Poem/Prayer for Worship
by Thom Shuman

my temptations do not come
like a prowling lion
seeking to devour me;
no:
like a kitten,
they curl up in my lap
purring me to complacency.

my desert experience
is not somewhere
'out there'  -
it is shuffling papers
at my desk;
dumping another load
of dirty jeans
into the machine;
commuting in my car,
listening to my angry voice
at the drivers around me
echo the ones on the radio.

the Evil One
is too smart to come to me
in a halloween costume
but comes
in the neighbor a couple of doors down
who fears the way life is changing;
in the knot of teenagers
walking down the street towards me;
in any person, in every person,
who is not my child, my spouse, me.

Tempted One:
strengthen me with your word,
feed me with the sweetness of your grace,
shelter me in the coolness of your love;
then, together,
we can journey to Jerusalem.  

(c) 2006  Thom M. Shuman 

(Comments to Thom at tmshuman@fuse.net.)

http://www.occasionalsightings.blogspot.com
Greenhills Community Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio