The Death of Death: A reflection on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”

(1 Cor. 15:26; Deathly Hallows, Ch. 16)

           

Warning:  Contains spoilers regarding the Harry Potter series.

             There’s a pause in the battle of Hogwarts while Voldemort waits in the Forbidden Forest and the survivors of the siege gather together. The reality of a broken world has never been more obvious, characters we have grown to love are dead, and it’s against this backdrop that Harry Potter begins a walk. Invisible under the cloak his father left him, he exits out the shattered front doors and across the grounds, passing through a scene of death and dying.  Harry moves inexorably toward Voldemort, accompanied by the ghostly images of those who had gone before—his mother, his father, his godfather, and his teacher.  He walks toward death, knowing that the only way to be finally victorious is give up his life. As Dumbledore will soon tell him in the surreal scene at King’s Cross, Harry is the “true master of death, because the true master does not seek to run away from Death. He accepts that he must die, and understands that there are far, far worse things in the living world than dying.”

            I never would have thought when first opening Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone that what would follow seven books later was a profound meditation on death. Against all odds, J.K. Rowling hits at the heart of our mortality without appealing to vague, de-theologized accounts of the afterlife that so pervade popular fiction. She does not diminish death by suggesting it’s all going to be right in the end but instead places it in the context of an ultimate victory. Death is not avoided; it is defeated.  This is a story that sets out to show the difference between the one who runs from death—Voldemort (“flees from death” in French)—and Harry, who walks toward death in the knowledge that love wins.  He realizes that this world is a broken one in which all manner of tragedy may befall those he loves. Ultimate victory is achieved not in holding on to life but in the death of death.

            When we reach the end of the story what should have been evident all along smacks us in the face: the whole Harry Potter adventure has been a theological reflection on death and loss.  Never does a character pray, never do we hear about the cross, never does Rowling say the words ‘justification,’ ‘righteousness’ or ‘salvation’ and yet it is all there, wrapped up in the sacrifice Lily Potter made for her son to set the whole journey in motion. On the Potters’ gravestone is that at once melancholy and wonderful phrase from 1 Corinthians: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”  When Harry falls he finds the reality that matters most is not death but resurrection. And lest you think this is not a Christian resurrection consider what it is that saves Harry. His goodness? His worthiness? His knowledge of magic? None of these. It was the sacrifice of those who had gone before, especially his mother’s death for him.  Death died with Lily Potter just as death died on the cross.

While Rowling’s story may defy easy allegorization the overtones of the crucifixion are ever-present.  Death died in Godric’s Hollow just as in Golgotha, and only because of that can Harry walk toward Voldemort with his head held high, knowing that he faces not an end but just what Dumbledore told him six years earlier—“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

The first installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opens in theaters nationwide on November 19.

Apple Run photos!

The Roads We Run

I was struck today while running my usual route around St. Anthony Park that this place has a lot of history for me. With each step I took I remembered running the same route with a friend who is now half a country away and another friend who I haven't spoken to in a very long time. I remembered walking the same road not long ago with people who have influenced my life in all sorts of great ways and people who have left their scars.

This place has a past suddenly that I never expected it to gain. There are memories here that push me forward--good things, bad things, all shades of things. Isn't it amazing that you can be somewhere for so long and never realize that it is a hell of a place? This is a hell of a place. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it seems like a passion drain, but then the memories start to germinate. I can't walk down the road without thinking of friends, struggles, triumphs, grace and pure joy.

Who knew that seminary was so sneakily building me up all along? Who knew that I'd get this far? Incredibly, I get it. I feel at home. Everything is connected: the triumphs and the tragedies. There's no regret, just life. I'm not looking back but pushing forward. The history I've gained demands just that--that I don't make the mistake of thinking that this road won't be a memory worth having. And that's a good enough reason to run it as hard as I can.

Thanks be to God.

Chess Problem #1

From an online game I played yesterday.  I was white.  There are a couple of good moves, but one completely winning combination that I am happy to say I found :-)

Fall, Lazarus and the Deathly Hallows

It's about to get cold.  I know.  None of us want to believe it, but the weather is turning.  Things are dying, squirrels are trying to gnaw their way into my room through the window screen.  I didn't get to experience this last year in Oregon, so I'm actually kind of enjoying it so far but I guess I'll let ya know come January.

