Thursday, November 21, 2024

November 21st

"Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:15

when we think that grace
is like the wishbone of a turkey
which the person who gets
the bigger piece is more blessed,
when we are convinced 
we can tell who deserves justice
based on how hard they work
at three menial jobs,
when we come to believe 
that generosity is simply tossing
coins in a jar on a table and
then giving the change to a food bank,
when we cling to the outdated
notion that we can tell your favorites
based on the cars they drive or
the neighborhood in which they live,
we clearly are not paying attention.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

November 20th

"So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?" James 4:12b

who indeed, God?
it is so much easier 
for us to assume that
because someone does not
believe the same way we do,
or hold the same political view,
or support the same issues that
they are wrong, or intolerant,
or filled with hate, or even evil.
and yes, maybe they are.
but if we pause, looking in the mirror,
realizing that folks may look at us,
making the same sort of 
quick assumptions about us,
i'm guessing (and it is only me)
that i would be pretty steamed
they are judging me without really
taking the time to know me.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

November 19th

“yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
   I will exult in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:18

even though it seems
as if compassion has gone
into winter’s hibernation,
and the fruits of the Spirit
have shriveled or rotted.
even though it appears
love can no longer seem
to elicit any sort of response
from people of privilege,
and community gardens which once produced
bumper crops of grace now lie fallow.
even if young people seeking acceptance
for the neurodivergent and genderfluid
are dismissed by uncaring politicians
and so many people want to become
ostriches when looking at climate change,
yet, i will continue to join God
in singing songs of hope,
and i will not stop believing
that God is with us in our times.

© 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Monday, November 18, 2024

November 18th

"For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
   it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
   it will surely come, it will not delay." Habakkuk 2:3-4

in these times
it seems we are taught
that what connects is division,
that the scarlet threads woven
through our common humanity
are anger and fear, and that
hate has finally become our god.
so we pray, that despite
all the seeming odds against,
we will let hope and grace
be the sinews in our relationships,
that love and kindness will be
the muscles which allow us
to work and share together,
and that justice and peace
are the nerves pulsing through
this Beloved Community you
are shaping in our midst.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Saturday, November 16, 2024

November 16th

"O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 118:1

with all that goes on
in the world these days,
i could care less about
an aging boxer slash bully
slash narcissist match,
but i hope i am passionate
about those fighting hate.
i have no real feelings 
one way or another about
some superstar celebrity 
who has thousands of dollars
stolen while earning so much 
more playing a brutal game, 
but i am ashamed of a political
culture which seeks to rob 
people of their self-worth.
i hope i will never trust more
in the false promises and 
hollow lies offered every day
than i do in your love which,
however battered and windswept,
weary and frayed at the edges,
refuses to let go of me.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman


Friday, November 15, 2024

November 15th

"Then afterward
    I will pour out my spirit on 
         all flesh; 
your sons and your 
         daughters shall 
         prophesy, 
   your old men shall dream 
         dreams, 
   and your young men shall 
         see visions." Joel 2:28

in these afterward days,
may our dreams of justice
not turn into nightmares
for the most vulnerable.
may our children continue
to call us to mend creation,
to speak the names of the cruel,
to challenge the privileged 
to open their eyes and hearts.
and may their children look back,
giving thanks that when you
kept nudging us, pushing us,
breaking through our shuttered fears,
we did not turn away or run away,
but opened our souls to the Spirit,
holding tight to one another and
becoming whirlwinds of grace,
of hope, of kindness, of love.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman


Thursday, November 14, 2024

November 14th

"Why do the wicked renounce God, 
and say in their hearts,
   'You will not call us to account'?
But you do see!
   Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
   the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan." Psalm 10:13-14

they send cruel texts
to people of color, about
buses coming to take them
to plantations for work.
they rub their hands in glee
that they are not just going
to fall back for daylight savings
but hopefully all the way back
to those causes they think
have been lost along the way.
they believe that anger has finally won,
that hate has conquered love,
that bullies are your best friends,
that you have anointed them 
to share a fake gospel of hate.
but you are keeping an eye out,
continuing to give strength
to those who will not let 
grace disappear,
hope be consigned to landfills,
justice to be ignored,
kindness to be swept away,
love become dusty history.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman 

Wednesday, November 13, 2024

November 13th

“So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?’” Luke 15:3-4

grace is running ahead of us
to show us the way to serve
the forgotten of our times.
joy is limbering up, ready
to turn cartwheels as we discover
the mercy to share with the broken.
love has cleaned away breakfast
and has a map so we can go
and search for those who have
been relegated to the ‘not worth it’ status.
hope has gathered up all the tools
we need to build housing for all
who have slipped away from life
without anyone noticing.
justice is ready, as always, to offer us
a refresher course in caring more
for the vulnerable than the privileged.
compassion? well, compassion will continue
to look after the folks who don’t really
require that much, while we are out
with you, searching, searching, searching
until all the others are found.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

