Lent is a time I often think about choices... choosing to give up or take on "something" as a way to draw nearer to God over this 40 day journey.
That got me thinking about the quote at the top of the blog, Dumbledore's sage words to Harry in The Chamber of Secrets, about choices (and abilities):
It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
It sounds just a little different when presented in the movie, you can find the clip below on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiBZKnKEElg&feature=related
One of my favorite quotes from the series, the truth of those words are lived out by Harry and his friends over and over in the books that follow Chamber.
They are also lived out over and over again in our story of faith, the Bible. A few examples:
Moses chooses to go to Pharoah and speak on behalf of God for the freedom of the Israelites, though he has long conversations with God about not having the ability to do it (Exodus 3-4)
Jeremiah chooses to speak for God, though he belives he doesn't have the ability because he is too young (Jeremiah 1)
James and John, sons of Zebedee, choose to follow Jesus, though their abilities are far more suited to work as fishermen (Mark 1)
These are just some of the choices of some of the people in the Bible, I could go on and on, to say nothing of who God chooses... but that's an entire post on it's own!
Each one listed above, including Harry, made choices that challenged them to go beyond what they thought were their abilities... and each rose to the challenge. Which in turn, effected their ability to do what was asked. Inevitably, these choices also find people meeting God along the way.
When have your choices taken you beyond what you thought were your abilities? How did you meet God there?
Friday, April 8, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
i almost called it forgiveness...
when i began the previous entry on "mercy," i orginally titled it "forgiveness." but as i wrote the word mercy that kept coming up, so i changed it. an interesting comment on that post asked me to compare pity, mercy and forgiveness. i don't believe a single blog entry can fully deal with these words, but I do have some thoughts, so here goes:
i believe mercy, as seen in the Harry Potter/Peter Pettigrew moment is Harry realizing that Pettigrew's life has worth, no matter what he has done... and in fact, i believe you can have mercy for someone without forgiving them... and i think that's exactly the case with Harry in that moment in Prizoner of Azkaban (POA). he's still ready to hand him over to be taken to prison, but he's not ready to be the person who chooses death for him; nor is he willing to let those he cares for do so.
mercy has a lot of definitions, depending on where you look, but the one i think best fits here is the 3rd listed at dictionary.com: the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty [italics mine]
i believe forgiveness is what happens when a person is able to let go of whatever has been said or done to them by another, when the forgiver is able to release what they feel needs to be forgiven... in this case, that would be Harry being ready to release Peter from his part in the deaths of James and Lily. i don't see Harry as being ready to let go in that POA moment and i don't think he should be.
before forgiveness can be real, i think the feelings of anger, hurt, betrayal need to be felt, and Harry's barely had a chance to do this at that point in the story. in the long run, i believe it does a disservice to the person forgiving to offer forgiveness before they are ready. and in the same way i believe that prayer doesn't change God, it changes me, i believe the gift of forgiveness is more for the person forgiving than for the one that is forgiven. it's also probably important to say i'm talking about forgiveness between people, and i think this is different than when it comes from God. but that's a whole other entry.
i understand pity to be feeling sorry for another, and it may be a beginning step toward mercy or forgiveness. i'm not sure i see it at play in the scene in POA. that, and this is a pretty long entry already.
lastly, as i said at the beginning, a single blog entry can't hope to completely address such rich words as mercy, forgiveness and pity, but it's a start.
and ultimately, i'm saying that context, in this case Harry's, helps to shape meaning.
i think that's true in my own life as well.
do you see it true in yours?
i believe mercy, as seen in the Harry Potter/Peter Pettigrew moment is Harry realizing that Pettigrew's life has worth, no matter what he has done... and in fact, i believe you can have mercy for someone without forgiving them... and i think that's exactly the case with Harry in that moment in Prizoner of Azkaban (POA). he's still ready to hand him over to be taken to prison, but he's not ready to be the person who chooses death for him; nor is he willing to let those he cares for do so.
mercy has a lot of definitions, depending on where you look, but the one i think best fits here is the 3rd listed at dictionary.com: the discretionary power of a judge to pardon someone or to mitigate punishment, especially to send to prison rather than invoke the death penalty [italics mine]
i believe forgiveness is what happens when a person is able to let go of whatever has been said or done to them by another, when the forgiver is able to release what they feel needs to be forgiven... in this case, that would be Harry being ready to release Peter from his part in the deaths of James and Lily. i don't see Harry as being ready to let go in that POA moment and i don't think he should be.
before forgiveness can be real, i think the feelings of anger, hurt, betrayal need to be felt, and Harry's barely had a chance to do this at that point in the story. in the long run, i believe it does a disservice to the person forgiving to offer forgiveness before they are ready. and in the same way i believe that prayer doesn't change God, it changes me, i believe the gift of forgiveness is more for the person forgiving than for the one that is forgiven. it's also probably important to say i'm talking about forgiveness between people, and i think this is different than when it comes from God. but that's a whole other entry.
i understand pity to be feeling sorry for another, and it may be a beginning step toward mercy or forgiveness. i'm not sure i see it at play in the scene in POA. that, and this is a pretty long entry already.
lastly, as i said at the beginning, a single blog entry can't hope to completely address such rich words as mercy, forgiveness and pity, but it's a start.
