Oct 2, 2023
The message was delivered on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister.
DESCRIPTION
People who love the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird” are often shocked and disoriented if they read Harper Lee’s second book, “Go Set a Watchman,” when they discover that Atticus Finch ends up a member of the Ku Klux Klan. We don’t expect that one of the most noble heroes of American literature has a shadow side. Even more surprising is when they finish the second book and they still like Atticus despite his imperfections.
We live in a time of “cancel culture.” Increasingly it seems people assume there is a purity or perfection that people must attain. Today one misstatement or misdeed or old photograph can cause a person to lose their job or get kicked off social media. We want our heroes to be flawless and increasingly we expect that in each other. Yet, people are complex and multidimensional and have the ability to evolve and change.
The first week of October is Banned Books Week in America, and Harper Lee’s books are being banned across the country. However, I believe that together, they offer us an important lesson in being human. Atticus’ daughter Scout and son Jem came of age in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and perhaps the rest of us have a chance to come of age, in a way, from her second book.
In accepting other people’s imperfections, we may be able to begin to accept our own. Or perhaps it’s the other way around.
“Let the one without sin among you, cast the first stone…” John 8:7
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