Abstract
This essay analyzes Benjamin Mays' 1954 sermon to the World Council of Churches to argue that Black preaching offers a radical response to perspectives that portray racial justice advocacy as antithetical to the Christian Gospel. Through a close reading of Mays' sermon, the authors contend that Mays employs an implicit ontological metaphor, “Jesus is integrated,” to position racial integration and justice not only as civic responsibilities but as Christian duties. The sermon disrupts hegemonic ideologies that marginalize others, mobilizes the organizing power of the church, and positions churches as spaces for radical worldmaking around race. By drawing on metaphor theory, the essay demonstrates how Mays' sermon rearticulates the nature of the metaphysical body of Christ in relation to racial difference to decenter perspectives that affirmed segregation as biblically ordained. The essay performs a rhetorical recovery of Mays as an understudied but influential figure, demonstrating the pivotal role of Black preaching as a rhetorical exercise in reimagining doctrine and worldviews. It spotlights the historical challenge Black preachers have faced and continue to navigate—mobilizing their communities to recognize an inextricable link between Christian identity and the responsibility to pursue social justice.
First Page
11
Last Page
19
Recommended Citation
Hill, Theon E. and Tyran Laws. "“Jesus is Integrated”: The Black Sermon as Rhetorical Exercise in Radical Worldmaking." Sermon Studies 8.1 (2025) : 11-19. https://mds.marshall.edu/sermonstudies/vol8/iss1/2
