seedful (Luke 17:5-6)

alternating
   between glancing
      at our watch,
   and peering down
      the road for
      the truck to come
      dump its load
         of faith
      in our lives, we
absentmindedly
      pick up the broom
   to sweep away that
   pesky seed which keeps
      getting stuck
   in the floorboards
of our souls.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

Samaritan? NOT! (Luke 10:25-37)

until we wake up
      in the ditches
      where we have
         been thrown aside;
until we admit
our reliance
   on the weak
      to carry our brokenness,
   on the most vulnerable
      to be the ones
      who will protect us,
   on the stranger
      to become dearer to us
      than those in family pictures;
until we realize
our lives depend on
   our (dreaded) neighbor,
we will never learn
how to go and do likewise.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

Galatians 5:1, 13-25

free to hate,
   let us choose to love;
free to fear,
   help us to trust;
free to reject others,
   let us open our arms
   as you open yours to us;
free to be bitter,
   let us overflow
   with grace;
free to doubt,
   let us continue
   to see the seeds
         of the Spirit
   bearing fruit.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

the babysitter (Galatians 3:23-29)

so engrossed with
making sure that we
   toe the
      line,
   keep our souls
      spotless,
   learn every jot
   and tittle of the
      rules,
before sending us
off to bed without a
         snack,
the babysitter
never notices
you
   sneaking into our
   rooms, and
with a shushing finger
to your lips,
   tiptoe us out
into the firefly-spackled
      evening
where we twirl and
twirl in circles until
collapsing in the dew,
watching the dawn
color the morning sky.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

kenotic (Trinity Sunday)

overflowing
   with imagination,
you emptied yourself
and creation sprung up
   in wonder and hope,
   in bewildering beauty
     and meandering mystery;

overflowing
   with grace,
you emptied yourself
and Jesus was born,
   in reconciling brokenness,
   in solidarity with
      the poor and forgotten;

overflowing
   with hope,
you emptied yourself
and the Spirit flows forth,
   walking with us in every moment,
   teaching us the wisdom
      to be your children.

overflowing
   with love,
you empty yourself,
   so there is space
   in your heart for
us.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

rebirth (Pentecost - C)

  in the soft
   breath of a
   child, waking us
         to see
         the ducklings
     on the pond;
in the hot
   panting of the
   dog, rolling around
        on the grass
        with us,
      teaching the
      joy of play;
in the rushing
   questions which
   throw open the
      shutter of
      our fears, tossing
   around our shadowed
      assumptions;
in the shallow
   rasps of a
   loved one, being
      cradled gently
      in grace's forever,

come, Holy Spirit,
come.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

end times (Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21)

you will come

not with tight-fisted vengeance,
      but with more than enough
               grace
         for each of us;
not with words of vitriol,
      but with the sweet honey
            of hope;
not with death's dust,
      but with water
      for all parched
            by life;
not to lord it over us,
      but to draw us
      close to your side
            forever;

come!

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

doubtless (John 20:19-31)

hopeful,
i theologized
   with Nick
   over pizza
   and wine;
spent an afternoon
   with a glowing
   woman by a well;
dipped my toes
   in the pool
   at the Sheep Gate;
shared a picnic
   with Laz, Mary,
   and Martha;
wandered the hills,
   alleys, doorways,
   graveyards,
until,
   in a shut-tight
   room this night,
i discovered
that he was
   in every person,
   in every place, just
as he said.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman