The following is the text of a sermon delivered by a Black minister in church. I saw the title of the sermon outside on the church’s large sign and it intrigued me. I arrived in the middle of a sentence and took a seat toward the rear; the preaching was already under way . . . different members of the congregation shouted out remarks from time to time and I made note of a few of them while the preacher was preaching . . .
Sermon: “The Great Soul”
“. . . or what separates us from the animals, is the soul that examines Nature minutely and seeks for answers to exceedingly difficult and perhaps impossible questions. Native Americans say Great Spirit or Great Mystery as a thing not to be known or understood and that is what I want to discuss with the congregation this morning.
“All cultures, races, and religions show this same concern for understanding the sum of a person: psyche, intellect, emotions, feelings, and personality. These factors, taken together, form the outlines of that amorphous, invisible, and intangible ethereal phenomenon–what humans affectionately nickname “the soul”. Religious people take this idea one way; others follow in a different direction. (“What the heck is he talking about?!“)
“So what, then, is the human soul? And what is meant by the phrase “The Great Soul” which is the topic of today’s sermon? Gandhi of India was considered a very wise Spiritual Leader. Men honored as sages are sometimes called gurus, enlightened ones, saints, buddhas, or some other title expressing the highest respect and veneration. They are not ordinary mortals because they have reached a level of compassion and understanding that places them on a level above the rest of us. (“I never heard such nonsense in all my born days!“)
“In India, some are even said to have reached a level of awareness called “The Great Soul.” Mohandas Gandhi had such a title of honor added to his name. He became “Ma-hat-ma” The Great Soul, a man who has learned how to treasure and love the universal soul as expressed in all human hearts.
“Such a person loves all animals and all living things and has joined his own soul with something greater than himself, which people call The Great Spirit or The Great Soul. (“He got that all backwards, don’t he?“)
“This man or woman becomes “the great-soul one”, a compliment meant to excel all others. Persons who reach such a level of insight do not need to appeal to narrow sectarian points of view to gain a following. They speak the plain truth and they live honestly and simply. Others listen to their words and the influence of mutual respect begins. (“I didn’t get all dressed up for church to listen to this!“)
“Although many yardsticks can be used to separate the human family from the rest of the animal kingdom, none perhaps is more important than this unique difference: this special human need to understand, to fathom, and to explain the meaning of the human soul itself–this separates us from all the other animals more clearly than anything else except perhaps the human ability to make and use tools. (“Talking about tool-making like it’s a college class or something! The preacher done lost his mind!”)
“To search for truth and yet remain in awe of the infinite universe that will have borne us far from galactic shore to galactic shore: there and there alone is is true moral balance. (“Huh? He done lost me there!“)
“The “great soul” ones come from every race, land, and clime; wisdom may come to the very old or very young; to the very strong or the very weak; wisdom comes to those who seek it and even to those who do not wish for it. (“If he keeps this up I’ll be seeking a new church next Sunday!“)
“In our own society, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only person in recent memory who could rightly be so honored as a Great-Soul Man. Yes, millions of Americans heeded the magnificent words of Dr. King: men and women who came in every size, shape, and color, sharing one common trait above all others: they believed in justice. (“Well, talking about the Reverend Dr. King is all right with me . . .“)
“This multi-ethnic rainbow-colored congregation of Dr. King’s followers shared his love of people, of truth, of equality, of justice. Beneath the color of the skin, we are all brothers and sisters. When Dr. King spoke, the simple truths such as these became plain . . . (rustling, murmurings of discontent increase in the audience) . . .
“Now I hear some members of my congregation getting restless and thinking, “What kind of fool preacher are you? Church is about God and you have spoken nothing but gibberish in your sermon for over 20 minutes and I have yet to hear the only word I came here to hear!” (“That’s right, Rev, that’s why we came!“)
“As your reverend, I’ve gotten used to it; you’ve spoken your mind with me many times in the past. Yes, some church members can be rude to me but others have taken me aside and said to me: “I particularly liked your sermon today. It sure has given me a lot to think over… Thank you, reverend.” (“Well, that’s what makes horse races, ain’t it?!”)
“The things of which I talk today–the good qualities of Gandhi and Dr. King that raised them so high in our admiring eyes–were nurtured by this love, patience, and compassion that breathed life into all of their sublime teachings. When we think of their great achievements we may wish to think of them as great men but they themselves did not; both men showed modesty and humility. Yet they were not meek men. (“More power to them!“)
“They both felt great anger at the endless stream of injustices, so dark and terrible, that no one in the modern world can ever justify. They had seen the dark side of humanity but stayed on the bright side where the light shone brightest! They did not succumb to temptation and they did not let their followers succumb to temptation, either! (“Some preachers just got a natural way with words!“)
“Yet let us never forget, brothers and sisters (“amen!”) there were many people who opposed civil rights for the Black Man. Especially did the racist demagogues of the South, true to their own venomous nature, resolve to fight the last Battle of Segregation to the bitter end. They never accepted Black folk as their equals nor that they were entitled to equal rights under the law . . . and declared they never would. (“I remember those times!“)
“Would they murder peaceful protesters to stop the movement for justice? They thought nothing of it–the Southern soil ran red with blood! (“preach, Reverend, preach!“) However much blood the Segregationists needed to shed in a futile last-ditch effort to hang on to this dark and damnable past–they were now willing to do anything, commit any crime, to protect their ill-begotten power! (“He ain’t as big a fool as I thought he was!“)
“I don’t have to remind you that many good people, both black and white, were killed in that struggle for freedom: Jimmy Lee Jackson and Medgar Evers (“yes sir!“) Mickey Schwerner and Reverend James Reeb (“both dead!“) James Chaney and Viola Luizzo (“killed a woman!“) and Andrew Goodman (“bless him!“) all gave their lives for the Cause. What did they have in common? The love of justice! (“yes sir!“)
“That’s why I chose for the topic of my sermon this morning “The Great Soul.” You won’t find it in the Bible and yet, if you know where to look you will find it right there in front of you, on every page . . .
(more murmurings of uncertainty and doubt among members of the congregation . . . the reverend took note of it)
“My friends, I preach the way I am inspired to preach by the Spirit and by my understanding of my religion. I preach the way I feel at the moment and I aim to say whatever I believe needs to be said, whether it makes my congregation happy or unhappy. (“oh oh, you done made him mad now!“) You know me better to think I’ll change course because you clear your throats and move about in your seats—hear me out! (“talk on, Rev!”)
“The topic of my sermon today–“The Great Soul”–refers specifically to those special individuals who instinctively understand and appreciate the beliefs of all people, who see and feel the common underlying humanity in us all.
“No one religion is perfect or right all the time! (“Oh what the hell is he saying now? . . .”)
“The best church-going members I have in this congregation show the greatest love and respect toward all of their fellow human beings, including those people of a different color or faith or way of believing. (“Well, I try my best to live a decent life . . . “) Humanity is greater than all of its separate parts and we all belong to that Family of Man. (“Huh, that makes sense . . . almost!”)
“The Great Soul” is the joining together of all human souls with understanding and enlightenment to make one soul.
“If millions of people cannot receive Enlightenment all at once, nevertheless, when the need is greatest, a Wise One arises to whom all turn. It is he who will speak and express the consciences of tens of millions of other people who are not yet so blessed or enlightened (“He talkin’ about Jesus?“)
“These gifted ones, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King, are born ordinary mortals just trying to do their best to help others. They aren’t divine or born with supernatural powers (“He sayin’ Jesus ain’t divine?“) They can rub elbows with the mighty or they can walk among the lowly as one of them, without affectation or pretense. (“Well, that’s because they loved regular folk they way they loved themselves, I imagine“)
“They would never claim to be “higher-born” or “better” than anyone else, however much we might try to classify such enlightened minds as exceptional men and women so we can give them special honors and preeminence. This kind of honoring they shunned. This is part of their legacy (“he done lost me again!“)
“What does a black minister have to offer to his congregation in bringing them this one magnificent idea from India? Not much . . . but please remember that Gandhi was a real person. Against great and fearful odds, he led the resistance of India to the colonial rule of Great Britain when it was trying to stave off the dissolution of its Empire. (“They done enslaved them people in India, there ain’t no two ways about it!“)
“Try to remember that Dr. King was a simple, modest, plain-spoken Black man who hated injustice just as much as Gandhi. It was Reverend King who mapped out the campaign to end decades of racial oppression in the South and throughout the country. It was Dr. King who preached love and non-violence and brought Segregation to its knees! (“That was a man!“)
“There is nothing so profound in all the writings of Gandhi that the speeches of Dr. King do not in some way equal. Why do I say this is true? I say this is true because Dr. King comprehended fully why Gandhi was willing to devote his life to the emancipation of the people of his beloved India (“Oh he’s suggestin’ there’s some kind of connection between the two men? I hadn’t thought of it that way before . . .“)
“Dr. King studied the teachings of Gandhi and took them deep into his heart. He learned from the example of Gandhi’s life and his devotion to higher principles. Our greatest civil rights leader was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, plain and simple, just like the apostles were the disciples of Jesus. (“All right, Rev, you tell ’em now how it was!“)
“Dr. King expressed these very same ideas of brotherly love. He embraced the need to fight for his people’s freedom through non-violent civil disobedience as the very best form of active resistance to evil. He called on all men and women of good will to show courage and to bear witness! (“Oh yes, I do recall Dr. King talkin’ like that!“)
“Indeed, Dr. King’s own speeches and writings give the freshest, most vigorous clarity to Gandhi’s ideal that love and non-violence together may properly be called the strongest force on earth! And Gandhi gave this power a name: satyaghraha, the love-force or soul-force that insists on non-violence in the pursuit of truth (“What the heck! . . .”)