On a quasi-related note, my Harry Potter dork-dom has reached new levels of late.  I'm writing a piece for the Concord on Harry Potter, death and dying, and I'm counting down the days (35) until Deathly Hallows.  On the one hand I kind of feel like I should tone it down a notch.  I mean, I am 24 years old--so maturity should probably kick in any day now--and I am a chess master--so I don't really need to provide any additional reasons for people to give me a wide berth.  And yet, I can't feel like there is something so profound about the death and resurrection themes in HP that is just perfect for this season and for this time in history.

Dr. Koester was lecturing yesterday on Lazarus, Jesus' odd behavior and resurrection in John 11.  What a powerful lecture!  It is the consummate resurrection story with all the themes that cause the hairs on my arm to stand on end.  Still, I have to admit I was putting it not just through the lens of our ultimate resurrection but also through the lens of the Deathly Hallows.

Who is the master of death?  Not the one who runs from it, but the one who overcomes it because she is not afraid of it.  Martha's faith in the face of Lazarus' death is not based on his resurrection; her faith comes first.  Meanwhile, when Harry walks into the clearing and faces Voldemort he walks forward knowing that death is coming.  And he gives his life willingly.  Harry is not a Christ-figure.  But... he is a representative of us all--he is deeply human.

We can relate in part because he isn't all that special.  He never saves himself.  Never.  Not once.

In fact, that is Snape and Voldemort's critique of Harry from the beginning--that he is surrounded by others much more gifted than himself; protectors who keep him safe even at the cost of their lives.  Ironically, Snape knows so well because he is a part of it.  We need those others in our lives who pick us up when we fall.

But here's the meat:  we have to fall first.

Jesus could have gone early and saved Lazarus--when he heard Lazarus was sick he waited two days, ensuring it seems that he would die.  Death happens.  It's coming.  This season it is all the more poignant, and yet it is all the more defeated.  That is the way of these things.  It's OK to look death in the face.  In fact, it's the thing that separates us from Voldemort ("flees from death" in French).  So as the leaves fall and the sun drops lower and lower in the sky, we can whine about what's coming or walk straight into the winter not afraid of the end of things because our future is certain.  Death is coming--whether by Avada Kedavra or snowstorm--and how great it is that things are ending, because resurrection is oh so good.

"Destination. Determination. Deliberation."

Today I made a couple of fantastic decisions. One was to put up a Harry Potter quote as my Facebook status every day between now and the release of Deathly Hallows.  I'm not even going to attribute them, because to be honest... if you don't know them you won't care anyway.  If you ask me I'll tell you who said it and when.

Decision two was going to Afton State Park and hiking around all day.  Great time.  Good company.  Brilliant fall colors (some pictures coming later).  It was basically the best way to put off homework ever invented (second is posting on the blog).

Number 3 ties in with number 1.  I am going to internalize the above quote.  OK, I realize not every HP quote is meaningful, and certainly not everything is deep.  But I was pondering the three D's today, like the nerdy seminary student that I am, and I realized that there is something fantastic in there.

1:  Destination.  We all need a purpose, a larger goal, something we are heading for.  If you don't know where you're going then you haven't got a chance to know where you are.  This doesn't need to be some detailed, mapped-out, pre-planned course for life, but I think it does need to be in the back of your mind, driving you forward.

2. Determination.  I have been smitten recently by certain circumstances beyond my control.  It's really easy to embody those things--it's really easy to play into being the victim or the perpetrator.  Determination is about rising above that and playing by new rules.  It is, in essence, atonement.  It doesn't mean that you can't admit a feeling of loss or hurt, but it means something else profound as well:  there will be a tomorrow.

3. Deliberation.  This is the tricky one (and the one I wanted to ignore).  I tend to dwell on things that don't work out.  Then, walking amongst the fallen leaves and gorgeous red-yellows of this Minnesota autumn day, it hit me:  this is deliberation.  It is being with those who are straight with you and with whom you feel comfortable.  It is about taking a walk in the park and not just to get somewhere.  It is simply living.

Who knew that we might be learning a little bit more than Apparition from Wilkie Twycross?

TCCL Rd 2

Here is my round 2 game against Dan Peplinski with brief annotations:

Play online chess

Purpose

I have mentioned several times to people around the seminary that I find coming back from internship a strikingly lonely experience.  This seems odd, since I had basically nobody out in Oregon last year.  I would play chess with a couple of guys at Wilamette University once a week, and I played some Ultimate Frisbee and went to the gym, but among those groups I don't think I met a single person who I ever "hung out" with outside of the experiences themselves.  I had every right to be lonely on internship.

But here's the thing:  I wasn't.

