If you’ve been under a rock the last several weeks you may have missed the news that the last and final chapter of the Harry Potter book series has been released.
I haven’t read it. In fact, I haven’t read a single one. I have a number of friends that went out and purchased the last book at midnight and read it cover to cover over the weekend. I have other friends who said they’ll never read it and never let their kids read it.
It’s been interesting reading thoughts from fans and haters around the blogosphere.
Jeffrey Weiss over at the DMN has blogged several times on the faith of Harry Potter and has compared the books to C.S. Lewis‘ Chronicles of Narnia, of which I’m a huge fan.
I’ve just never been a huge fan of the “mythical worlds” presented by books like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. But then after watching the first Lord of the Rings movie on DVD (weeks before the final one was released) I had a change of heart at least to that story.
I still haven’t read it yet – but I’m at least interested in reading it if the opportunity/time presents itself.
And now with all the hub-bub I’m at least semi- interested in reading Harry Potter as well.
But as I read Weiss’ thoughts a paragraph stood out to me (I understand this may be a spoiler if you haven’t read the book):
But in Deathly Hallows, the religious identity of Harry’s family is made stunningly and suddenly explicit. He visits the grave of his parents, on Christmas Eve in a church-side graveyard, and reads the inscription on the headstone: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.“
How comforting a statement that is. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death where is thy victory? Death where is thy sting?
You can take away every breath in my body – but in the end you shall be destroyed. Just as death had no power over Christ, as a child of God, death has no power over me. Praise God.
Well time marches on, with the innocence gone,
And a darkness has covered the earth
But His Spirit dwells, He speaks, “it is well,”
And the hopeless still offered new birth
He will break the leash of death, it will have no sting
Let the prisoner go free, join the dance and sing
-Wayne Watson
Amen.
