ambulatory

“whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk as he walked.” 1 John 2:6

may we crawl on the floor

with babies to discover wonder;

may we jump rope

with little kids to find laughter

   when we mess up;

may we walk beside

the lonely and broken,

   so we can hold hands in hope;

may we run to catch up

with you as you stride

   to challenge hate

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

idols

“Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    they make no sound in their throats.” Psalm 115:4-7

the politicians speak

   but only empty words emerge;

the high-powered open their eyes,

   and look past the vulnerable;

the autocrats listen to each other,

   but never to the needy;

the ones at the top

   never reach down

   to lift the fallen;

the well-known have feet,

   but never cross the street

   to welcome a stranger;

and we continue

to idolize them all when

we do not call them

to account

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

once

“Once you were not a people,

   but now you are God’s

         people;

once you had not received

         mercy,

   but now you have received

         mercy.” 1 Peter 2:10

when we found

only park benches

for our beds,

   you built a home

   for us in your heart;

when death offered

only bitter wine to drink

and moldy bread to eat,

   you laid out a feast

   of grace and life.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

refuge-less

“For you have been a refuge to

          the poor,

    a refuge to the needy in their

          distress,

    a shelter from the rainstorm

          and a shade from the heat.” Isaiah 25;4

we close up our

      umbrellas, rather

   than share them;

we slam the door

   in the faces

   of the weary;

we stomp around

   leaving large carbonprints;

we close our blinds

      so we dare not see

   kids playing

   in misery’s streets;

Lord, in your mercy . . .

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

annoyer

“much annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming that in Jesus there is the resurrection of the dead.” Acts 4:2

while

we hold tightly

   to our grudges,

make reservations at

   Chez Misery,

and huddle around

   campfears, you

persist in annoying

us with

hope

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

get you gone

“And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.”  Ezekiel 37:13

like a mother

with her little girl,

you grab us by the hands

and swing us round and round

in never-ending circles,

while death slinks

back into the shadows,

with its tall tale tucked

between its legs

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

marvelous

“As in the days when you

         came out of the land of

         Egypt,

   show us marvelous

   things.”  Micah 7:15

in a butterfly

resting on a

   child’s hand;

on a walk

through meadows

of wildflowers;

with a friend

we haven’t seen

in decades, we

find your marvels

all around us

(c) 2019 Thom M. Shuman

family

“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.”  John 14:18

in the classmate

   who teaches how

   to tie our shoes;

in the neighbor

   who listens to us

   over the fence;

in the stranger

   who takes us

   to our destination, not

   just giving directions,

we find

the family members

we never knew

we had

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

creation day

“The heavens are the LORD’s

         heavens,

   but the earth he has given to

         human beings.”  Psalm 115:16

sadly,

we treat creation

as a gift that has

a ‘use by’ date, rather

than an heirloom

to be treasured

and passed on to

other generations

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

turnings

we turn

the grave clothes

into Easter finery;

we turn

the empty tomb

into a plastic egg

with the candy gone;

we turn

the mystery into

cute stories about

bunnies, butterflies,

and seeds, when

all we need to do

is turn

and hear you call

us by our name

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

Holy Saturday

“Why must I walk about

         mournfully

   because of the oppression of

         the enemy?” Psalm 43:2b

while the guys are off

doing God-only-knows what,

the women have

swaddled hope in

their tears and placed it

in the manger shaped

from their broken hearts, as

they sit by the window

staring down the road

watching for the

prodigal

to come home

from that distant country

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

Holy Friday

“Out of the depths I cry to

   you, O Lord”  Psalm 130:1

when we find ourselves

in the pits of denial,

   listen to our emptiness;

when we echo the taunts

of the world,

   listen to our souls;

when we weep in the

shadows of death,

   listen to our doubts;

when we can only

whisper our despair,

listen

   listen

      listen

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

Holy Thursday

“For I eat ashes like bread,

   and mingle tears with my

         drink,”  Psalm 102:9

gathering up the ashes

from the bonfire where

we tossed mercy, hope, peace,

   you shape them into

   a loaf of love;

as your tears seep

into the cup in your hand,

   you transform them

   into the bitter wine

   of grace

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

Holy Wednesday

“Do not cast me away from

         your presence,

   and do not take your holy

         spirit from me.”  Psalm 51:11

even as we walk

   away, our spirits intact

   from the threat of your

                              grace;

even as we toss you

aside like single-use plastic

      by the side of the road,

you will seek to draw us

closer to you, to fill us

with hope

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

Holy Tuesday

“Turn to me and be gracious to

         me,

   for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalm 25:16

you stand on the

corner, a hand-written

sign “will work for grace,”

trembling in your hand,

but we are rushing

to get all the Easter

shopping done (baskets,

candy, clothes, food) and

so, turn our eye

away

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

               

