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Pitts Theology Library
The Howard Thurman Digital Archive
Transcription
thurman.pitts.emory.edu
394-171_B.mp3
[BELL TOLLING]
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
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. There is a spirit about which I spoke last week and concerning
which I shall be speaking from time to time. One sonnet that belongs with this idea today.
"My Lord, Thou art in every breath I take. And every bite and sup taste firm of Thee. With
buoyant mercy, Thou enfold'st me and hold'st up my foot each step I make. Thy touch is all
around me when I wake. Thy sound I hear. And by Thy light, I see the world is fresh with Thy
divinity. And all Thy creatures flourish for Thy sake.
For I have looked upon a little child and seen forgiveness and have seen the day with eastern fire
cleanse the foul light away. So cleanse'st Thou this house I have defiled. And if I should be
merciful, I know it is Thy mercy, Lord, in overflow."
There is an element of gratuitousness always in the mood of Thanksgiving, the mood of
appreciation. And that gratuitous element, as I think of it, has this important fact working for it
all the time. And that is that when I am thoughtful about life, when I reflect upon my experiences
of living, always there is an element present that I do not deserve, an element that is there
because I am standing at this particular moment in time.
And I inherit, by the very fact of my existence, a whole bounteous flow of things that arose at
another time in human history, at another period in the past. And these things become available
to me in the present merely by the fact that I am living in the present, so that the first element of
gratuitousness is there because I am existing now rather than having existed 10 years from now.
And then there is always an element of grace that has to do with the present, that somebody,
somewhere-- somebody who is my contemporary, someone whose name I may know or whose
name I may not know-- because of what he does or what she does, or because of what she may
be doing this afternoon or tonight or tomorrow, I am the recipient. The overflow from the act that
this person performs somehow manages to be caught up in that which I am using.
And I think that this is one of the reasons why it is so important in one's own personal struggles
with ideas or with convictions-- it is important to lay hold on the insight not to give up, to persist
in working away, even against all odds.
Because if you do this, if you wrestle with your problem and your issue until at last light comes
or solution may be found, when the light comes, or when the solution breaks into your mind,
there is so much more insight than you can manage that it spills out and it moves in all
directions. And wherever anyone who may be passing has an empty vessel, a bit of the insight
which came because you struggled will be available to him.
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�Pitts Theology Library
The Howard Thurman Digital Archive
Transcription
thurman.pitts.emory.edu
So I ask you, as we approach Thanksgiving Day, what is the nature of your own gratitude? And
how many times have you said, with quietness in your own heart, "Thank you, life, for all of the
graces that have come to me," or "Thank you, God, because Thou has not dealt with me after my
sin, nor according to my iniquity"?
Pitts Theology Library
Emory University
[ORCHESTRAL MUSIC]
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord,
my rock 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
Audio that is shown through the 3Play Media embedded interactive transcript
Audio with Transcription
<iframe width="100%" height="820" frameborder="0" src="/files/players/394-171_B.html" ></iframe>
Original Title
Title as transcribed from tape cassette
Thankful for What?, 1964 Nov 20
Time Period
The decade in which the recording was produced.
1960s
Location
The location of the interview, speech, lecture, or sermon
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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394-171_B
Creator
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Thurman, Howard
Title
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Thankful for What? (1964-11-20)
Date
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1964-11-20
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>
Rights
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img style="border-width:0;" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" alt="80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>. 2019.
Description
An account of the resource
In this recording within the We Believe Series, Thurman reflects upon the Thanksgiving season, asking the question: "What is the nature of your own gratitude?" He calls the listener to discern whether or not they have paused to look at their life in the present moment and identifies the present moment as a gift. When considering the task of understanding the present moment as a gift, mercy and gratitude function as the means to allow oneself to be present in the moment. Thurman claims that our mercy and gratitude is also God's mercy and gratitude, thus accepting the gift that is the present moment is to accept the gift of God's sovereign providence.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Description by Dustin Mailman
breath
God residue
grace
graciousness
gratitude
holidays
nature
panentheism
thanksgiving
vessel