“As Gandhi was courageously leading his oppressed people on non-violent marches against High and Mighty England, a young black boy in the South, son of a minister, dared to dream a forbidden dream, that one day segregation in the U.S. could be defeated in the same manner as well! (“(“Yes, he was a-dreaming of a better day!“)
“India had its caste system and its subjugation to colonial masters; America has its racism, its color line, its racial oppression. Different in some ways, yes, but the potential goodness of both nations were being overwhelmed by passivity in the face of racism and silent acquiescence to bigotry. India and America were beset by the dark spectral destructive shadows of inequality and injustice (“You understand what he is saying? . . .”)
“Little did the young Martin Luther King know that one day he himself would help free the South of the scourge of Segregation–and free the conscience of a nation at the same time. As Gandhi freed India from the plundering shackles of England’s colonial empire, so too did Dr. King strive to break the shackles of American Segregation. (“Better sit back and enjoy the ride!“)
“He began the task of tearing down the walls of mistrust and prejudice that have for too long separated Americans by color and class. He began replacing fear-driven prejudices with a clearer view of the higher obligations of brotherly and sisterly love. The Reverend began sermonizing and speechifying on what all of us have in common, including a soulful understanding of self that goes beyond the boundaries of race or color or religious denomination. Raise up your eyes to a higher plane! (“Raise up my eyes, yes, Reverend!“)
“You see, the use of human reason to examine the meaning of life and the purpose of conscience sets us apart from all other living creatures. The use of human reason to look into the very nature of the soul itself separates us from all the other animals. It is a faculty unique onto us, yet one exercised by men and women everywhere, on every continent and in every walk of life.
“Why is this so? Because the human soul is common to all peoples. What daring courage and passionate leadership both of these men gave us to bravely reaffirm these great transcendent principles, even in the face of such grave personal danger!! (“Go ahead on, Rev! I’m with you now! Hallelujah!”)
“It is not fitting for a Black Minister like me to resort to cheap preacher tricks of the trade at a time like this. I need no “amen” or “hallelujah” that is not genuine and that does not come from the understanding of your heart. One must practice what one preaches and demonstrate by personal righteousness what one would have others believe.
“The Great Soul is a concept that soars beyond the names given to religions by ordinary men, for it is a place of healing and a joining together by all in the one common cause of universal brotherhood.
“In any such sermon as this, attempting to deal with such a profound subject as this, any minister–not just a black one!–will have members of the congregation who will cherish these words and others who will be lost.
“I am here to tell you this morning that any human being–of any color—can come to understand what is meant by the One Great Family of Man. They can come to understand what wise men like Gandhi and Dr. King meant in dedicating their lives to the service of others, in believing and acting the way they did– not just for themselves alone, but for us, for you and me, brothers and sisters! (“Amen!”)
“And, yes, this is why an ancient Hindu theme such as The Great Soul may still fruitfully apply to our own day and time, our own epoch and age. The lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King flowing together in one stream have much to tell us, at least for those of us who are still seeking righteous paths of wisdom.
“Some few of you may question the likelihood of a “great soul” meeting place for all human beings as mere myth–yet if there is no such place as “The Great Soul” then neither do I believe that any such two men ever lived. But they did, and there is.
“May all of you experience good fortune in seeking a path to The Great Soul; may all of you experience success on your journey to places both known and unknown, places both temporal and spiritual, places that make humans unique and differentiate us from all other animals . . . which is not to say all animals are stupid.
“We humans are far more likely to warrant the appellation “stupid” than the animals, they being true to instinct in a calmer and wiser manner than most so-called “civilized” people are apt to understand.
“So if anything I said in my sermon this morning could possibly be interpreted as being insulting to our friends of air, land and water, birds, fish, and all other creatures, I do most humbly apologize to them all.
“The Great Soul can and does include all living things— and yet, it is the story of the human soul that is of especial interest to you and me–that makes the past come alive, life worth living, and the future of each of you an incredibly exciting and daring challenge!
“All right, this is the end of my sermon “The Great Soul” and that what most particularly separates us from the animals is the human soul that examines its own nature minutely and seeks for answers to exceedingly hard–and perhaps even impossible–questions.
“Our Native American brethren often say “Great Spirit” or “Great Mystery” as a thing not to be known or understood and with that, I will conclude.
“That’s all for today!
“The congregation is free to go—as are we all.” (“Bless you, Reverend!“)