Holy Monday

“Turn, O LORD, save my life;

   deliver me for the sake of your

         steadfast love.”  Psalm 6:4

indeed,

you turn to me,

inviting me to complete

my pilgrimage by following

you through the coming

days, but i

        pause, looking away

and leaving you to carry

that cross carved from

God’s steadfast love,

alone

© 2019  Thom M. Shuman

palms day

“While I kept silence, my body

         wasted away

   through my groaning all day

         long.”  Psalm 32:3

on this day,

we join our voices

in glad hosannas

of welcome and praise

(hoping to drown out

your cries for justice),

         even

as our bodies groan

from the weight

of the nails

we carry in our

hearts

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

hope

“Hope in God; for I shall again

         praise him;

   my help and my God.” Psalm 43:5b

when the maestro

convinces me my voice

is just perfect for

Misery’s Madcap Madrigals,

you hand me a new chorale

and ask me to sing

the hope line

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

hide and seek

“When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord,” Jeremiah 29:13-14a

done counting to 100,

we peer around for you,

wondering where you have gone,

then you cough, sniffle,

rustle the leaves, shake the

branches, so we can’t help

but discover your hiding place,

if we but open our hearts

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

games

“So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense?  If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’” John 10:24

like a puzzle cube,

we take you and twist

you this way and

turn you that way, hoping

everything will finally

click into place, but

you are more like

hopscotch, tossing

grace on each part

of the pattern, until

we follow you home

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

parody

instead of a pastiche

based on our politics,

prejudices, fears, why

don’t we offer that

gospel of grace, hope,

peace, and acceptance

which was shared

with us by the Author?

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

ours versus theirs

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.”  Romans 10:12

believing our Jesus is

better than theirs, we

devise tests to

   fail them;

write theologies

   to distract them;

hold hoops for them

   to jump through;

build walls they

   cannot get through

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

nearby

“The LORD is near to all who call

         on him;” Psalm 145:18a

while many claim

you have moved as far

away as possible

and abandoned us,

we can find you

   in the neighbor who

   brings in our trash can;

   in the stranger who pays

   for us at the toll booth;

   in the boss who tells us

   to skip the meeting to go

   watch our granddaughter’s game

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

free

“For though I am free with respect for all, I have made myself a slave to all, so I might win more of them.” 1 Corinthians 9:19

freedom’s

just another word for

helping others more

than we help ourselves,

letting them cut in line

in front of us,

learning from those we

think haven’t a clue about anything

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

words

“Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68

in the stories of endurance

told by chronic pain veterans,

in the whispers of love

shared in hospice rooms,

in the echoes of peace

in devastated neighborhoods,

in the songs of children

reconciled on playgrounds,

we hear eternal life, if

we are listening

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

the days

“The days are surely coming, says the LORD,” Jeremiah 23:5a

(however many times

it takes) remind us

that on those days,

justice will come, not

   judgment;

peace will arrive, not

   pestilence;

hope will be at our door, not

   hatred;

love will be sitting

in the porch swing, not

   our worst fears.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

signs

“So they said to him, ‘what sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?  What work are you performing?’” John 6:30

if we believe

you are who you are,

we will see manna offered

   through gifts to food banks,

the heart-broken led through

   the Sea of Tears,

the oppressed offered

   their share of justice, and

we will know you are not

just some performance artist

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

refuge

“But let all who take refuge in

         you rejoice;”  Psalm 5:11a

when every door

has been slammed

in our faces, you

stand on the porch,

a plate of cookies

in your hand,

waving us over

to sit with you for

the rest of your life.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

sabbath

“But if you listen to me, says the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but keep the sabbath day holy and do no work on it,” Jeremiah 17:24

when justice sweeps away

oppression’s burdens;

when families matter

more than finances;

when love skips hand in

hand with grace and hope,

every day becomes

sabbath

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

clinging

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.  But what are they among so many people?” John 6:9

we who have so much

cling to a theology of

scarcity, so we can

convince ourselves it is

not a fib when we tell

others that we don’t

have as much to offer

as that little boy on

a hillside so long ago

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman