when you sit
with the homeless
at the local shelter,
you are enthroned in glory,
surrounded by the angels
we have forgotten;

when you pass
the bread
at the downtown soup kitchen,
you bless it
with your grace,
that your neighbor
might be filled with hope;

when you take off
your winter coat
and drape it around
a shivering child,
she is warmed
by your heart
aflame with compassion;

we wonder why we cannot find you,
when we search for you
among the powerful and wealthy,
while all along you have been with
the citizens of your Kingdom:
the hungry, the naked, the sick,
the imprisoned, the lost, the lonely.

help us to meet you there,
Lord Jesus,
help us to meet you there.
Amen.

(c) 2005 Thom M. Shuman