THURMAN’S CORNER
Howard Washington Thurman (1899-1981) was a towering spiritual giant on the social and religious scene of the twentieth century. Theologian, Mystic, Philosopher and Spiritual Director, he led the movement for engendering social change from a deeply spiritual and affirming place. He was nurtured in an empowering, protective, inspiring social and family milieu. Through his inherited parental values and Christian faith, he received a sense of personal somebodiness that prepared him for the work of social transformation. This solid foundation empowered him to rise above the limiting racial divide to speak truth to a generation and to work for community formation across the decades of extraordinary social upheavals in America. Many of the Civil Rights movement’s leaders were advised, encouraged and inspired by this generous human spirit. His voice speaks loudly to issues of the twenty first century and the challenges of our day.
For the Quiet Time
There is in God strength sufficient for my needs, whatever they may be. Either God is the creator of life, or He is not the creator of life. If He is the creator of life, then there is inherent in life all that is necessary to sustain it in accordance with the demands of any particular life span. This means that there must be laws of growth, re-creation, and maintenance that operate as long as they are not blocked. I start, then, with that simple fact.
Deep Is The Hunger
Archived Quotes
Deliver Me from Evil
Deliver me from evil – in the thoughts that linger in my mind. Evil thoughts come into my mind, sometimes on invitation, sometimes dressed in garments of innocence. My temptation is to deny that they are there or, worse, to think I have gotten rid of them by pushing them down out of sight in some hidden corner of my mind. Once there, they settle down to reproduce their kind. Deliver me from evil, by strengthening me in honesty, that I may give no quarter to the negative thoughts and their residue in my mind.
Deep Is The Hunger
A Sense of Presence
Life consists of planting and harvesting, of sowing and reaping. We are always in the midst of the harvest and always in the midst of the planting. The words that we use in communication, the profound stirrings of the mind out of which thoughts and ideas arise, the ebb and flow of desires out of which the simple or complex deed develops, are all caught in the process of reaping and sowing, of planting and harvesting. There are no anonymous deeds, no casual processes. Living is a shared process.
Deep Is The Hunger
A Sense of Presence
“Men may come to God through nature; it has been said, men may come to God through other good men, but he who seeks God with all of his heart will someday on his way meet Jesus.“
Deep Is The Hunger
A Sense of Presence
We must find sources of strength and renewal for our own spirits lest we perish. There is a widespread recognition of the need for refreshment of the mind and the heart. First, we must learn to be quiet, to settle down in one spot for a spell. Nevertheless, the art of being still must be practiced until development and habit are sure.
Deep Is The Hunger
The New Year
The new year means a fresh start, a second wind, another chance, a kind of reprieve, a divine act of grace bestowed upon the children of men. It is important to remember that; whatever the fact may have been, it cannot be undone. It is a fact. If we have made serious blunders, they are made. All our tears cannot unmake them. We may learn from them and carry our hard-won lessons into the New Year. We can remember them, not with pain, but with gratitude that in our new wisdom we can live into the present year with deeper understanding and greater humanity. May whatever suffering we brought on ourselves or others teach us to understand life more completely and, in our understanding, love it more wisely, thus fulfilling God’s faith in us by permitting us to begin this New Year.
The Mood of Christmas
The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
The Mood of Christmas
The Singing of the Angels
The story of Christmas has certain very simple human things in it which appeal to my kind of mind and spirit. A family – a man, a woman, a child – animals, simple surroundings, the primary family unit. There is always the possibility that the first steps in love, in trust, in confidence, can be measured, developed, expanded. So that when we think of Christmas, let us think of it as a time when we remember the graces of life.
The Mood of Christmas
The Singing 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 in itself is breathlessly beautiful and by an inherent prerogative throwing all the rest of life into a new and created relatedness. Something that gathers up in itself all the freshets of experience from drab and commonplace areas of living and glows in one bright white light of penetrating beauty and meaning – them passes. The commonplace is shot through now with new glory – old burdens become lighter, deep and ancient wounds lose much of their 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 of the crassness of life, despite all of the hardness of life, despite all of the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the singing of the angels.
The Mood of Christmas
The Christmas Greeting
The true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become callous, insensitive, and hard. Once this spirit becomes part of a man’s life, every day is Christmas, and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.
The Mood of Christmas
A Sense of Presence
Again and again, we must discover that life may say “No” to our most cherished dreams, our high hopes, our great yearning. And we must learn to live with life’s “No.” This is not only to discover the peace that passeth understanding, which may come when the pain of life is not relieved, but also to know for oneself that God is closet to us when, in our agony and frustration, he seems to be farthest away.
From his book, “Deep is the Hunger”