at the borders (Mark 4:35-41)

at the Tombs Apartments 
where Brother Legion lives; 
at the doorway 
leading to where 
a little girl sleeps; 
at the top 
of a garbage dump 
outside Jerusalem; 
at the crossings 
where we would separate families, 
devalue sisters and brothers, 
and terrify innocent children; 
at all the borders 
which threaten to separate us 
from God (and 
from each other), 
Jesus cries out, 
'why are you afraid?' 
 
for 
at all the edges of our fears, 
Jesus comes 
to tear them down 
and build God's community 
of grace, hope, and welcome 
 
(c) 2018 Thom M. Shuman 
 

seeds (Mark 4:26-34)

we imagine the kingdom
as a bonsai plant,
that neatly trimmed art form
just the right size
for us and a select few;
      or
a redwood forest
where we can wander,
gazing up at the towering
giants of faith, before
getting into our cars
to do more sightseeing;
      or
those gentle pines who
whisper in the breezes
and whose needles provide
a soft bed where we
can curl up with apathy;
      and
so it will be as long
as we leave your
seeds
of hope, grace, life,
peace, joy, wonder
deep within the ground,
dormant.

(c) 2018 Thom M. Shuman

called (1 Samuel 3)

in the store, parking lot, 
or the walks in the neighborhood, 
i heard you calling clear as a bell, but 
when i turned around, you 
were nowhere to be seen; 
 
i remember the embarrassment 
(too many times) 
of being so busy, that 
it took a stranger tapping me 
on the shoulder and saying, 
'i think you're being paged,' 
to realize that you have been trying 
(doggedly) 
to get me to notice; 
 
in the tears of a child 
over her sick pet, 
you call; 
in the memories 
of a hospice patient, 
you call; 
in the whisper 
of hope into loneliness' 
empty nights, 
you call; 
in the sudden 
burst of forgiveness 
from the depths of hurt, 
you call. 
 
help me 
to pay attention. 
 
(c) 2018 Thom M. Shuman 

orphanage (John 14:15-21)

when 
we keep forgiveness 
      tucked away in 
      the back of our freezer, 
   yet are eager to 
   microwave anger; 
we cannot find 
      the time to be 
      with our loved ones, 
   because our stress-causers 
   take priority; 
we stand alone 
      convinced that we 
      need no one else 
      to help us, while 
   they are knocking 
   on our heart with 
   hope in their hands, 
we continue 
to fill the world 
      with 
orphans. 
 
(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman 

sorry, paul (Romans 5:3-5)

 watching chemo drip
      into your child
   week after week, does
      not produce endurance,
   it wears your soul
         down to a nub; and
walking by the side
      of your aging parent
   through
         dementia's desert
      doesn't build character,
   it erodes your
          heart; and
though the preachers
      always pontificate
   other wise,
      too many know
         how hope
   trips them and
   leaves them crumpled
by the side of
      despair.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman
 

all we need (Romans 4:16)

not the letters after our names,
   or the framed sheepskins;
not the amounts in our accounts,
   or the stocks we hope to use to
   paper the mansions in heaven;
not the successes we have carved out,
   or the pats we get on the back;

but simply,

the simple faith
that we can
                  depend
on God's grace,

that's the only
guarantee we
need.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman

neighborhood (Leviticus 19:18)

in the little kids
who spend Saturday mornings
making sandwiches for
rough sleepers, and
      giving them away
      in the evenings;
in the PTSDed vet
who gives half of his
sandwich to the
four-legged friend
   who shadows him
   everywhere;
in the dog who
keeps guard over
the aluminum can filled cart,
      while the old lady
      sleeps on the doorstep;
in the old lady
who gives a tenth
of her earnings from
the recycled aluminum
      to the children, so
      they can buy more
   sandwich fixings,

i meet neighbors
who love others
far better than
   i ever will.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman

blessed

blessed are the dog-walkers,
    for they will discover the streets of the kingdom;
blessed are those who welcome refugees,
    for they will embraced with unimaginable love;
blessed are those who read to children,...
    for they will plant seeds that bear fruit;
blessed are those who shelter the homeless,
    for they will be shawled in God's grace;
blessed are those who stock food pantries,
    for they will taste God's hope;
blessed are those who reach out to the outsiders,
    for they shall be called bridge-builders;
blessed are the faith-full foolish,
    for they shall be called the clowns of God.

(c) Thom M. Shuman

room of requirement (Micah 6:8)

so self-focused
on our devices, we
   wander right past
   injustices sprouting
         up around us;
we step over those
sleeping on the streets,
   who thirst for just
   a sip from our steaming
         cups of kindness;
we race after the
proud and powerful, trying
   to grab their coattails,
           until

we discover your heart
standing wide open so
   we can enter and
   learn how to live.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman

coddiwomple (Baptism of the Lord)

drenched
    in your grace,
  dried off
    with your tears,
we slip our
feet into the
   sandals finely crafted
   by Spirit, and
begin our stumbling,
      hesitant
   walk with you,
not sure
   where
  or why
    or how,
for it's even
a mystery to you.

(c) 2017 Thom M. Shuman

servant one (Isaiah 42:1-9)

your servant,
      Gentleness, comes,
   splinting bruised
                  reeds
         with justice;
   using Spirit's tweezers
   to slowly pull
            faith
      out of the
      puddles in our
            souls,
         so we can
         burn brightly;
   birthing hope
      from fear's
      barren womb.

(c) 2016 Thom M. Shuman

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

longest night

come, God-of-compassion,
   to be with all
   whose loneliness
   makes every night
      longer than the
      one before;
come, God-of-brokenness,
   to mend those
   whose shattered
   lives seem impossible
      to put back together;
come, God-of-hungry-hearts,
   to companion the
   people sitting at
   one-chair tables
      in restaurants overflowing
         with parties, and
      in apartments with
         scarred linoleum floors;
come, God-of-the-gentle-arms
   to cuddle with
   all the children
      who cry themselves
      to sleep;
come, God-of-every-moment,
come, God-of-every-person,
   that we might be
   the people others find
      in every moment
      of their lives.

(c) 2015 Thom M. Shuman