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

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

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

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

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

October 31st

"I walk before the LORD

   in the land of the living.
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   'I am greatly afflicted';" Psalm 116:9-10

as the Day of the Dread approaches

and we want to crawl as deep

into the pit of forgetfulness as we can,

may we take a moment to watch

all those little witches and wizards,

those hobgoblins and sports stars,

those ballerinas and ninja turtles,

those Barbies in pink and little men in black

wander from house to house

giggling and whispering

among themselves, just waiting 

to get back home where they will

remove all the masks which cover

their wonder, joy, and hope, for

they are the ones who know 

with the faith of the foolish that

there are no monsters under the bed

or walking dead hiding in the corners

except those we shape from the dust

of our fragmented fears.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman

October 30th

"And I say, 'O that I had wings like a dove!
   I would fly away and be at rest;
truly, I would flee far away;
   I would lodge in the wilderness;'" Psalm 55:6-7

like Frodo, we wish that

we did not have to live

in these perilous times,

yet here we are, by your grace.

so, may we seek to find

that piece of you in every person,

even those we are convinced

are empty of compassion.

may we never abandon our call

to be people of grace, of justice,

of peace, of including everyone.

may we try, as hard as it may be,

to never let the word hopeless

become a part of our vocabulary,

just as it has never been

a part of yours.

(c) 2024 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman