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Pitts Theology Library
The Howard Thurman Digital Archive
Transcription
thurman.pitts.emory.edu
394-810.mp3
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Pitts Theology Library
Emory University
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord,
my strength and my redeemer. For as much time as I have this morning, I want to read two
things which have to do with the celebration of Christmas day. The first is a clipping which
comes from McCall's magazine. It appeared as the Christmas editorial in that magazine last year
written by the editors.
Could you spare five minutes of Christmas? Now Christmas comes, solstice in the long year, a
chiming of fleet hours. The verdant wreath adorns the snowy door of winter. And the evergreen
bears unaccustomed fruit.
It is the day of days. For 24 blessed and embellished hours, the flood gates of affection and
generosity are opened and the thoughts of men turn kind. For 24 hours, some special [? denizen
?] descends on fellow hearts.
For eyes that will see, the sometimes gloomy landscape of the material world makes way for far
horizons of the spirit where all things are possible. For ears that will hear, there are voices that
speak with the tongue of angels. Of all the gifts of Christmas, the gift of the very day, 1,440
minutes, is at once the most precious and the most common. It is a gift bestowed on all, young
and old, high and low, just and unjust, wise and foolish, ill and well. And the use we make of it
may enrich us beyond the dreams of avarice or render us poorer, indeed.
Could you spare five minutes of Christmas to embrace its honest meaning? Could you spare five
minutes to give a soft answer, turn the other cheek, do unto others as you would be done by?
Could you spare five minutes to protect the weak, defend the persecuted, comfort those who
mourn, and love your neighbor as yourself?
Could you spare five minutes to feed the hungry, invite the stranger, cherish the child? Could
you spare five minutes to tender mercy, give without hope of receiving, and forgive those who
know not what they do? Could you spare five minutes to cast out fear, choose between good and
evil, and let your light shine? Could you spare five minutes from 1,440 to take the glibness out of
peace on Earth, goodwill to men?
So now Christmas comes, and with it, again, the age-old opportunity to begin anew, to reach at
least slightly beyond , the confining boundaries of self to emerge from concerns determined by
greed and prejudice, to depart the cheerless abode of cynicism and disdain, to cease the aimless
drifting towards paths of Eve. Could you spare five minutes to care? Whatever disillusion and
confusion beset our life, it is ineradicably written that the future belongs to the pure at heart. Five
minutes, five minutes, five priceless quickly passing minutes could change the world. Heartily
we wish you these five minutes and a merry Christmas.
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�Pitts Theology Library
The Howard Thurman Digital Archive
Transcription
thurman.pitts.emory.edu
And now this of my own-- Christmas is a season of intense and feverish activity. The activity
begins days, weeks, even months before. This activity is not merely limited to those in
merchandising and advertising, but it involves all who have services to sell or to give away.
Pitts Theology Library
Emory University
We are prepared to go all out in what we call the Christmas spirit, making the extra contribution
to our favorite charity, putting the extra dollar in the Christmas envelope if we go to a church,
giving some money for the Christmas dinner put on by the Salvation Army, getting our old toys
or old clothes so that they may be shared with the skinned and cast down. Christmas is a season
of intense and feverish activity.
The contagion of the season extends in other ways more personal and intimate. We are reminded
of unanswered letters, for instance, and unacknowledged courtesies that have accumulated
through the year. Christmas is the time to say thank you and to make the gracious gesture.
Whatever it may be the prevailing quality or character of our relationships, something special
must be done during the Christmas season to highlight a more favorable and generous side of our
lives. Such activity takes on the characteristics of an inventory of our personal relationships. And
this is good.
There is a strange irony in the fact that Christmas has become identified with mass production,
exploitation for profit, profit for profit, crowds, hurry, whipped-up emotions, and collective
hysteria. These are followed by exhaustion, physical and spiritual weariness, more drives on
goods, bargain counters, and bills, bills, bills. All of these things are far removed from the simple
setting that means for millions in our world the moment of truth for the world.
Now, what was the setting? Of course, according to the traditional story, there was the
announcement of the angels. There must be always remaining in every man's life some place for
the singing of angels, some place for that which is breathlessly beautiful, and by an inherent
prerogative, throwing all the rest of life into new and creative relatedness, something that gathers
up in itself all the freshness of experience, from drab and commonplace areas of living, and
places, and one bright light, a penetrating beauty and meaning, then passes.
The commonplace now is shot through with new glory. Old burdens become lighter. Deep and
ancient wounds lose much of their old, old hurting. A crown is placed over our heads, that for the
rest of our lives, we are trying to grow tall enough to wear.
Despite all the coarseness of life, despite all of the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the
singing of angels. May this Christmas season, then, this Christmas day be for each of you, a time
when you may gather together in some moment of creative focus and meaning, something that is
precious to you. And hold it, and finger , it and lay it alongside your heart, that it's pulse beat
may be your pulse beat. And then some of the kindness, and the joy, and the magic that is to be
found in the pure in heart as they share this will come to you. And yours will be a good day, a
unique day, a wonderful day, whether you bow your knee before an altar or not.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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�Pitts Theology Library
The Howard Thurman Digital Archive
Transcription
thurman.pitts.emory.edu
Pitts Theology Library
Emory University
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, oh Lord
my strength and my redeemer.
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�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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We Believe (Television Series, 1958-1965)
Description
An account of the resource
<em>We Believe</em> was a color television program that aired on WHDH-TV, Channel 5, in Boston on weekday mornings at 11:15. From 1958 to 1965, while Howard Thurman was Dean of the Chapel at Boston University, he was the host of the Friday morning show. Each message has a brief introductory section with bells and music before Thurman delivers his short meditation. Some recordings have been edited to remove the intro. In some cases, the Howard Thurman Educational Trust produced tapes with two messages on one recording.<br /><br />"These meditations are no longer than 15 minutes, but highly representative of his style, influence, and search for common ground." - <a href="http://archives.bu.edu/web/howard-thurman">the Howard Thurman and Sue Bailey Thurman Collections at Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.</a><br /><br />
<p style="text-align: right;"><em>We Believe</em> program listing in the TV Guide, March 29, 1958</p>
<img src="http://pittsviva.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/webelieve-whdh-boston.png" style="float: right;" alt="webelieve-whdh-boston.png" />
Contributor
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Descriptions by Dustin Mailman
AudioWithTranscription
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Audio with Transcription
<iframe width="100%" height="820" frameborder="0" src="/files/players/394-810.html" ></iframe>
Internal Notes
Notes for project team
Edited - GL 7/29
Original Title
Title as transcribed from tape cassette
A Salutation to Christmas (WB-1B), 1961 Dec 22
Time Period
The decade in which the recording was produced.
1960s
Location
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WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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394-810
Creator
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Thurman, Howard
Title
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A Salutation to Christmas (1961-12-22)
Source
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<a href="http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/rp8k9">MSS 394</a>
Format
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audio
Publisher
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<a href="http://pitts.emory.edu/">Pitts Theology Library, Emory University</a>
Date
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1961-12-22
Description
An account of the resource
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Howard Thurman reads two reflections on the Christmas season. The first is from "McCall's Magazine," and reflects upon the implications Christmas day has in relation to the Christian life. Though Christmas day is filled with generosity and affection, Thurman asks the question if those celebrating Christmas could take five minutes to protect the weak, feed the hungry, love thy neighbor, etc. The second excerpt is written by Thurman, himself. In it, Thurman works with the tension between gratitude and critique during the Christmas season. He asks the question of how one can both show gratitude while also resisting materialism and hyper-industrialism.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Description by Dustin Mailman
angels
Christmas
contagion
creativity
crown
ethics
gifts
Golden Rule
holidays
Jesus ethic
materialism
potential
Relatedness
values