Sermon for January 17th, 2021

Isaiah 53:7-9

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. 9They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

John 1:10-14

10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Faith & Film IX: To Kill a Mockingbird

If The Wizard of Oz was one of the most watched films of the 20th century, then the book To Kill a Mockingbird (upon which today's film is based) was certainly the most read. That's certainly reflected in your vote of this film as the best of the 1960's. When the movie was released in 1962, Walt Disney requested a private viewing in his home, and when it was over, he said, ""That was one hell of a picture. That's the kind of film I wish I could make."

If anyone questions the biblical connections in the film, here's another quote from the author herself, Harper Lee, who in an interview once said: "Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that To Kill a Mockingbird spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct, Christian in its ethic, that is the heritage of all Southerners."

• Film Clip #1 - Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMonw86S6MI

Three Minute Film Synopsis

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the small, fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story centers on the characters of Atticus Finch, an attorney, his son Jem and daughter Scout. As a widower, Atticus is raising his two children on his own with the help of Calpurnia, an African American woman who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children while Atticus is at work.

Nearby lives the reclusive Radley family, whose son Boo is rumored to be a monster--locked away in the basement in order to protect the town's residents. Naturally, Jem and Scout, along with their friend Dill, are fascinated by this and like to scare each other with stories about Boo Radley, daring each other to go as close to the Radley house as they dare to see if they can see him.

The local judge asks Atticus to defend an African American man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Atticus accepts the case, and suddenly the quiet and polite people of Maycomb reveal their deep-rooted southern prejudices, lashing out at Atticus and his children for defending a black man.

In the course of the trial, it becomes obvious that Tom Robinson is innocent, but despite Atticus's fervent defense and appeals to justice, the jury still convicts Tom, and later he is killed while trying to escape from prison.

Far from ending the hostility, Mayella's father begins to threaten young Jem and Scout as a way to get back at their father, and one night while the two children are walking back home from a school event, he attacks them. From out of nowhere, a stranger rescues them, killing Bob Ewell, and carrying an injured Jem back home to his father. The stranger turns out to be none other than Boo Radley (the "monster") forcing Scout to reconsider her own prejudices and assumptions as the film draws to a close.

Courage & Non-Violence

To Kill a Mockingbird is above all else a film about courage in the face of violent racial inequality, and it fitting that we are talking about this film on the Sunday before Martin Luther King Day. As a Christian minister, Martin Luther King Jr. was profoundly influenced by the example of Jesus, who taught his followers to "love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus, like MLK after him, also condemned violence, and said that if someone struck you on the face, you should turn the other cheek--something that takes great courage, restraint, and compassion.

This is the same principle that Atticus Finch teaches his children:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBAV_-nkRaU

Later in the film, the stakes are much higher when Atticus himself is confronted by a violent lynch mob while protecting his client, Tom Robinson. His children arrive, and display the same courage, fighting back not with weapons or anger, but with compassion and an appeal to human decency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaVuVu5KXuE

Walking Around in Someone's Skin

"Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that To Kill a Mockingbird spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct, Christian in its ethic, that is the heritage of all Southerners." --Harper Lee