Harry Potter and the Jewel of What's Real JK Rowling's Harry Potter series is probably the most dominant tale of the last 20 years.
It is about an orphaned boy who lives with a family who doesn't really want to have to care for him,
Who finds an improbable home and identity as a true wizard.
And note the power of that.
In many senses,
The least among us becoming the most powerful.
That's a central part of Jesus' teaching right there.
The last shall come first.
The last are humble.
The last don't know all the rules so don't get righteous in keeping of them.
The last aren't the first ones to the party,
But they have just as much fun.
Of course,
Not all churches agree with me that Harry Potter is a Christian story.
An article from Church and State said,
Although fantasy beings like witches,
Giants,
And other fabulous creatures have populated children's literature since the Brothers Grimm,
Some religious right activists are sure that the Potter series is a tool to indoctrinate young children into the world of the occult.
Jennifer Zabel,
A Baptist children's minister,
Said,
I grieve for the misguided effort of such a talented writer as J.
K.
Rowling.
She may have no idea that her imaginative,
Creative mind is being used as a tool by Satan to casually draw an entire generation of Americans toward the seductive side of witchcraft.
That being said,
I would argue that the Harry Potter series is a great modern spiritual work that contains deep and meaningful truths.
For when you take away the spells and the polyjuice potions,
The goblins and the horcruxes,
You have a story about how the love within is more powerful than anything,
How the strongest bonds cannot be broken,
And when you have the purest of intentions,
The universe,
Or at least Hogwarts,
Will come to your aid.
Joseph Campbell talked about the hero path and how we are so enticed by it that it tells our own life story,
In perhaps a more fantastical way.
He tells us,
The makers of legend have seldom rested content to regard the world's great heroes as more human beings who broke past the horizons that limited their fellows and returned such boons as any man with equal faith and courage might have found.
But there is something about Harry's humanness that I find brings us closer.
And part of Campbell's message for our own lives is to follow our bliss and to trust that by doing so,
Support will come just when we need it.
Or as Dumbledore,
Harry's great teacher,
Puts it,
Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.
And Hogwarts is really my favorite character in Harry Potter,
Even though it is the school in which Harry and all the young wizards have to attend.
And the school,
To put it simply,
Is alive.
But it is ruled by four different personalities or houses.
Each with unique traits that a new student enters into at Hogwarts to specialize their learning,
Competition,
And so on.
Gryffindor,
Which represents courage,
Bravery,
Loyalty,
Nerve,
And chivalry.
Ravenclaw,
Which values intelligence,
Creativity,
Learning,
And wit.
Slytherin,
Which values ambition,
Cunning,
Leadership,
Resourcefulness,
And purity.
And Hufflepuff,
Which values hard work,
Tolerance,
Loyalty,
And fair play.
And when each student arrives at Hogwarts,
The sorting hat is placed upon their heads which contains the knowledge of each house,
And each student is sorted into the house and interestingly,
The student's own volition is also taken into consideration.
This happens when the hat is placed on Harry's head,
Whose character is not clear yet,
Especially not having any parents to learn from.
Not Slytherin,
He prays,
And the hat sorts him into Gryffindor.
If Hogwarts in its own way is a metaphor for the universe,
Then the four houses are a metaphor for the different aspects of our own personalities.
The path of life we choose isn't a matter of the direction we go,
But of the character we bring forward.
And this is a recurring theme in the series.
And it's probably best exemplified in my favorite person character,
Professor Snape.
A Slytherin whose dominant traits again are ambition and cunning and purity.
And on paper,
Snape,
To put it simply,
Is an evil guy.
But as is revealed in the books,
His story is one ultimately about an internal bond and commitment to Harry's mother.
Against his own inclination,
Snape makes a promise to Dumbledore to protect Harry Potter.
He begs Dumbledore to tell no one of this,
And Dumbledore replies,
My word,
Severus,
That I shall never reveal the best of you.
And then,
The four side looking down into Snape's ferocious,
Anguished face,
If you insist.
And Harry battles the personalities in himself as well.
And one time he begs if his godfather is serious if he thinks he could indeed be evil.
And Sirius replies,
Now I want you to listen to me closely.
You're not a bad person.
You're a very good person who bad things have happened to.
Do you understand?
Besides,
The world isn't split into good people and death eaters.
We have all got both light and dark inside us.
What matters is the power we choose to act on.
That's who we really are.
Or as Dumbledore says as well,
It is our choices,
Harry,
That show what we truly are,
Far more than our abilities.
When we act from clarity in our lives,
We are supported.
And Harry's great power is not his magic,
But as Dumbledore reminds him,
It is love.
That is why in the end,
Harry is able to defeat the evil Voldemort,
Because as Dumbledore says,
He fears the dead.
He does not love.
Near the end of the series,
Harry has an opportunity to experience those who he has lost still with him,
And the understanding that they have not lost him.
And it is those very bonds that are his power.
And Harry has a near-death experience of sorts where he finds himself in a place of his mind's creation.
But Dumbledore himself is there,
And they have a long conversation.
And they have the following exchange.
Dumbledore,
Do not pity the dead,
Harry.
Pity the living,
And above all,
Those who live without love.
By returning,
You may ensure that fewer souls are maimed,
Fewer families are torn apart.
If that seems to you a worthy goal,
Then we say goodbye for the present.
Harry nodded and sighed,
Leaving this place would not be nearly as hard as walking into the forest had been.
But it was warm and light and peaceful here,
And he knew that he was heading back into pain and the fear of more loss.
He stood up and Dumbledore did the same,
And they looked for a long moment into each other's faces.
Tell me one last thing,
Said Harry.
Is this real,
Or has this been happening inside my head?
Dumbledore beamed at him,
And his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears,
Even though the bright mist was descending again,
Obscuring his figure.
Of course it is happening inside your head,
Harry,
But why on earth should that mean that it is not real?
Before I tell a tale,
I like to sometimes say,
The following is a true story that I made up.
Why?
Because all stories are metaphors,
Even the historical ones.
The truth is in the moral,
In the principle,
In what is to be valued and appreciated.
So I ask,
Is Harry Potter a true story?
Is the power of love more powerful than anything?
Are there bonds that are never broken?
When we commit ourselves with pure intentions,
Does the universe fully support us?
These things are true to me.
Mercia Eliade once said,
For the past fifty years at least,
Western scholars have approached the study of myth from a viewpoint markedly different from,
Let us say,
That of the nineteenth century.
Unlike their predecessors who treated myth and the usual meaning of the word,
That is,
As fable,
Invention,
Fiction,
They have accepted it as it was understood in archaic societies,
Where on the contrary,
Myth means a true story,
And,
Beyond that,
A story that is most precious possession because it is sacred,
Exemplary,
And significant.
Joseph Campbell also said,
Myths are public dreams,
Dreams are private myths.
So perhaps the question really is,
Is the story I'm living true?
Am I living my life truly?
When you finish a great book or see a good movie,
You feel intense powerful truth.
Next time that happens,
Ask yourself,
Was this feeling inspired by a fantasy?
Or could it be that I've finally woken up from a fantasy unfitting?
The best heroes are easily found within ourselves.
That's part of what makes the Harry Potter series so great,
To enjoy each character who balances great powers with consistent humility,
And we hopefully find much of ourselves in them as well.
