Poem/Prayer for Worship
by Thom Shuman

is my cross
only a part of the pocket change
i scoop off my dresser,
rushing to work
in the morning?

is my cross
just another piece of jewelry
like the diamond
in an athlete's ear,
or the necklace
Madonna drapes around her neck?

or is my cross:

my aging parents,
whose confusion shatters my soul;

is it the truth about my physical condition
which no pill or treatment
will ever change;

is it the humpty-dumpty mess
in which my children find themselves,
and all of Mom's love
and all of Dad's resources
cannot put back together this time?

Cross Bearer:
i would prefer easier ones,
so help me to bear the cross
you offer to me. 

*************************************

Further Reflections

My 'cross' has never been one person, one situation, one condition, one unbearable thing or another.  
My cross/es are all those little markers I have dropped along the way
to the Kingdom as I have struggled, and will continue to
struggle, to be patient when I am too exhausted to care about another person, 
to be loving when I am so angry
I would blow up the world if I could, to be as passionate
about the poor as I am about my spouse, to be willing to
deny myself without making sure everyone knows that
sacrifice I am making.

And what terrifies me most of all, what I lay awake about on most nights, 
is the realization that my cross/es, the ones which really weigh me down, which
make my shoulders ache, which drive me to my knees,
which I keep tripping over as I struggle to follow Jesus
are labelled 'faith,' courage,' 'humility,' 'peace,' 'silence,' 'stillness.' 
These are the ones I have trouble taking up.   

(c) 2006  Thom M. Shuman 

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

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