never

“Even these may forget you,

   yet I will not forget you.”  Isaiah 49:15b

though friends ignore

our calls, you

always answer;

though emails are never

returned, you always

tell us we are loved;

though others forget our faces,

you carry our pictures

in your purse.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

evicted

“and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

of course,

if i ignore the lonely neighbor,

mock the most vulnerable,

walk past the homeless,

idolize the cruelmongers,

cash that check marked ‘privilege,’

i shouldn’t be surprised

people think i evicted

Jesus from the premises.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

lonely

while for you

alone

i wait, O Lord, in

the neighbor who says hello

(no matter that i ignore him),

the kids who share

the lunch table at school

(even when i talk about

them behind their backs),

the boss who mentors me

(despite my knowing more

about everything than she),

remind me i do not have to be

lonely

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

still

“He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid?  Have you still no faith?’”  Mark 4:40

(after all these years)

we are still afraid,

and so, keep trying to

build better boats,

gain control of creation,

rely more on others, as

we simply let faith

sink to the bottom

of Chickenhearted Sea.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

love songs

“I will sing and make melody to the LORD.”  Psalm 27:6c

so busy

filling your ears with

my choruses of carping,

my grocery list of greed,

my anger-laced worries,

i have completely

forgotten to sing

love songs to you.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

easier

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children,” Ephesians 5:1

we find it easier

to do celebrations

in the end zone,

   then pick up the

   trash after a game;

to dress just like

our fashion icon,

   then sort clothes

   for giving to the homeless;

to parrot the bitterness

of our favorite politician,

   then to whisper

   grace to the forgotten;

to be anyone else,

but your child.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

words

“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.”  Ephesians 4:29

how easily we

use you, Lord,

to justify

   words dripping with bitterness,

   bile-filled anger,

   judgments of others,

since this is obviously

what folk need most

these days, as

you put your head

in your grace-filled hands

and weep.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

letting go

“Do not remember the former

         things,

   or consider the things of old.”  Isaiah 43:18

we spend so much

time wandering

   the maze of our past

and replaying

   the words covered in dust,

   the hurts scabbed with grudges,

   the people who cling

      so stubbornly

      to our souls, we

cannot turn and see

the gate marked ‘future’

standing wide open,

just for us.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

you

“I am God, and also henceforth I

         am He;

   there is no one who can

         deliver from my hand;

   I work and who can hinder it?”  Isaiah 43:13

those walls we think

will keep out hope

   will crumble;

those words of hate

we use to bully others

   will turn to dust;

those fears we wrap

tight around us

   will unravel;

those people we follow

because they play

to the worst in us

   will trip and fall;

for we are we,

while you are you.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

movers

“We shall be satisfied with the

         goodness of your house,

   your holy temple.”  Psalm 65:4b

the hymns drag,

   the praise band is so loud;

the preacher is high church,

   the youth minister can’t control the kids;

the time of the service is wrong,

   the sermons last forever . . .

we keep so busy

moving the furniture around

we never notice

how we scratch up

that goodness which

is the flooring of

your house.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

answers

“When the poor and needy seek

         water,

   and there is none,

   and their tongue is parched

         with thirst,

I the LORD, will answer them.

   I the God of Israel will not

         forsake them.”  Isaiah 41:17

may your answer be

the water bill

we pay for a neighbor;

the lead we remove

from drinking fountains

in our schools;

the wells we dig

in barren lands;

the glass of water

we hold to the lips

of a friend in hospice care.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

early morning

“In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:35

how quickly we can

find the prayers when

our team needs

to score, or

we have to find

a parking space, or

they are wheeling

us to surgery,

but

in the silence,

in the loneliness,

in the shadows of life,

in the early morning’s doubts,

we cannot seem

to put two words together . . .

