pentecost

“you make the winds your

         messengers,

   fire and flame your

         ministers.” Psalm 104:4

with a lullaby

      of comforting hope,

   a nudge from

      a gust of outrage,

   a gale knocking

      injustice off

      its feet,

you speak;

singeing isolation’s

   stubble from our lives,

cauterizing our souls

   from the wounds of hate,

fulgarating our

   fear-lesioned hearts,

you transform

come!

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

eve of pentecost

eve of Pentecost

“The LORD is my shepherd, I

         shall not want,” Psalm 23:1

right now,

in these lonely,

sheltered moments,

all we need

all we want to feel

is just a hint

of a breath of air

on this night

stilled by fear’s

worries

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh saturday of eastertide

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

cracked,

mend our hearts with

stained glass windows

of grace.

weary,

fill our hearts with

the energy of your

hope.

breathless,

fill our lungs

with justice for

all not heard.

inert,

breathe new life

into us so we

can become your people

once more

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh friday of eastertide

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

when we were little

we loved standing in front

of the mirror, our tiny feet

in Dad’s big wingtips, or

Mom’s lipstick smeared

from ear to ear, a pearl

necklace dragging on the

ground (even though we

wrapped in twice around us,

so

why do we resist when

you hope we will put

on those big, floppy shoes,

the rainbow hair, the

polka dot pants, with

the seltzer bottle in our hands,

to be as big of fools

as you, O God?

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh thursday of eastertide

“The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep.” Zechariah 4:1

you hand us

the bottle of drops,

so we can use

your grace

to clear the grit

of our fears from

our eyes, to see

the hope all around us

come, Spirit,

come

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh wednesday of eastertide

“On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel.” Isaiah 4:2

when that day comes

(and it surely will), may

our fragile faith,

our shattered hearts,

our fearful souls

be grafted onto

the rootstock of your heart,

so we may once again

bear the rich fruit

of grace and hope

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh tuesday of eastertide

“And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, you of little faith?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.” Matthew 8:26

sailing on unfamiliar

waters in boats whose

holes are multiplying

and getting bigger by the day,

how can we not abandon

faith (much less the ship),

so, rebuke the fears we

are using to try to bail out

our lives, and calm

our hearts and souls.

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh monday of eastertide

“so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 3:10

convinced everyone

has to be on the same page,

using the same words

for the same thoughts,

we miss

tasting

discovering

learning from

the smorgasbord of imagination

you offer to us

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

seventh sunday of eastertide

“The seventy returned with joy, saying,” Luke 10:17a

probably

not today, and

maybe (though not likely)

next week, or

perhaps for even longer

than we care to imagine,

but one day, we will

be together again, in

that kitchen where

you feed us, and

in the living room

where you tell us stories,

and in that yard

where we can play

silly games over and over,

and there in your house

it will be

christmaseasterpentecost

all rolled into one marvelous

reunioncelebrationhomecoming

and even if we dare not sing,

we will raise glad praises

to you in our hearts, in our souls,

in the warm embrace of your love

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth saturday of eastertide

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;” Psalm 92:1

when it becomes

all too easy to hum dirges,

write laments, or

compose great cantatas

of contrariness, open

our eyes to those whose

simple gifts of caring

reduce our stress,

our ears to those

who whisper about how

valued we are,

our hearts to the love

that is given spontaneously

with no expectation of return,

our souls to the wonders

of creation all around us

and

then help us to remember

those glad songs of praise

buried deep within us

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth friday of eastertide

“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us . . .” Ephesians 2:4

you could keep

it all in a vault, going

in every day to count

and exult in all you have,

but you gather

your grace up

in wheelbarrows, coming

to each of us and

sharing as much as

we need,

and then some

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

ascension day

“Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

    lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
    be exultant before him.”  Psalm 68:4

Cloud Rider,

you watch us

to see if we will

ever stop staring up

waiting, watching, willing

you to come back,

but turn our gaze

upon the vulnerable for

whom we can care,

the oppressed we

can set free with justice,

the orphans we can bring

into our family,

the broken we can heal

with the balm of grace

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth wednesday of eastertide

“He heals the brokenhearted,

    and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

in the moments

when we have no words,

in the places

where we can no longer be,

in the people

no longer held,

in the moments

we can no longer control,

you simply whisper,

‘i am here,

i am there,

i am everywhere,

as always’

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth tuesday of eastertide

“I kept my faith, even when I

         said,

   ‘I am greatly afflicted’;” Psalm 116:10

every time i

thought the cupboard

of my heart was bare,

there was always

some way back in

the corner,

every time i

felt like i was completely

left on my own,

i found it at my side,

even when i

had to pawn everything

of value i had,

it stayed in my pocket:

faith

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth monday of eastertide

“And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow.’” Matthew 13:3

perhaps

if we removed the concrete

off the hardened paths

leading to our hearts,

your love might grow.

if we took the boulders

out of the eyes

of the hate-filled,

your grace might grow.

if we filed down

the thorns sticking

out of all the cruel,

your compassion might grow.

perhaps

if we were better

preparers of lives,

we wouldn’t expect you

to do all the work

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

sixth sunday of eastertide

“It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

    for his steadfast love endures forever;” Psalm 136:23

no matter how deep

we keep digging

a hole for ourselves,

we find you at

the bottom, steadfastly

piling up love higher and

higher, so

we have a way

to climb out when

we are done with

our DIY project

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

fifth saturday of eastertide

“For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:14

while we keep

telling others to run

every disciples’ marathon,

spend more time

with you as their personal

trainer,

push away from the

table more than they do,

we are sure you will

undertake a DIY project

to widen the gate

when we waddle up to it

after a lifetime of

self-indulgence

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

fifth friday of eastertide

“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.”  2 Thessalonians 2:15

may

compassion for the vulnerable,

justice for the forgotten,

peace over power and anger,

hope offered to the despairing,

grace shared without any expectation,

love to heal the broken

be the traditions

we spell with a capital

T

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

fifth thursday of eastertide

“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” Matthew 6:27

we will lie awake

tossing and turning

over tomorrow’s zoom meeting,

what the market will do,

will we be running a fever, but

when we start to think about

injustice, the hungry,

the most vulnerable around

us, we fall asleep

faster than counting sheep

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

fifth wednesday of eastertide

“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18

but,

wanting to make sure

we are on the same page,

we ask, ‘but who is our neighbor?’

to which you simply respond,

‘the grandmother you won’t visit

a restaurant for, so you don’t risk

bringing home more than a doggy bag,

the stranger in the store

you wear a mask for, while working,

so they will feel protected,

the person you have sat beside

for years in church, for whom

you tell the leaders not to reopen

until they know everyone can be safe.’

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman

fifth tuesday of eastertide

“Blessed be God,

    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me.”  Psalm 66:20

your love is so much

focused on us, you turn

off your phone, to listen

to us, even when we repeat

the same story over and over.

your love is so strong,

that even when we break

your heart, over and over,

you do not rush down

to the pawnshop

to sell your wedding ring

and buy a ticket out of town

© 2020 Thom M. Shuman