it in the street
after some neighbors
took off a door
to carry a paralyzed
friend
down the street
to some faith
healer;
a group of Galileans
came to the big city
for Passover
so
i had to put some
tables together last night
for their dinner party.
here's a
left-over nail;
years ago
i bought a cradle
at a yard sale in Nazareth.
just the other day
it finally fell apart;
i was going
to throw the pieces
into the garbage
but you can
have one of the nails
. . . if you need it.
on Good Friday
we never run
out of
nails.
(c) 2001 Thom M. Shuman
Thursday, April 13, 2006
An Ordinary Table
an ordinary table:
shoved up
against the wall
of the upstairs guest room,
thick with the dust
of being forgotten;
an ordinary table:
stained with the tears
of the mother
watching her children
go off to school
for the first time;
an ordinary table:
polished with the elbows
of family members
leaning forward
to hear the stories
Grandpa has told
a million times;
an ordinary table:
scarred with the initials
of children
bored with their homework;
an ordinary table:
rushed into service
so that
an ordinary group of pilgrims
from Galilee
might eat together;
an ordinary table . . .
(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman
shoved up
against the wall
of the upstairs guest room,
thick with the dust
of being forgotten;
an ordinary table:
stained with the tears
of the mother
watching her children
go off to school
for the first time;
an ordinary table:
polished with the elbows
of family members
leaning forward
to hear the stories
Grandpa has told
a million times;
an ordinary table:
scarred with the initials
of children
bored with their homework;
an ordinary table:
rushed into service
so that
an ordinary group of pilgrims
from Galilee
might eat together;
an ordinary table . . .
(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman
Friday, April 07, 2006
The Gospel of Judas
The media is all agog about the publication of the "Gospel of Judas," wondering what this will mean for Christianity, our beliefs,the world, yada, yada, yada. According to reports on the radio and TV today, Judas is portrayed as the 'hero' of the story, the only one to recognize Jesus for who he really is, and willing to sacrifice himself so that this revelation could be made to the entire world.
Judas intrigues a lot of us. Was he really just a mercenary of money, stealing from the group's common purse, and willing to sell his teacher for a few bucks? Was he as callous towards the poor, the oppressed, the outcast, as some of the gospels portray him? Was he the willing,or unwitting, pawn of the religious and political authorities of his day (or even the Evil One) to bring about the death of Jesus?
I'm not sure; I can't figure him out. Yet, I know that in John's gospel, he is included in the Last Supper, and that says something to me about Jesus' inclusion of Judas right up to the last moments of his life. In fact, when Jesus dips the 'morsel' and hands it to Judas, it is a traditional way of honoring the person. And an interesting way to treat the person who is about to betray you!
Of course, I can't figure Judas out, because I can't figure out my own relationship with Jesus.
After all, if Jesus is in the poor of the world, and I refuse to see them as sisters and brothers in Christ, what makes me different from Judas?
And if I think we should spend money on our own 'kind', whether they are in my church, my community, my country before helping any one else out, is my attitude that different from Judas?
And if Jesus hungers with the children on the garbage dumps of Rio de Janiero, and I am unwilling to share from the abundance I have; if Jesus is with those who have to drink polluted water while the good water is diverted to the resorts in their countries, and I don't say something about it; if Jesus is with the people dying in Darfur, and I am not beating down the doors of my government to get them to stop this genocide - if I am not willing to do any thing and everything I can for the lost, the last, the little, the least in our world, then aren't I betraying the very One who I say I want to live in my heart?
The disturbing news of the Passion story is how much I resemble Judas.
The good news is that, like Judas, Jesus will honor me by feeding me at his Table on Maundy Thursday, and then, as he did for Judas, he will go out and die for me so that, like Judas, I might be saved.
(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman
Judas intrigues a lot of us. Was he really just a mercenary of money, stealing from the group's common purse, and willing to sell his teacher for a few bucks? Was he as callous towards the poor, the oppressed, the outcast, as some of the gospels portray him? Was he the willing,or unwitting, pawn of the religious and political authorities of his day (or even the Evil One) to bring about the death of Jesus?
I'm not sure; I can't figure him out. Yet, I know that in John's gospel, he is included in the Last Supper, and that says something to me about Jesus' inclusion of Judas right up to the last moments of his life. In fact, when Jesus dips the 'morsel' and hands it to Judas, it is a traditional way of honoring the person. And an interesting way to treat the person who is about to betray you!
Of course, I can't figure Judas out, because I can't figure out my own relationship with Jesus.
After all, if Jesus is in the poor of the world, and I refuse to see them as sisters and brothers in Christ, what makes me different from Judas?
And if I think we should spend money on our own 'kind', whether they are in my church, my community, my country before helping any one else out, is my attitude that different from Judas?
And if Jesus hungers with the children on the garbage dumps of Rio de Janiero, and I am unwilling to share from the abundance I have; if Jesus is with those who have to drink polluted water while the good water is diverted to the resorts in their countries, and I don't say something about it; if Jesus is with the people dying in Darfur, and I am not beating down the doors of my government to get them to stop this genocide - if I am not willing to do any thing and everything I can for the lost, the last, the little, the least in our world, then aren't I betraying the very One who I say I want to live in my heart?
The disturbing news of the Passion story is how much I resemble Judas.
The good news is that, like Judas, Jesus will honor me by feeding me at his Table on Maundy Thursday, and then, as he did for Judas, he will go out and die for me so that, like Judas, I might be saved.
(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman
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