November 12th

"Have mercy upon us, O Lord,
   have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough
   of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
   of the scorn of those who are at ease,
   of the contempt of the proud." Psalm 123:3-4

Holy One:
they think they will be able
to get us to eat only at the place
where one can gorge on all
the contempt you can eat for one price,
and the desserts are slathered 
with rich bittercream icing, but
we will continue to show up at your diner
where the formica top is probably
as old as you are, the cracked leather
seats are patched with duct tape
and the weary waitress, Holly Spirit,
knows us all so well, bringing us
our usual orders of hope and grace,
slices of justice with mercy's marmalade,
and free refills on cups of compassion
so we can go out into each day
doing all we can to put the Bitter Buffet
out of business as quickly as possible.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman


Monday, November 11, 2024

November 11th

"Give ear to my words, O Lord
   give heed to my sighing." Psalm 5:1

for those who are not ready
to leave their cave's comfort,
you are not alone, even if
you can't see others in the shadows.
for all whose tears just won't stop,
we will offer as many shoulders
as you need to cry on.
for anyone who can't turn on the news,
we have tons of playlists, pet videos,
and streaming programs to share.
for everyone who fears the future,
we are by your side
we have your back
we cradle your heart.
for folks who are ready to move on,
walk a little slower,
talk a little less,
care a lot more.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Tuesday, November 05, 2024

November 5th

"These things I remember, 
     as I pour out my soul:" Psalm 42:4a

here is what i will cling to
this day, and i pray, in all
those days to come,
that
when the hurlers of hate
are the loudest, love's whispers
will be heard in our hearts.
that
when the demagogues of despair
think they have convinced the crowds,
hope will be marked on more ballots.
that when cruelty targets outsiders,
trying to sell us locks for our doors,
more folk will put out welcome mats.
that when gangs of grudges lurk
like frighteners in the shadows,
we will hold tight to one another
as grace walks us home.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman


Monday, November 04, 2024

November 4th

"On that day, says the Lord, 
    a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
   a loud crash from the hills." Zephaniah 1:10

on this day, 
may we turn off the ads
we have heard so many times
we could make the pitch,
so we can hear the cries
of those who have no one
approving their message of
longing for compassion and hope,
so we hear the weeping from
all the parents in rubble strewn
communities aka battlefields,
so we might listen to those
whose dreams for justice
have collided with the ever
increasing desires of the privileged
who, miraculously, always seem
not to be at fault and can walk away
with no responsibility at all, and then
tomorrow, when we can make a difference
we might hear those echoes 
deep in our hearts.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Sunday, November 03, 2024

November 3rd

"If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." I Corinthians 13:1-3

if i join the angry crowds
echoing the bile of speakers
or make t-shirts which quote
the mocking words of another side,
my love is slipping away from my life.
if i speak as if i know exactly
how others should vote or respond
to my candidate or react to any, if
not every, issue which i support,
my love is drying up in my heart.
if i am willing to go into debt 
to support my vision of how things
should be or i refuse to have anything
whatsoever to do with those 
with whom i disagree,
my love is seeping out of my soul.
and if i lose all my love,
whatever will happen to me or,
indeed, the world who needs
every bit of love it can find.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Saturday, November 02, 2024

November 2nd

"'Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;'" Luke 12:35

we look toward the horizon
and for many of us, there is
a looming shadow of fear and worry
which seems to be blocking 
all kindness, all grace, all love.
so, rather than turn and walk,
if not run in the other direction,
may we put on our jeans
stained with the paint from
fixing houses for rough sleepers,
our flannel shirts covered in buttons
which welcome the alien in our midst,
our work boots handcrafted by justice
and resoled many times with peace,
so we may continue to be beacons
of hope whatever may happen
in the coming days.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

Friday, November 01, 2024

November 1st

"As they go through the
         valley of Baca
    they make a place of
         springs;
    the early rain also covers it
         with pools." Psalm 84:6

those faithful folks still caring
for the ones struggling to rebuild
after all the camera crews 
(and the world) has moved on.
the children who, rather than
filling buckets with candy, asked
their neighbors for spare change
to help their homeless classmate.
the clean-up crews who worked
long, hard, extra hours to sweep
up the litter of jubilant celebrations
after the superstars absorbed all the cheers.
there are still saints in our midst,
walking through our neighborhoods
as unnoticed, as ridiculed, as forgotten
as all the others throughout the ages. 

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman