mercy!

“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

you turn your workshop

into a bedroom for us, and

and put an extra place setting

on the kitchen table, while

we put more bolts on our doors

and locks on our pantries;

you cradle us in grace

and forgive us for every

dumb thing we’ve ever done,

yet we hold tight to our grudges,

and remember every slight

every whispered (or imagined)

Lord, have mercy

(once again, please)

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

alive and well

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”  1 Peter 1:3

in the mother

who reassures her son

that everything will be fine

(even though he forgot

to turn on the oven after

putting the turkey on the rack);

in the teacher

who patiently goes over

the math problem

for the nth time with

the struggling student;

in the stranger who stops

by the side of the road

and waits with the stranded family

until the tow truck arrives,

hope is alive and well,

dancing all around us

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

awesome sauce

“Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.” Psalm 66:5

in the teenager who rakes

the older neighbor’s lawn

while they are away;

in the little child

who hands a flower

to the refugee classmate;

in the stranger who

walks into a store

and pays off all the

Christmas layaways;

we discover that sometimes

awesomeness

comes in unexpected

moments

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

gateless

^“Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.”  Revelation 21:25

you take the gates

that could have been

slammed shut and,

setting them on sawhorses,

make your Table of grace

and inclusion large enough

so everyone (and you mean

EVERYONE) can gather

and rejoice in their life together

with you

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

distressing news

“’and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed.”  Matthew 17:23

distressed?

of course, we’re distressed,

having to spend

so much time trying

to explain (as well as

understand!)

your resurrection rather

than living out this

good news

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

ancient

“And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’” Revelation 21:5a

when

my bones creak louder

than the floorboards at night,

my eyes become so cloudy

i risk losing the words i love so much,

my ears seem to be stuffed

with more and more cotton

in each conversation,

my fingertips, toes, and feet

tingle as i move through the day,

remind me

you are making all things new,

even ancient me

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

drop by drop

“You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.”  Psalm 57:3

when your anger was so hot

it even burned your

fingertips, you

tossed it into the deeps

of mercy’s crystal sea

until,

as it cooled into droplets of

grace,

you pulled it out

and sprinkled it upon us

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

mammon

“No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”  Luke 16:13

as we check our portfolios,

count on the raise,

shuffle our funds into

the accounts with

the best interests, we

become more and more

convinced that this is

one of those verses

where you are misquoted,

or at least had words

put into your mouth . . .

Lord, have mercy

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

where?

“The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’”  Matthew 15:33

of course, we
cannot offer hope

to those in despair,

give a drink of peace

to the broken,

welcome all those

who are despised, when

we turn our souls into

saharas of scarcity, and

our hearts into dust bowls

of compassion

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman 

gifting

“Offer right sacrifices,
    and put your trust in the Lord.”  Psalm 4:5

in trust,

we seek justice

for the forgotten,

we share hope

with the grieving,

we pour out compassion

on the broken, all

greater gifts than

what we put in

the offering plates

once a week

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

and yet

“And yet, because your mercy is great,
    you did not forsake or destroy them.
You are a gracious and merciful God!” Nehemiah 9:31

you could hold a grudge,

but gift us grace;

you could stay constantly frustrated,

but choose to remain patient;

you could close your ears,

but always listen to our brokenness;

you could be as hard-headed as we are,

but you melt your heart

and pour it unto us over and over.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

mouthy

“it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” Matthew 15:11

when we could

offer words that heal,

we break hearts with our anger;

when we could

whisper of peace,

our words became weaponized;

when we could

condemn injustice,

we give shout outs to bullies;

when we could welcome the forgotten,

we tell them to go away

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

sinking

“Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’  Matthew 14:28

if it is you (we proclaim

loud enough so all can hear),

call us to end injustice,

to wipe out poverty,

to offer compassion to all,

to create peace rather than war,

but

when you say, “okay, have at it,”

our knees begin to knock

our feet begin to shuffle,

our hands begin to sweat, and we

sink beneath the waves

of our bravado

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

rowing

“When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.”  Matthew 14:14 

when we could pay off

school lunch debts,

build more homeless shelters

than fancy sports stadiums,

work for environmental integrity

than buying larger carbon shoes,

we prefer to stay in the boat

gently row, row, rowing away

from the shoreline

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

peace

“He grants peace within your borders;”  Pslm 147:14a

you would send caravans

of peacemakers to us, so

we might find comfort and hope

in the Community you are creating,

but we take our fears which mean more

than any thing else to us, and

continue to build walls

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

path

“Happy are those
    who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
    or sit in the seat of scoffers;” Psalm 1:1

when we come to the

threadbare road leading

to the abyss of foolishness,

may we notice the faded,

hand-painted sign to that

uneven path called faith,

lined by bushes filled with grace’s

plump and juicy berries,

trees shading pilgrims with hope,

and fresh pools of cool water

for the thirsty and weary.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

examen

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

i remember

the little kid splashing

with abandon in the puddles;

the teenager standing between

the bullies and the trans kid;

the grandmother teaching

other retirees how to whistle,

and i fall asleep, pouring

my soul into your heart

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

echoes

^“Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    give heed to my sighing.”  Psalm 5:1

words are easy to toss

in the direction of your ears,

but

the rumors of

my wandering faith;

the trickles of compassion

that harden in my frozen heart;

