It Isn’t Going to Be a Sermon

On 15 August 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá went to the home of Raphael and Mrs. Pumpelly to meet some of Dublin's elite. Mr. Pumpelly had been a well-known geologist, a professor of mining at Harvard University. When someone asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for a story, Mrs. Parsons quickly suggested the story of Ios, a pretty Persian tale with a moral. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá told the story to mild applause.

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Then, alert, and with eyes flashing, He turned to the host, saying: "Now let me tell you an Arabian story. It isn't going to be a sermon." The Master, dressed in His usual flowing robes and white turban and standing amidst the formally dressed Americans, proceeded to tell a riotous Arabian story, to the accompaniment of peals of laughter, repeated again and again.

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In the midst of the applause He arose, bade goodbye to the assemblage, and left the room with the children of the family grasping His hands and cloak as they followed Him to the car. On the way home, when Mrs. Parsons thanked Him for the evening, He said with the simplicity of a child: "Now are you all pleased with me?"

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