Harry Potter - Is Sacrifice An Unfashionable Concept?

Sacrifice is a theme that runs deeply through all the Harry Potter books, but really comes to the fore in “Deathly Hallows”.  So it seemed strange to me that it was almost non-existent in the film…

Granted, the film focused solely on the action of the story, rather than any of the motivations contained in the book.  That was the main reason I was so disappointed with the film – it had little of the rich depth of detail that made the story truly great.

Perhaps sacrifice is an unfashionable concept nowadays but there are tons of examples of it in the Harry Potter series.  The one we’ve known about the whole way through is that of Harry’s parents giving up their lives to protect him, particularly his mother who “cast her own life between them [Harry and Voldemort] as a shield”.

That alone would be enough to justify sacrifice as a major theme in the books.  But it’s far from the only example.  We finally discover in “Deathly Hallows” the truth about Snape – who’s side he is on and why.  And what a shocking twist!  The man who, along with Harry and his friends, we’ve loved to hate and who has been one of Harry’s main antagonists, has all the time been motivated by love and living a life of sacrifice!  

Having been a Death Eater and one of Voldemort’s closest supporters, he dramatically changed his life’s path on the fateful night when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry and succeeded in killing his parents:

 “If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear…You know how and why she died.  Make sure it was not in vain.  Help me protect Lily’s son [Harry].” (Dumbledore to Snape)

Throughout the books, Snape has been despised, maligned and mocked, yet his life’s purpose has unwaivered:

“I have spied for you [Dumbledore] and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you.  Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe.”

Harry’s mother had been the one great love of his life and, despite that love not being reciprocated, everything Snape had ever done was out of his love for her.  Amazing!!

Harry too undertakes an amazing act of sacrifice when he goes out to meet Voldemort in the forest – willingly choosing to give up his life for his friends.  He believes that to defeat him and save those he loves from any more destruction and death, he has to die and he accepts that.  So as he approached the clearing where Voldemort was “he pulled off his Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, with his wand.  He did not want to be tempted to fight.”

Wow, this scene took my breath away!  The idea of sacrifice in our selfish self-centred world is so unusual.  Fighting for our lives and our rights is much more often the order of the day.

Now I’m not suggesting for one second that JK Rowling is intending to portray Harry as a Christ-like figure, but his actions echo Jesus’s sacrifice for us.  Jesus also chose to die for us, to save us from our enemies – the devil, sin and death. 

Jesus, like Harry, was motivated by love, BUT the mahoosive difference between the two sacrifices is that Harry gave up his life for his friends, whereas Jesus died for us while we were still his enemies and hated him.  I would give up my life in an instant for my kids, and I may even consider it for other people that I love, but there is no way that I would gladly die for anyone else, especially not my enemies!!!

Love is amazing!!! 

The Bible tells us that God is love.  It’s not just something He does, it’s something He is.  God can’t stop being love!

While the well-known passage about love in 1 Corinthians 13 reminds me of how mindbogglingly amazing it is, I personally love how its immense power is captured here:

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.  Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away.  If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”  (Song Of Songs 8:6-7)

Something that’s always surprised me about Harry Potter is that in this magical world with its displays of deeply powerful spells, the greatest power of all turns out to be love.  Not having it or understanding it is Voldemort’s greatest weakness and ultimate downfall:

“…of love, loyalty and innocence, Voldemort knows and understands nothing.  Nothing.  That they all have a power beyond his own, a power beyond the reach of any magic, is a truth he has never grasped.”

In Harry Potter love is most often demonstrated by sacrifice - a powerful and demanding act incomparable with easy declarations of “I love you”.  God tells us He loves us many times and demonstrates it in numerous ways, but the ultimate expression of His love is also through a sacrifice.  Jesus’ death on the cross pays for our sin, gives us eternal life and enables us to be fully reconciled again with our loving heavenly Father.   Awesome!  I don’t know about you but that makes me feel well and truly loved :-) 

Harry Potter - Good Versus Evil

The battle of good versus evil is the central theme of so many films and books.  Have you ever asked yourself why?  Is it just a fanciful literary notion or is it so pervasive because it actually rings true in the world we live in?

