EVERSE

In the last two Harry Potter books we’re given the philosophy of the soul according to this fictional world.  In this intriguing piece of the epic story the dark wizard Voldemort has divided his soul to gain immortality.  Voldemort used a very dark and evil form of magic place the pieces of his soul in various objects that are called Horcruxes.  So long as his soul resides in these objects Voldemort achieves immortality, but at a price, the price of becoming less human though he gains immense power.  If all the objects with pieces of his oul would be destroyed then Voldemort would loose power and could be killed by a mortal wound. 

The writer of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, is raising intriguing questions about power, the soul, and evil.  These same questions were raised in by J.R.R. Tolkien in Lord of the Rings where Sauron put all of his will and thought into the one ring so that if it were destroyed it would be his undoing.  But, Sauron was already an immortal being, analogous to angels, or in his case, fallen angels.  What would be the benefit of making himself vulnerable by putting his life force into a ring? 

The concept of putting one’s life force or soul into an object that is then hidden is not foreign to ancient myths.  Arabian folktales have genies which are human or human like beings whose life force is attached to an inanimate object, like a bottle.  Russian mythology has Koschei who are people that have hidden their soul in a needle allowing them to have great power so long as the needle is not destroyed which would be their death. 

In all of these stories the soul is connected with immortality in being that aspect, that part or essence of the physical beings life that continues in it’s existence after death.  Therefore, to control the soul is to control life and death, to have power over the greatest forces of the universe and to achieve immortality; the dream of humanity to live forever.  In all of these stories the soul must be removed from the physical body and hidden in some other object in order for the being to have power and achieve their goals.  Removing the soul and placing it in a container is a great metaphor on how we attempt to place life in a container where it can be manipulated and controlled for one’s own selfish ends. 

Attempts to control the soul are not born out of a desire to do good.  Neither do such attempts have peaceful or loving ends in the myths or fantasy stories as the  humanness of the being is destroyed in their self-centered search for power which corrupts them.  This is the lesson in Lord of the Rings, power corrupts even those who would use this mighty ring to do good, such as Gandalf who is unwilling to touch the ring for this reason.   

Lord Voldemort’s magic to split his soul and create the horcruxes is considered some of the darkest and most evil magic in this fictional world.  To be willing to extract one’s soul for the sake of immortality is evil no matter how justified it may be to the practitioner.  It goes against what is good and just in a society; it’s the opposite of love.  Love in Harry Potter and in real life is about giving oneself for another, sacrificing ourselves to give life, being open to and accepting the other without any strings attached.  Harry’s mother demonstrated this kind of love and it’s what saved his life.  Her willingness to die in the face of Voldemort’s killing spree saved Harry and protected him throughout his childhood.  The willingness of Jesus Christ to die for humanity unleashes the power of love that transforms those who are willing to receive it just like Harry Potter must accept the calling of love to face evil and give himself to conquering it. 

The question remains as to whether or not it’s possible to put one’s soul in a container such as Harry Potter or the ancient myths suggest being a possibility.  Can the soul be removed from the physical body even at death?  Does the soul live on in immortality even after death claims the body?  Many evangelical Christians have the view that the soul leaves the body upon death to live eternally in Heaven.  This has helped to foster the notion that Heaven is a bunch of disembodied souls floating around on clouds; what I think to be a very boring picture of the afterlife. 

After Jesus Christ rose from the grave he ate with his disciples.  There are several accounts of him appearing, mysteriously, in their midst or on the sea shore, or along the road, and eating with them.  His body seems different in its mysterious capabilities of being able to appear and disappear but it’s also very much flesh and blood in being able to eat.  When Jesus leaves his disciples to ascend into Heaven it’s a physical body that rises into the sky. 

Voldemort’s magic is all the more evil because it’s focus is on power that denies our humanness.  To be human is to be an interwoven reality of physical and spiritual that isn’t meant to be separated.  It’s to celebrate our humanity in eating together and have hope for life after death that includes the transformation of this life into something good that lives forever without being disembodied.  Voldemort disembodies himself in order to gain power but the power is empty because it must destroy what is good about being human, our flesh and blood existence that requires food to live.  It’s empty because it removes that part of humanity that gives it life, the soul, the heart, that part that loves and fills the body with love and hope in order to have power to dominate. 

How many of us attempt to do the same thing Voldemort has done?  We might be practicing evil magic to separate ourselves from our soul’s in order to gain immortality.  But, we destroy our souls with our self-centered greed and search for power in order to fulfill our selfish desires.  It’s too bad more of us haven’t discovered the love that Harry’s mom had, a love that is greater than any power Voldemort will ever posses.  

Do the things we desire and seek after control us?  Are our passions the gateway to slavery leading us into an endless seeking after what can never satisfy?  How do we live a life filled with a love that isn’t distorted by our desires to possess and control?