the murmurs of anger

i harbor towards others;

the tinkles of discordant hurts

that i cannot turn into lullabies;

i can only hope you hear their echos,

even as i try to silence them.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

seek ye first

“Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”  Luke 12:31

all of our energy, time,

stress, and faith are spent

in all the wrong places and people,

and so we miss finding

your Community of grace

in the grandparents who still

hold hands after 60 years,

in the little kid who fills a neighbor’s

empty bowl with his own candy

on Halloween, so others won’t

be disappointed, and in

the immigrants who show us

what hope, love, and persistence

look like

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

defuncts’ day

“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” Revelation 7:9

i open a book, and

my mother is at my side,

tracing her finger under the words;

i hear a certain song

and that college custodian

has picked up a friend’s guitar

and plays ‘Wildwood Flower;”

i see a group of folks

standing up for the voiceless,

the forgotten, the demeaned,

and there is Robert in their midst;

out of the corner of my eye,

just out of reach of my hand,

whispering to my parched soul

when i most need a drink of hope:

that multitude of souls

who are still with me

even now, ever now

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

all saints

“Open the gates,

    so that the righteous nation that keeps faith
    may enter in.”  Isaiah 26:2

as you open

the gates to

your community, we find

the expected ones

waiting to enter, but

you hold up your hand

so

the broken and the bedraggled,

the grieving and the gobsmacked,

the forgotten and the foolish,

the weary and the wiseacres

may go in first

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

places

“O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,
    and the place where your glory abides.”  Psalm 26:8

i will find you in the homes

where the hungry are welcomed

as sisters and brothers,

and on the playgrounds

where immigrant kids share

the intricacies of their childhood games;

i will hear you in the assisted living apartments

as you sing love songs to the lonely,

and in the neighborhoods where justice

is being planted in vacant lots

filled with broken hopes and discarded dreams;

i will find you in the hardened hearts

which sing lullabies to the orphans

of the victims of opioid greed,

and in the light which shines

through the cracked windows

of abandoned houses to show

the forgotten the way home.

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

blessed

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:” Matthew 5:1-2

you could have handed out

volumes of complicated theology,

but you call us

to find community in those we overlook

to welcome hope offered by the broken

to be rich soil for the seeds of the humble

to see justice as the feast of heaven

to make compassion our language of love

to see God in the faces of the most vulnerable

to play games that welcome everyone, and hurt no one

to learn reconciliation from those we have tossed aside

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

wordless

 ^“My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,”  1 Corinthians 2:4

so busy building castles

in the air with our words, we

never notice those

hungry for a morsel of grace,

thirsty for a sip of hope,

holding open their hands

to cradle reconciliation

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

foolishness

^“For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:25

willing to slip on

a banana peel and

fall on your keister if it

might bring us back to you,

you foolishly left your glory

on the hook in your closet,

letting power think it had

body-slammed you into oblivion,

until your shattered Spirit

sucked the strength out of

death

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

before

 ^“And Ahab said to Naboth, ‘Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house;’” 1 Kings 21:2

before i pat myself on the back

for not stealing anyone’s vineyard;

remind me of the recognition

i yanked from a colleague;

the hope i picked out of

the pocket of a friend;

the trust i ripped out of another’s

heart when i broke a promise

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

listeners

“O that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!” Psalm 81:13

in the memories of grandparents,

we learn of your faithfulness;

in the made-up songs

of kids in the bathtub, we

discover your dreams;

in the questions of teenagers,

we are sung your hopes, if

we but pay attention

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

wind rider

“you make the clouds your chariot,
    you ride on the wings of the wind,” Psalm 104:3b

Wind-rider,

cool our anger

with soft breezes of grace;

blow the cobwebs of apathy

from the corners of our souls;

knock us off our assumptions

with a mighty gust of wonder

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

finally

“Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.” Philippians 3:1

when grace becomes

the global language,

when peace becomes

the only choice,

when love and hope

settle in every broken heart,

we will join hands with you,

singing and dancing in joy,

finally

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

troublers

“When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, ‘Is it you, you troubler of Israel?’”  1 Kings 18:17

in these days,

we need folks

who would overturn

the tables of fear,

who would let the air

out of pompous politicos,

who would pack injustice’s bags,

and put it on the next train

out of town . . .

could you spare us

just a few troublers, God,

please?

 © 2019 Thom M. Shuman

lyrics

“Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” Psalm 33:3

when we continue

to hum the golden oldies of

fear, worry,

anger, ostracism, rather

than taking the time

to learn the lyrics

of your heart . . .

Lord, have mercy

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

worthy

“Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,” Philippians 1:27a

though not listed

on any stock exchange,

grace

hope

gentleness

inclusion

peace

may be the most valuable

things we have

(to share)

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

memories

^“I thank my God every time I remember you,” Philippians 1:3

the stranger who waved me

ahead of them at the store;

the little child who gave me

their shy-dimpled smile;

the therapist who challenged me

to take another hesitant step;

may my memories of them

at the end of the day

be my prayer of thanksgiving

to you for these unexpected

gifts

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman

apple carts

 ”Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.”  John 10:39

every time

we think we have you

under control

so you can’t keep upsetting

our apple carts full of doctrines,

you slip through our fingers,

your grace too slippery

for our clenched faith

© 2019 Thom M. Shuman