Third Saturday of Advent

Please read Psalm 121

removing our shoes

ready to slip into

our old, scuffed slippers

of comfortable apathy,

may we be consumed

by the white fire of

compassion

which dawned in the

Christmas sky;

slip-sliding down

the stony slopes of

heaped-with-failed-promises

mountains of sin,

may we be caught

by the Word of love,

cradled forever in

the manger of grace;

wandering down the

streets of exiled loneliness,

taunted by those who

laugh as we cling tightly

to the heirloom of trust

handed down to us,

may we be gathered

up in your arms of hope,

carried to worship

the newborn Child.

come,

Keeper of our hearts,

come.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Friday of Advent

Please read Luke 2:46-55

stuck in the middle

of the paper this morning,

the slicks announce

another black friday sale

(the third this shopping

season, i think, but

who knows),

while the front page tells

of a single father searching

for coats to protect his kids

from poverty's chill;

the tour buses are packed

taking folks from the visitor's

center right up to the very

edge

of that grand canyon

which pushes the have-a-lots

and the have-nots

further and further

from one another;

more children die each day

from starvation

than from any act of

terrorism,

but we continue to gorge

ourselves at fear's table,

piling more and more

security on our plates;

so come,

Mary's Son,

come

using your mother's song

to transform our lives,

as surely as it did yours.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Thursday of Advent

Please read John 15:12-17

each day as

i watch the two little

girls wander down the street,

their heads so close

their hair seems braided together,

their hopes conjoined

as they whisper their deepest

souls to each other,

i long for you

so come

to clean the silliness-stained

glass of my life

til i become utterly

transparent to

you;

come

gathering up the ashes

of my tears

pottering them into

the apple of your

eye;

come

turning me outside-in

inside-out

so you can write

your name

on my heart;

come,

Anam Cara,

come.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Wednesday of Advent

Please read John 15:9-11

watching Matthew

writing down every word,

you gently whisper

in his ear,

'don't forget i said

there is a sin line between

heaven and hell';

handing around the box

of hanukkah crackers,

you hold one out to Bart,

and fall down laughing at

the look on his face

when it popped into

a shower

of stars;

you spent all morning

in the kitchen measuring, stirring,

baking the cake,

so you could watch

the epiphany of your friends,

as they tore into

their slices, hoping

to find one of the gifts

of frankincense, gold

and myrrh;

gathering the disciples around,

you sat down and said,

'a Pharisee, a scribe, and a

Sadducee walk into

a bar . . .'

come,

Court Jester,

come to take our hands

and make our dance of

joy complete.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Tuesday of Advent

Please read Psalm 1

as the foam-crested waves

played tag,

running up to my toes

clenched tightly in the sand,

and then dashing back,

i stood mesmerized,

looking around for

someone

to take my hand and

give me courage;

so come.

sitting in the

tub,

my little boat bobbing

on the knee induced waves

i would listen longingly

for footsteps to come

down the hall,

book in hand

to read me a

sherlock story;

so come.

scraped, stacked, soaked

i swish the cloth over,

under, and around each dish,

pan, and utensil,

ducking them under the

rinsing waves before

lining them up in the

drainer in proper order,

wondering if someone

will come, take the towel

off my shoulder, saying,

'let me give you a hand';

so come,

Living Water,

come to be with, in,

around, over, through me,

come.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Monday of Advent

Please read Luke 22:14-20

come,

Grain of gentleness,

feed us on that simple

loaf made glory by

the yeast of your love,

so we might laugh

in delight

as we gorge ourselves

on your joy;

come,

Grail of grace:

fill our empty souls

with that spirit of

generosity and spontaneity,

so we might pour

ourselves out for those

who sit beside the

dusty wells of hope;

come,

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer:

pushing tables together

so each may have a seat,

bringing out dish after dish

of wondrous delight,

yelling back over your

shoulder,

'better put another fatted calf

on the grill!'

come!

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman

Third Sunday of Advent

Please read Isaiah 12:2-6; Zephaniah 3:14-20

yesterday

(and every yesterday it seems)

folks stood patiently in line

numbers clutched in their

prosecutorial hands,

eager to take their turn

making it quite clear

all the mistakes made

(at least to this point in my life),

all those things I forgot

to do (i swear they were on

my list!),

all that accountability that

doesn't seem to add up right;

but on that day

you will walk down the line

high-fiving each person

as you slyly slip their

judgments out of their hands,

crumpling them up

and tossing them behind you.

on this day

we limp through,

our weary, sore soles

seeming to find each

sharp-edged pebble

poured out on the path

in front of us

by the banes of our

lives;

but on that day

you will come,

tearing your baby quilt

into long strips,

dipping them into

the cool waters of

Grace's well,

swaddling our tender

souls.

tomorrow,

we will once again

scan the horizon

waiting to catch

a glimpse of

Catastrophe

as it edges ever closer,

its cataclysmic jaws

opening and closing,

longing to devour our

hope;

but on that day

you will come,

carrying a picnic basket

loaded with bread

and wine,

spreading a blanket

broad enough for all of us,

pulling out your

harmonica

to play us the songs of

eternity.

come,

Dayspring,

] come the day.

(c) 2009 Thom M. Shuman