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Posted: December 3rd, 2007 at 2:27am By: Rev. Kristi Denham
(This is the second in a four-part exploration of ways we can deepen our faith through reading and understanding the Harry Potter books.)
In my column of last week, "The boy who lived," we looked at the many ways Jesus and Harry could be compared positively. We emphasized their similarities, while reminding ourselves that they are not to be considered in any way interchangeable. J.K. Rowling did not write about Jesus, and Jesus is not a first-century Harry Potter. But both can inspire us to live better lives.
The Lectionary theme, focused on by many Christian denominations on the Sunday this sermon was first presented, was Luke 6:20-31, which is part of Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount. We hear Jesus bless the poor, the hungry, the sad, the persecuted. He challenges us to love our enemies and to follow the Golden Rule. It is a hard lesson. And the question persists: What if he actually meant it?
In Book II of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Harry learns the importance of making choices. He is haunted by the possibility that he should have joined the Slytherin House, because the Sorting Hat had whispered to him that he would make a fine Slytherin. But Harry desperately wanted to be in Gryffindor House. So that is where he ended up.
As the story unfolds, we learn about Tom Riddle, a boy very much like Harry, who went to the Hogwarts School years before, and was also an orphan with a troubled past. As he faced life's challenges, he made very different choices than Harry. He wanted power and chose to lie and cheat and cause terrible harm to get it. He would grow up to be Voldemort, the enemy of all that was good in Harry's world.
Harry, on the other hand, made different choices. He learned to trust his friends, to take wise council from his professors, to face the giant snake and to conquer it with the help of a phoenix and the Gryffindor sword.
The choices we make define us. If we read Jesus' Beatitudes with a hardened heart, we might skip over them as lovely poetry, perhaps, but unrealistic ideas that have nothing to do with us. If we choose to be challenged by them, we are forced to consider our wealth as a responsibility and even a burden. We are challenged to feel compassion and connection with those who are hungry and those who grieve. We are called to actually love our enemies, which throws a giant kink in our War on Terror. When we choose to live by the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, only compassion and justice remain.
Harry Potter learns as a teenager that his choices make him who he is. Our choices define us. May we choose wisely.
(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.
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(This is the second in a four-part exploration of ways we can deepen our faith through reading and understanding the Harry Potter books.)
In my column of last week, "The boy who lived," we looked at the many ways Jesus and Harry could be compared positively. We emphasized their similarities, while reminding ourselves that they are not to be considered in any way interchangeable. J.K. Rowling did not write about Jesus, and Jesus is not a first-century Harry Potter. But both can inspire us to live better lives.
The Lectionary theme, focused on by many Christian denominations on the Sunday this sermon was first presented, was Luke 6:20-31, which is part of Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount. We hear Jesus bless the poor, the hungry, the sad, the persecuted. He challenges us to love our enemies and to follow the Golden Rule. It is a hard lesson. And the question persists: What if he actually meant it?
In Book II of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," Harry learns the importance of making choices. He is haunted by the possibility that he should have joined the Slytherin House, because the Sorting Hat had whispered to him that he would make a fine Slytherin. But Harry desperately wanted to be in Gryffindor House. So that is where he ended up.
As the story unfolds, we learn about Tom Riddle, a boy very much like Harry, who went to the Hogwarts School years before, and was also an orphan with a troubled past. As he faced life's challenges, he made very different choices than Harry. He wanted power and chose to lie and cheat and cause terrible harm to get it. He would grow up to be Voldemort, the enemy of all that was good in Harry's world.
Harry, on the other hand, made different choices. He learned to trust his friends, to take wise council from his professors, to face the giant snake and to conquer it with the help of a phoenix and the Gryffindor sword.
The choices we make define us. If we read Jesus' Beatitudes with a hardened heart, we might skip over them as lovely poetry, perhaps, but unrealistic ideas that have nothing to do with us. If we choose to be challenged by them, we are forced to consider our wealth as a responsibility and even a burden. We are challenged to feel compassion and connection with those who are hungry and those who grieve. We are called to actually love our enemies, which throws a giant kink in our War on Terror. When we choose to live by the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, only compassion and justice remain.
Harry Potter learns as a teenager that his choices make him who he is. Our choices define us. May we choose wisely.
(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.
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