Dragons, Hipsters, and Mangers ... Oh My! (A Steve Orr Advent reflection)

The dragons were just too much.

That’s my guess, anyway. In a neighborhood (and, lets face it, a nation) festooned with Yule trees, lighted bushes and rooflines, blow-up Santas, wire reindeer, Yodas, and Minions ... it may seem strange that one of Diana Rowland’s neighbors took umbrage at her use of dragons for Christmas decorations. The AP story reported that her anonymous neighbor left a note suggesting the dragons were demonic and that Rowland didn’t “know the true meaning of Christmas.”

OK, yes, inflatable dragons are different. But demonic? I guess that is one of those “eye of the beholder” things. If we’re going to have to restrict our displays to just manger scenes ... well, people can get creative, there, too. One recent manger scene was rendered Hipster style. Mary and Joseph are shown taking a selfie with the baby. The three wisemen are rendered as Amazon delivery people on Segway scooters. There’s a solar collector on the roof ... and a drone.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a well-crafted manger scene. But considering how little we actually know about the night of Jesus’ birth, it might be that we would have to remove several manger scenes for not accurately reflecting what scripture actually says about it. Were there hipsters at Jesus’ birth? Unlikely. Dragons? Also unlikely. Same for Minions. And Christmas trees, light strings, inflatable ... well, anythings.

In fact, little-to-nothing of modern Christmas decoration relates directly to the birth of Jesus.

If we find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about how such things don’t capture “the true meaning of Christmas,” it just might be that our focus is in the wrong place. Instead of thinking about how wrong everyone is in their approach to this holiday period, we should invest those brain cells and emotional energy in meditating on what was (and is) really happening.

And to that end, I recommend Mary’s lovely speech in this week’s selection from Luke. It is often called The Magnificat.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
(‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:46-55‬ ‭NRSV‬‬ - http://bible.com/2016/luk.1.46-55.nrsv)

Magnify the Lord, keeper of promises.
Rejoice in God’s mercy.
Lift up the lowly.
Fill the hungry.

Mary knew where the focus should be this season.

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PHOTO: Steve Orr
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Fourth Sunday of Advent (December 23, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//

Micah 5:2-5a
Psalm 80:1-7
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

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Join us Friday morning for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. As usual, we start at 8:00 at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant. The hour that follows is packed with Bible, discussion, food, fellowship, and prayer. It is a blessing.

Merry Christmas!
Steve

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