What he discovered about his love for the biblical message was captured beautifully in his writings and sermons produced upon his return.Īt the very start of his powerful book, Jesus and the Disinherited (1949), Howard Thurman asks a haunting question. This probing critique forced Thurman not to abandon his faith, but to more deeply reflect on the nature of his faith.
A gentleman asked him how a African American, whose people had been enslaved and oppressed and had had religion used to justify his oppression, could be a Christian. However, during this trip, there was a question that challenged his basic religious and theological assumptions. This trip, and his meeting with Gandhi, inspired and sharpened his commitment to the fundamental connections between all peoples and the need to link religious commitment and social transformation. One of the most significant events in Howard Thurman’s life was his trip to India in 1935, during which he had the pleasure of an audience with Mahatma Gandhi. Many African American religious leaders have wrestled with the nature and meaning of thanksgiving, perhaps none more profoundly than that twentieth century minister, activist and mystic, Howard Thurman. It is a tenacious hold on the possibility of goodness and justice in spite of current circumstances. It is not shortsighted it is not concerned only with the present moment but, instead, thanksgiving allows recognition of the ultimate value of what is to come. That is to say, thanksgiving involves celebration of the ultimate logic of life made possible through the workings of a God concerned with justice. Thanksgiving provides the basic posture of humans toward the Divine. Rather, there is a depth to the term and its meaning that cuts across the centuries and speaks to humanity’s basic connection to God and this changing world. Lection - Job 1:20-22 (New Revised Standard Version)įor Christians, thanksgiving is not shorthand for the story of a shared meal between Europeans and Native Americas, reenacted November of each year.
Pinn, Lectionary Team Cultural Resource Commentator Sunday, Novemor Thursday November 26, 2009Īnthony B.
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