This isn't some after-the-fact justification of my emotions; I seriously never felt in need of friendship.  Maybe it was only because it was just a year.  Maybe it was because I was so busy... but I think not.

I'm only back at seminary for a year; in fact, even less--just through May.  Yet, I feel more lonely here on a regular basis than I can remember feeling in quite some time.  I'm surrounded by people, many of whom I consider good friends.  I have people to talk to, homework to do, Frisbee games to play, chess tournaments to win... to all rights I should be having a blast.  And I am some of the time.  And other times I can't shake the feeling that something is most definitely off here.

I think it has everything to do with purpose.

I don't know why I'm here.  Now, that might sound sort of funny, because if you know me you know that I am pretty comfortable with where I'm going.  The point, however, isn't where I'm going but where I am at.  I am spontaneous and I live in the moment more than most.  I tend to give up long-term plans for the short-term, and there is nothing I like more than making something happen.

At the Seminary, I'm lacking that sense of fulfillment.  I find myself asking, "What is my purpose here?"  I don't want the answer to be that this is merely a means to an end.  I want to know what I am actually doing here.  That, I think, is the only cure to the loneliness.  Friends are great.  Excursions have been a load of fun.  Classes are actually surprisingly worthwhile.  But without a sense of purpose, this year scares me.  So far I'm getting through the ups and downs.

Yet, I can't stop thinking that there's a bigger purpose for me here.  And I want to find what it is.

Concord Poll Question: What do you believe will happen to you after death?

For the November issue:

Poll here:  What do you believe will happen to you after death?

Concord: What in God's Name is "Christian Music"?

It happened in a conversation that I semi-intruded upon, as I am wont to do late at night in Bockman Hall (the reader beware lest your next remarks grace these pages): A fellow seminary student and camp friend bemoaned the lack of good Christian bands. He was feeling nostalgic for the days of Audio Adrenaline, the Newsboys, and other equally trendy groups of the early 2000s. It is so hard to find good Christian music these days, he whined. OK, whined might be too harsh of a word, we’ll go with ‘cried.’

I’m being a tad facetious I think, but I have to wonder what makes a particular group a “Christian band” in the first place, and what in God’s name is this thing called “Christian music”? It’s not as obvious as it sounds; at least I think it’s worth five hundred words or so. WE might devise some simple criteria: Do the lyrics mention Jesus? If yes, then it’s Christian. Or: Do the bands play at churches and Christian music festivals? If yes, then they’re Christian.
Fair enough, but a level deeper it gets messy. There are some artists whose lyrics evolve over time, and there are others who never mention a word about God but whose spirituality is oozing out of every turn of phrase. When does a band become a Christian band: is it on the date of conversion from their heathen past, the first time they get played on Air1? Is it when they first mention Jesus in an album, or something else?

Music is an expression of poetry that reflects the yearning of its poets. Generally this means that artists are going to lyricize those things that truly matter in their lives: God, love, family, getting down and dirty in the club. OK, perhaps not all lyrics are deep. Still, I think we need to be careful stamping music with the Christian insignia not primarily for who gets into the Christian music club but for who is left out. The rapper variously known as Puff Daddy, P Diddy or just Diddy has performed all sorts of meaningless dribble over the years, but he has also had some moments that strike me as bordering on profound in a way that many intentionally Christian artists do not. Take the song “By Faith” recorded for Katrina relief in which Diddy raps:

Forgive my sins, I have the fame
But, for you, I'll trade it all in
It's not about dough, 'cause when you call me
I can't take that when I go
When my vision's blurred, you make it clear
When I need to listen, you make me hear
I permeate all hate
Bless you for blessing me
You got my faith

Let’s not ignore the Gospel because of the package in which it’s delivered. When we get stuck on categorizing artists we miss the power in those things that don’t fit into our boxes. If you think the only music that is worshipful is found on the local Christian radio station or in your favorite hymnal allow me to widen your world. Your favorite music, whatever it may be, can bring you into the presence of the divine. Not all of us resonate with the same melodies or beats, but we all resonate with something. Find your resonance, and don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t “Christian” music. Christ can speak to you through whatever means he chooses, whether Amy Grant or 50 Cent.

New Blog

OK, I'm back at the seminary and well, everybody else is doing it, so I feel the need to create myself "ye olde new blog." Not sure how this is going to look, but there will be some chess-related posts, some church-related posts, some Concord-related posts/articles, probably some posts that have nothing to do with anything, and whatever else I choose to do with this. So, basically the norm. I have a Concord article coming in the next few days, I'll get that up and go from there. Until then, peace!