and ultimately, i'm saying that context, in this case Harry's, helps to shape meaning.
i think that's true in my own life as well.
do you see it true in yours?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
mercy
mercy just might seem an odd topic to connect with HP, though in keeping for the season of Lent, and as i was preparing for my first Sunday back after sabbatical, it's not surprising that i got there... however, how i got there is another story...
i was listening to Linkin Park on the way into the office this week. they have a song used released in 2007 called What I've Done :
there's a great line in the song that goes: "So let mercy come and wash away what I've done..." that sounded to me like words from Psalm 51 often used on Ash Wednesday:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
and from there, my mind jumped to the Harry Potter narrative was the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry is learning the awful truth that his parents were betrayed by one of their friends, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, stand shoulder to shoulder, wands at the ready, moments away from avenging Harry's parents deaths.
"Harry," whispers Pettigrew, "James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy...." [p. 374, bold italics mine]
when the moment comes for Harry to decide, he steps in front of his godfather and his trusted teacher, shielding Peter from their wands and in that act, offers mercy.
mercy might seem like an odd topic to connect with HP. but it's in there.
i was listening to Linkin Park on the way into the office this week. they have a song used released in 2007 called What I've Done :
there's a great line in the song that goes: "So let mercy come and wash away what I've done..." that sounded to me like words from Psalm 51 often used on Ash Wednesday:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
and from there, my mind jumped to the Harry Potter narrative was the third book, Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry is learning the awful truth that his parents were betrayed by one of their friends, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, stand shoulder to shoulder, wands at the ready, moments away from avenging Harry's parents deaths.
"Harry," whispers Pettigrew, "James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy...." [p. 374, bold italics mine]
when the moment comes for Harry to decide, he steps in front of his godfather and his trusted teacher, shielding Peter from their wands and in that act, offers mercy.
mercy might seem like an odd topic to connect with HP. but it's in there.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
and so it begins...
hi.
my name is jennifer.
and i'm a pastor.
and a harry potter fan.
no, not a fan... if i am honest, i have entered the realm of harry potter geek. i probably need to find a meeting to attend.
i have read all seven books... i didn't catch on until after The Goblet of Fire was released, but Order of the Phoenix was shipped to my home arriving the day it was released... i have pictures of myself and family sitting on the couch reading it the day it arrived (yes, this is what i take pictures of) and i went to midnight book releases at Barnes & Noble for the final two books. the waiting was AGONY, but in the end, well worth it.
i even lead a week long church camp for 5th and 6th graders that explores where hp and faith intersect.
in fact, that is exactly my point of entry to Harry Potter and to most things that capture my interest in pop culture: where does faith intersect this... (fill in the blank... song, movie, experience, etc.)?
what you'll find here are my thoughts about these intersections, both with faith and with God. often related to Harry Potter... but sometimes i might deviate. :)
i've recently returned from a trip with my kids to the ULTIMATE destination for potter fans
(no, not london... i'm hoping someday, but check out the picture below):
we'd decided to take a book trip, one for each kid, to completely different destinations... and then they teamed up and laid it on me:
"mom, we want to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!"
and i thought... are you kidding me? seriously?!? SIRIUSLY??? i am SO in! that would be great!
so that's where we went. and quite frankly, it was fabulous. i had a drink at The Hog's Head, ate at The Three Broomsticks, had butterbeer while waiting line to go to Olivanders' (where we did see the wand choose the wizard) and just sat enjoying the atmosphere of the place. if you're a fan, i highly recommend it.
so that's probably enough for a first post. i'll post again soon.
my name is jennifer.
and i'm a pastor.
and a harry potter fan.
no, not a fan... if i am honest, i have entered the realm of harry potter geek. i probably need to find a meeting to attend.
i have read all seven books... i didn't catch on until after The Goblet of Fire was released, but Order of the Phoenix was shipped to my home arriving the day it was released... i have pictures of myself and family sitting on the couch reading it the day it arrived (yes, this is what i take pictures of) and i went to midnight book releases at Barnes & Noble for the final two books. the waiting was AGONY, but in the end, well worth it.
i even lead a week long church camp for 5th and 6th graders that explores where hp and faith intersect.
in fact, that is exactly my point of entry to Harry Potter and to most things that capture my interest in pop culture: where does faith intersect this... (fill in the blank... song, movie, experience, etc.)?
what you'll find here are my thoughts about these intersections, both with faith and with God. often related to Harry Potter... but sometimes i might deviate. :)
i've recently returned from a trip with my kids to the ULTIMATE destination for potter fans
(no, not london... i'm hoping someday, but check out the picture below):
we'd decided to take a book trip, one for each kid, to completely different destinations... and then they teamed up and laid it on me:
"mom, we want to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!"
and i thought... are you kidding me? seriously?!? SIRIUSLY??? i am SO in! that would be great!
so that's where we went. and quite frankly, it was fabulous. i had a drink at The Hog's Head, ate at The Three Broomsticks, had butterbeer while waiting line to go to Olivanders' (where we did see the wand choose the wizard) and just sat enjoying the atmosphere of the place. if you're a fan, i highly recommend it.
so that's probably enough for a first post. i'll post again soon.
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