I’ve always loved the fact that Harry Potter reminds me of the reality of the battle I live in, because I forgot far too easily.  The battle throughout the Harry Potter series - but especially in Deathly Hallows - is undeniably real.  People are injured, people die.  It really begins with Cedric Diggory for whom we have limited affection, but the losses quickly become more personal and powerful – Sirius, Dumbledore, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks, Fred.

I was terrified before reading Deathly Hallows about how many of my favourite characters would be killed.  JK Rowling had hinted that there would be many deaths and said that one in particular had reduced her to a sobbing wreck.  I was so convinced that it would be Harry, Hermione, Ron or Ginny and should have been relieved to discover it was Dobby, but was shocked to find myself balling my eyes out as well!  The death of such a small innocent thing, who had rescued them at a very low point, made it seem all the more painful.

And his death, like all of them, is painful but Voldemort doesn’t care.  Similarly humans have a very real enemy who wants to steal and kill and destroy.  It’s so easy not to believe that or dismiss it because our comfortable existences cushion us from it and our physical existences can cause us to doubt the notion of a supernatural spiritual realm. 

In films and books the battle is often a fairly straightforward one between the goodie and the baddie.  Although the Christian battle of good versus evil is God versus the devil, it doesn’t play out in Hollywood style.  Our battle is against spiritual forces not flesh and blood - although it can manifest itself in that way.  At the beginning of “Half-Blood Prince” Dumbledore declares that they are “in a state of open warfare” whereas the Christian battle is a lot less obvious, unless you know what you’re looking for!

The Bible doesn’t tell us to get out there and pick a fight with the forces of evil.  Surprisingly for a battle situation we’re mainly commanded simply to “stand” against the assaults that inevitably come to us – “take your stand against the devil’s schemes”, “stand your ground” and “stand firm then.”  To go out actively looking for trouble is always foolhardy and dangerous.  Ephesians 6 tells us that Christians have a full complement of armour to put on to enable us to stand against the onslaught.  We’re not motionless, just a punchbag taking the knocks that come our way though.  We have to actively resist…

In a way this is what Harry does in his final stand-off with Voldemort.  Throughout the books I’d always wondered how Harry was going to defeat Voldemort without stooping to his level by using one of the Unforgivable Curses.  It just wouldn’t have been true to who he was.  The spell he ultimately uses to beat him is a defensive disarming one, which causes Voldemort’s killing curse to rebound on him (with a little help from a clever but slightly convoluted issue about the transfer of wand loyalty!!!)

The only weapon in our armour is the sword of the Spirit (aka the Bible), which enables us to know the truth and resist the lies that the enemy throws at us.  Being realistic though, it doesn’t sound quite as exciting as duelling with wands and shooting spells every which way, does it? 

However, real battle isn’t supposed to be exciting, even if Hollywood portrays it that way!  It’s difficult, costly, tiring and results in a lot of injuries and deaths.  While the battle in Deathly Hallows can seem quite thrilling to us, those actually in it aren’t finding it half so entertaining (with the occasional exception of Neville, lol!). 

And all our defensive “standing” doesn’t stop it being dramatic and exciting at times too!  The Bible tells us that the battle is the Lord’s and the outworking of that is seriously awesome :-)  God’s way of doing things is always much better than ours!  One example of this out of many in the Old Testament is when Jehosophat and the people of Judah are being threatened by a vast army (2 Chronicles 20).  They call out to God for help and He replies, telling them to march up against the army but not to fight.  Instead they’re to “take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.”  So off they go, singing and praising God, and when they get to their positions and look “towards the vast army, they [see] only dead bodies lying on the ground.”  What?!!  To say they were completely gobsmacked would be a major understatement!  God had caused the three armies to rise up against each other and “no one had escaped”.  And it took them 3 days to collect up all the plunder!  God fought the battle for them because they’d trusted Him and done it His way.

The final battle in Harry Potter is exhausting, with one attack after another. Perseverance is essential, along with a constant reminder of why they are there, why they are fighting.  If they stop or give up then evil will triumph.  I can often feel overwhelmed when I remember the battle I’m in and wish I could hide or forget about it, but like Harry and his friends, Christians have to keep fighting to the end.  Only with God’s ultimate victory over Satan at the end of time will there be true peace where God “will wipe every tear from [our] eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21:4)  Hallelujah!!