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

comparison

“To whom then will you compare

         me,

   or who is my equal? Says the

         Holy One.”  Isaiah 40:25

we compare

you to the mighty,

but it is your weakness

that empowers you;

we set you side by side

with the wealthiest among us,

but it is your poverty

which gives you compassion;

we weigh you up with

the voices which invite us

to angry and bitter lives,

but it is your whispered Word

which calls us home with grace.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

every day

“Every day I will bless you,

   and praise your name forever

        and ever.”  Psalm 5:2

on winter-brittle mornings,

   i will sing of that love

   which melts frozen hearts;

in heat-drenched afternoons,

   i will tell of that grace

   which cools fevered fears;

on evenings when winds snap branches,

   i will remind little children

   of your heart which shelters them;

when 3 a.m. nightmares shatter my sleep,

   i will whisper your name

   over and over, until

   i fall asleep in your arms.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

just a drop

we search for that deep,

caverned pool we can explore;

or the tub filled with steamy

water where we can luxuriate

our worries away;

or that flowing stream

we can float on forever;

but sometimes,

just a drop of

grace

is all we need.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

canticle 120

you listen to me, Lord,

even when my words

echo my broken heart;

help me to turn a deaf ear

to those whose tongues

drip with derision and whose

lives are built on lies.

for you will take their hollow words

and fill them with grace;

you will pierce their pride-swollen

souls and deflate them with your love.

[remind me that i am but a pilgrim

wandering through despair’s land,

spending but a short time in

anger’s air bnb!]

i spend so much time among those

who think justice is nothing but a joke;

i try to be a voice for non-violence,

but every time i open my mouth

they try to make me eat my words.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

phaps

“I know your works.  Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut.”  Revelation 3:8a

perhaps

if we all put

our shoulders to it,

we can push shut

the open door of your heart,

latching it with our fears

so those who scare us

are not allowed to enter;

perhaps

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

hand-holding

“I held out my hands all day

         long

   to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is

         not good,

   following their own

         devices.”  Isaiah 65:2

since we know better,

than you ever will,

we continually slap

your hands away until,

at the very end of the path

that leads to nothingness,

we reach out and grab

tight to the only thing

that can keep us from

stepping into the abyss,

your heart held out to us,

as it always has been.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

earthy

you came down to earth, God,

so grace might hold our hands,

we might look love in the face,

hope could be whispered in our hearts,

and wonder unfold around us;

down-to-earth-Jesus,

you walked the dusty roads

of despair at our side;

you called out injustice

as the cruel bully it is;

you embraced all those

the rest of us fear to touch;

keep us down to earth, Spirit,

caring more about the broken

than admiring the breakers;

paying more attention to the vulnerable

than listening to the authoritarian;

filling in poverty’s potholes

rather than building walls.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

justice

“The LORD saw it, and it

         displeased him

   that there was no justice.

He saw that there was no one,

   and was appalled that there

         was no one to intervene;” Isaiah 59:15b-16a

when no one will speak,

   let us shout;

when no one will act,

   let us step forward;

when no one else cares,

   let us share compassion;

when no one does justice,

   let us be those some ones

   who will

without ever letting up.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

seeker

“’Come,’ my heart says, seek his face!’

Your face, LORD, do I seek.  Psalm 27:6

in the lover’s face

i know better than my own;

in the smiling eyes

of the little kid

at the bus stop;

in the gentle look

of the stranger passing

on the sidewalk;

in the affirmation

of the teacher

handing back a test,

we find you.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

epiphany

“And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.”  Matthew 12:12

ignoring the exit

ramp to Another Road,

we prefer to remain stuck

in the congestion caused

by hate, worry, bitterness,

fear, despair, violence,

turning up the volume

on the radio so we can

hear more clearly the

angry and bullying voices.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

more

may we be

more healers

than hurters;

more carers

than damagers;

more pullers up

than knocking down;

more letting others go first

than pushing our way to the front;

more you

than us,

God.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

nightlight

we search for that

mighty, blazing star

to lead us out

of the shadows, while

you are that overlooked

night light that slowly

illumines every corner of

              life, so

we can find our way

without stubbing our

souls.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

minted

freshly minted, grace
crept through the curtains
with the sun motes;
grace stirred the porridge,
buttered the toast,
poured the tea,
handed me the paper;
grace warmed the bath,
handed me a towel,
squeezed the toothpaste;
grace tied my shoes,
brushed off my coat,
and
sent me out in the day
to be grace for others,
freshly minted.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

January 2nd

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1

rather than remaining

a good luck rock

we carry in our pockets,

let us toss faith

into the world, letting

it ripple throughout

those around us.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

2019

this year,

may we see the grace

   and share it;

hear the joy

   and give it away;

embrace the hope

   and release it

   to run to another;

feel the love

   and pass it on;

welcome the peace,

   and let it heal

   those around us.

© 2018 Thom M. Shuman