Dust Shaker

unmoved
by the cries
of the poor,
shake the dust
out of our ears
so we can listen;

uncompassionate
to the brokenness
of our own kin,
shake the dust
off our hearts
so we can give them away;

callous
towards those
different from us,
shake the dust
from our souls
so we can embrace them;

amassed
by years of hoarding,
shake the dust
off our nest eggs
of blessings,
so we may offer grace
to the hopeless.

shake the dust
off our unbelief,
Son of Mary,
so the gospel
might be lived
in us.

(c) 2006 Thom M. Shuman