'Drum Major in the Music of Freedom'

On the first day of Nelson Mandela's visit to the United States, a million people came to see him. Massive numbers of people, especially from New York City's black neighborhoods, gave the South African leader the warmest and most amazing welcome anyone could remember. Gov. Mario Cuomo said it was the most emotional event he had ever seen in all his years in politics.

In the few short months since being freed from 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela has come to symbolize more than the hope of a free South Africa. He has become an inspiration to people seeking freedom and human rights all over the world.

"To have a black man imprisoned for so long and emerge with such strength and power strengthens black people everywhere," said a black woman in the sea of humanity that lined the streets for Mandela's ticker-tape parade. Many brought their children, saying they wanted their sons and daughters to be a part of this historic moment and to be able to tell their grandchildren that they saw Nelson Mandela. When a television reporter asked a 12-year-old boy what Nelson Mandela said to him that day, the young man paused to think and then replied, "He loved me."

I was staying with friends in the South Bronx that night in order to attend a meeting the next morning of Nelson Mandela and a hundred U.S. religious leaders. I arose early and made my way across the center of Harlem en route to Riverside Church on New York's Upper West Side. When I came to the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard, I smiled at the thought of how happy the two great American leaders would have been on this day.

As we passed by Harlem's historic Apollo Theatre, I read the remarkable greeting on the marquee: "Welcome Home, Mr. and Mrs. Mandela. We Love You. We Love You. We Love You. " The Mandelas expressed how much at home they felt when, in a Harlem rally later in the day, they exclaimed, "Harlem is America's Soweto!"

A HUSH FELL OVER THE group of religious leaders as Mandela entered the room where we had gathered. The warmth and power of his presence was discernible as he made his way through our midst, greeting people and shaking hands. After a prayer and words of welcome, Mandela, remaining seated himself, began to speak informally.

"The churches are in the front line of the struggle, " he said. He spoke of "the decisive role" the religious community of South Africa has played in the anti-apartheid cause and of the early and consistent religious influence in the African National Congress itself. "I was therefore not surprised that my delegation would visit and exchange views with church leaders. It was an honor and a fulfillment of a dream because churches throughout the world have given us tremendous support.

"And I know the specific role which has been played by the churches in the U.S.A ... You are our brothers and sisters. We feel perfectly at home with you, because quite apart from the importance which the church attaches to the question of the Spirit, they also attach great importance to the question of action. "

After the meeting, with Mandela leading the way, we processed into the jam-packed Riverside Church, which was reverberating with the sounds of drums, music, and clapping hands. New York Mayor David Dinkins called Mandela a "modern-day Moses leading his people to freedom, " saying, "We are blessed by your presence and humbled by your example. "

Gardner Taylor, one of the nation's foremost preachers, introduced Mandela and set the tone for this great service of celebration. "This day and this occasion, under these circumstances, would be utterly impossible except for the truth that there is a God who presides over the affairs of history, who vetoes the schemes of evil people, and who decrees that truth crushed to the ground shall rise again. I present to you the moral leader of the world, the standard-bearer of liberty's cause, the drum major in the music of freedom. I present to you this day the bright morning star of our hope, Mr. Nelson Mandela."

Mandela thanked the gathered congregation. "During the long years when we were in prison, you did not forget us, neither did you abandon our struggling people. You enlisted the most cherished beliefs of your religious calling. You took up the mission of promoting justice and peace and helped the people's fight against the evil of apartheid. We salute you. We thank you for your resolute contribution. It is a precious gift. We are confident that in the very near future, it will contribute to the realization of the non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, and united South Africa of our joint aspirations. We are now closer to this goal than at any time in our history. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'We have risen up as on the wings of eagles, we have run and not grown weary, we have walked and not fainted,' and finally, our destination is in sight. "

Following the service, the 71-year-old Mandela again took up his exhausting schedule that would break most people half his age. He did a two-hour "Town Meeting," hosted by Ted Koppel, in which he displayed the independent and candid thinking that sets Mandela apart from other world political leaders. When Koppel asked him why he wasn't more politic in his positions and responses, Mandela replied, "Anyone who would change his principles, depending on who he is dealing with, is not a man fit to lead a nation." Again, the crowd on hand roared its approval.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN New York this way before. This tough and harsh city most known for its cynicism and jaded personality became an adoring family for Nelson Mandela. New York had found a hero. One black parent told an interviewer, "We haven't had any heroes for a long time. Finally we have one."

What makes a hero? I suspect it has mostly to do with things such as integrity, courage, and trust. It usually has also to do with suffering -- having paid a price for one's convictions. His long years in prison have given Nelson Mandela a credibility that few today can match.

But it's more than that. One has to believe that those prison years became the wilderness that tested, shaped, disciplined, and spiritually purified the character of Nelson Mandela. As tragic a loss as those many years are, it is now clear that they were not wasted. Nelson Mandela provides a living example of the power of redemptive suffering. And somehow, the people of New York felt that their own deliverance was tied up with his.