The Rise and Fall of Atticus Finch? (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

I borrowed this title from an event I attended recently. It was a showing of the film, "To Kill A Mockingbird," preceded by a talk. The event was hosted by the Dean of the Baylor Law School and the talk was presented by the Dean of Baylor's Honors College. Harper Lee's continually bestselling novel was published in 1960 and became an instant classic; same for the movie, released two years later. It is no stretch to say that one of the story's main themes, racial justice, fueled both book and ticket sales during the height of the civil rights movement.

In the movie, Gregory Peck portrays Atticus Finch: attorney, widower, and single father of two. Central to the story is that Finch does the unthinkable in Depression Era Alabama: he defends a black man accused of beating and sexually assaulting a white woman.

There is another aspect that bears exploring, though: the impact To Kill A Mockingbird has had on the law as a vocation. Many an attorney has pointed to Atticus Finch as the reason they chose to pursue a career in law. Many can quote long passages from the book/movie. In fact, as I learned from the pre-film talk, Atticus Finch is the number one movie hero of all time. Indiana Jones came in second. George Bailey is only ninth, and Superman is a distant 26th. [Per the American Film Institute http://www.afi.com/100years/handv.aspx]

As you might expect, there were quite a few attorneys and proto-attorneys with me in that audience. What drove most of them to that gathering is Go Set A Watchmen, Harper Lee's recently published novel. It takes place several years later, but includes characters from Mockingbird; most significantly, Atticus and now-grown daughter Jean Louise (Scout).

Perhaps you've heard; in Watchman, Atticus is not as heroic as he was in Mockingbird. In fact, without giving away anything that has not already been discussed in almost every forum, Jean Louise is shocked to learn her father is less the racial hero than she had remembered from her childhood. But is it truly a case of "rise and fall?"

Consider David: when asked to think of him, most of us quickly recall David-the-Psalmist, or David-the-shepherd, or David-the-giant-killer. Some might, upon reflection, mention David-the-King or maybe David-the-military-leader. But, for most of us, David-the-adulterer is not our go-to memory of him. David-the-failed-father doesn't pop up often, either. And, well, really, who wants to remember David-the-murderer?

We don't. But we should.

Here is the short of it: we're all human. And by virtue of that state, complex. None of us is afforded the luxury of remaining the same person throughout our life. We change. But we are still, to one degree or another, the people we have been. Yes, ideally, we mature as we accumulate life experiences; learning, hopefully, to be better people, to lessen our lesser natures and to increase our better parts.

Atticus is less than ideal to his grown daughter, but it is not likely he has devolved since he defended Tom Robinson in the 1930's: his racial prejudices had to have existed, then. The truth of it is this: in service to the law, Atticus stepped around the enculturated racial prejudice of his time and place to provide a vigorous defense of a black man. What he did, then, becomes even more noble when you view it through that lens. When he implores the jury, "In the name of God, do your duty!" he is asking them to join him in that nobility.

To borrow from Doctor Who, "We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people; all through our lives. And that's okay . . . so long as you remember all the people that you used to be." As is brought home so clearly in this week's Lectionary passage from James 2, we must love our neighbors as ourselves, regardless of our prejudices. When we think of David, and of the Atticus Finch's we know, and of each other, we must do so with a large serving of mercy. It helps if we keep in mind all of the people we have been in this life.

“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. (‭‭James‬ ‭2:8-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬. http://bible.com/111/jas.2.8-13.niv)

"Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/

Proper 18 (23) (September 6, 2015)

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Psalm 125
Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm 146
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17
Mark 7:24-37

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The weather's changing! Mornings are a bit cooler, afternoons are only double digits. It's not yet fall, but the promise of it is here. I hope you can join us one of these cooler Friday mornings for Lectionary Breakfast. We still meet for about an hour at 8:00 in the group room of the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. We spend our time enjoying each other's company, eating some great food, and finding ways we can apply the scriptures to our lives.

Enjoy the week!
Steve