Monday, November 26, 2007 at 2:02am
The boy who lived
Column: Woman at the Well
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first of J.K. Rowling's phenomenal seven-book story of growing up magical, was published in 1997. A whole generation of children has learned to read because of these books. The Harry Potter books have sold more copies than any book series ever written. And they have broken every record ever set for popularity with children of all ages.
Conservative Christianity initially stood opposed to these stories. Witches and wizards have no place in the church, right? Now even the publisher of the fundamentalist Christian "Left Behind" books has produced a positive exploration of Harry Potter called "Looking for God in Harry Potter." And a Methodist church in Knoxville, Tenn., has created a Sunday school curriculum based on Harry Potter, Book One.
Is all this just the hype of giving in to popular culture? I don't think so.
Looking at Harry Potter - his story, his destiny - can easily invite a conversation about faith, and specifically about Jesus. Both Harry and Jesus nearly died at birth; both faced the evil powers of their worlds; both conquered death through the power of love; both inspired people to believe in themselves.
This is not to say that Rowling intended to link Harry and Jesus in our imaginations. To suggest that is to trivialize both. But 2,000 years after Jesus lived, our religious institutions tend to focus so completely on Jesus' birth and death (Christmas and Easter) that we fail to acknowledge the power and importance of how he lived. Jesus was the man, the "Son of Humanity," who lived.
Jesus drew followers first because of how he lived. He certainly must have seemed magical in his healing powers. He was full of the Spirit, and those who couldn't see that must have seemed incredibly narrow (or as Rowling might suggest, "Mugglish"). How he lived set the example for us to follow. That he lived matters.
Harry was the boy who lived. He was human. He was picked on. He was like us. That he is only fiction does not make the example he sets for us any less significant.
This series of children's books is unique because all the characters change. They grow up. None of them is a cartoon. None of them is all bad or all good. They are human. They make choices. Those choices ultimately define them.
As the series opens, Harry has no idea that he can be great. He is the boy who lives under the stairs, an unwanted nephew in the home of his aunt and uncle and cousin. He is humble by nature and by circumstances. Humility is his strength.
When he goes to the Hogwarts School, he discovered that he was saved at birth by his mother's sacrificial love. He learns that friends working together can overcome even the worst evils. He finds a mentor and guide in the wise Professor Dumbledore. He accomplishes great things not as a superhero, but as a boy who receives love and help and guidance. It is how he lives his life that makes him great.
The Harry Potter series has created a new mythology for our times. The truth it portrays is biblical. Harry Potter, "the boy who lived," invites us to ask ourselves, does Jesus live? Does his life inspire our actions? As faithful people, this is always the challenge. May Jesus live in us and with us this day and every day.
(To be continued.)
— — —
Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Kristi Denham.
Conservative Christianity initially stood opposed to these stories. Witches and wizards have no place in the church, right? Now even the publisher of the fundamentalist Christian "Left Behind" books has produced a positive exploration of Harry Potter called "Looking for God in Harry Potter." And a Methodist church in Knoxville, Tenn., has created a Sunday school curriculum based on Harry Potter, Book One.
Is all this just the hype of giving in to popular culture? I don't think so.
Looking at Harry Potter - his story, his destiny - can easily invite a conversation about faith, and specifically about Jesus. Both Harry and Jesus nearly died at birth; both faced the evil powers of their worlds; both conquered death through the power of love; both inspired people to believe in themselves.
This is not to say that Rowling intended to link Harry and Jesus in our imaginations. To suggest that is to trivialize both. But 2,000 years after Jesus lived, our religious institutions tend to focus so completely on Jesus' birth and death (Christmas and Easter) that we fail to acknowledge the power and importance of how he lived. Jesus was the man, the "Son of Humanity," who lived.
Jesus drew followers first because of how he lived. He certainly must have seemed magical in his healing powers. He was full of the Spirit, and those who couldn't see that must have seemed incredibly narrow (or as Rowling might suggest, "Mugglish"). How he lived set the example for us to follow. That he lived matters.
Harry was the boy who lived. He was human. He was picked on. He was like us. That he is only fiction does not make the example he sets for us any less significant.
This series of children's books is unique because all the characters change. They grow up. None of them is a cartoon. None of them is all bad or all good. They are human. They make choices. Those choices ultimately define them.
As the series opens, Harry has no idea that he can be great. He is the boy who lives under the stairs, an unwanted nephew in the home of his aunt and uncle and cousin. He is humble by nature and by circumstances. Humility is his strength.
When he goes to the Hogwarts School, he discovered that he was saved at birth by his mother's sacrificial love. He learns that friends working together can overcome even the worst evils. He finds a mentor and guide in the wise Professor Dumbledore. He accomplishes great things not as a superhero, but as a boy who receives love and help and guidance. It is how he lives his life that makes him great.
The Harry Potter series has created a new mythology for our times. The truth it portrays is biblical. Harry Potter, "the boy who lived," invites us to ask ourselves, does Jesus live? Does his life inspire our actions? As faithful people, this is always the challenge. May Jesus live in us and with us this day and every day.
(To be continued.)
— — —
Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © Copyright 2007 by Kristi Denham.