There was once a monk who prayed very hard and practiced many spiritual disciplines with a very devout piety.  His heart desired more than anything to see Jesus and so he prayed fervently day and night that Jesus would bless him with a vision of his presence.  The monk fasted, meditated, and read the Bible to be considered worthy for a visitation from Jesus.  One day a demon clothed in the light of an angel appeared to him and said that tomorrow evening he must climb Mount Athos and when he gets to the top his desire will be granted in having a visit from Jesus.  The monk was ecstatic and spent the whole night and next day in prayer and fasting till it was time for him to climb the mountain.

It was a strenuous climb as he slowly ascended the peak taking in the spectacular views of the peninsula and the rich nature that surrounded him.  His heart was delighted and became more and more eager the closer he got to the top as to what awaited him.  It was evening and getting dark upon the monk’s reaching the summit.  Once there he gazed upon Jesus Christ sitting upon his heavenly throne surrounded by angels and the saints; some of whom he recognized.  Then Jesus told one of the saints to go and fetch the monk and bring him to the throne because he wants to bless him.  At this point the sun was nearly set as the saint approached the monk but as the saint was within arm’s reach the monk saw with horror the horns protruding from his head.  He cried out to the Lord ‘have mercy on me” and instantly everything was gone and the monk was alone in the snow and ice on top of Mount Athos dangerously near the edge of a steep drop to the deadly rocks that lay below. 

Desire seeks only to please the self through possession, control, dominating the other in order to have what does not belong to us.  Desire is not love because love relates without condition while desire seeks to take for personal gain. 

The monk who desired to see Jesus did not do so out of love but personal gain.  If he saw Jesus then he would count for something, have an experience that would make him something, he would be someone because of this vision.  But, all of these things are selfish in that he desired to see Jesus not because of a love that was free to relate to Jesus as another, as God, as a human as someone who loved without personal gain.   

How do we overcome our desire?  How are we freed from the horrid monsters that we become through our selfish exploitation of one another, nature and the world around us?  How do we transform our constant desire to possess the other and take from the other for our own selfish gain? 

REFLECTION 

Lent can sometimes seem like an overbearing season of somber reflection and darkness that is as dreary as the February wind and gloomy skies.  In our times, people like to be happy at any expense and will go to great lengths to hide the pain or suffering that they experience.  Drugs, clothing, cars, houses, just about anything these days is marketed as a product that will make us happy and help us to forget or get rid of the things we don’t want to remember like the broken relationships, suffering, oppression, and evil in the world.  The reality is that without confronting our demons, without facing the darkness in our own lives, it’s impossible to have peace and be happy.  The gloom of Lent (and I don’t think Lent is really gloomy as much as it is reflecting on the reality of our lives) must come before the hope, joy, love and glory of Easter.

  STORY

There once was a young man who had everything he could desire.  His family became lucrative with their business and amassed a large fortune that was at his disposal.  Like many people in his situation life came too easy which carried a deadly price tag; he wasn’t in touch with who he really was and quickly found that any problem he ever encountered could be bought off and gotten rid of with the vast financial resources he inherited. 

Like many social elites this young man easily surrounded himself with a circle of friends who were more friendly with his money than they were with his heart.  They partied most nights away with drugs and sex and became oblivious to reality, that part of life that exists when we’re stripped bare of excesses and are forced to face who we really are.  It’s at this point of self-centered living that the danger of bestruction becomes all too real with the irony that the cushion of comfort acts like a narcotic to blind us to the impending danger around the corner. 

To face the vices of our lives and rip open our hearts and say this is me; all the filth and evil, all the good and peace mixed together, is the only way to face the demon’s of chaos that come unaware to undermine our existence.  But, the wild parties and fake friends told this young man that life would last forever, eternal bliss was his so why bother with the nagging thoughts he had deep in the pit of his heart.  Ignore that numb feeling in your gut and take a hit on the this stuff to fill your veins with what really counts.

In the end you can’t run from your misery and the young man found the bottom of the bottle was death.  But, even here at the end of his rope, with the noose around his neck, there was a light that shone, a presence that called to him from out of the depths of despair and invited the young man to see what was truly real in his world of death and despair.  To change takes more courage than to give in to the voices that seek our death.  But, to change goes against human nature and the young man had to wrestle with himself deep in the heart of his soul to get to what was real, to where there was still love, to find hope because all these things were buried underneath layers of false and inauthentic attempts to hide himself for the sake of a quick fix and mometary happiness.

Once the young man faced who he was while looking at the bottom of that bottle his friends left and his money dried up.  But, that light, that hope, that love, that called to him reached out and forgave him.  There was a new drink in his hand that gave life and this drink never led him to the bottom of a bottle but instead to a love that was never ending.  Life isn’t always filled with everything desired but it becomes filled with peace that is surpassing once we face our demons.