December 2nd

“They do not know how to do right, says the LORD,
   those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” Amos 3:10

this day, this night, this moment
we light a simple candle trying
to illumine a prophet’s annoying words,
because the world (we) forget
to do all those right things.
our arms are so full of brightly wrapped
packages of gifts, fears, doubts
that we cannot offer a hand
to the forgotten,
and we are too weary
to search for the lost
yet, God slips in on padded grace,
not to judge us, but to invite—
the bitter to learn
the language of welcome
those with clenched hearts
to open them to the lonely,
all the scrooges to reach
into their pockets and empty them.
come, Babe born into uncertainty,
so in this moment, this night, this day
that simple flame will warm us
until justice becomes as familiar
to us as our beloved,
as we relearn what it means
to always choose to do what is right.

(c) 2025 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman