A Resurrection Story

Coming to the end of the Harry Potter series for the third time, I loved it even more than the first two times. This time through I felt like I was able to notice many more details—because I had read it before, but also because I have become more mature in my Christian faith. The last moments in the Deathly Hallows perfectly completed the theme of self-sacrificial love that had resounded through the rest of the series.

This time through, the biblical allusions that Rowling made were especially evident. The first things that I noticed were the bible verses on James and Lily’s tombstone as well as Ariana Dumbledore’s. Even though Harry and Hermione did not realize that these were from the bible, I do believe that Rowling placed them there on purpose. The first time I read what was on Harry’s parents’ gravestone I was just as confused as Harry. Harry says to Hermione, “’The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’… Isn’t that a Death Eater idea? Why is that here?” (Deathly Hallows 328). However upon further thought, I connected the dots, just has Hermione had— this meant “living beyond death. Living after death” (328). This immediately brought to mind the gospel of Christianity. In short, Jesus Christ was sent to the earth, both fully human and fully God, to die as a sacrifice for the sins of the people that he loved—every person—past, present, and future. He died and was resurrected three days later, conquering death. To me, this is the same idea as the inscription on the Potter’s gravestone.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” is a direct quote from the Bible in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 26. Although his parents did not conquer death, Harry did. After he sees Snape’s memories in the pensive, he realizes that he must voluntarily walk to his death. Before his death, Dumbledore explained to Snape that on the night that Voldemort tried to kill Harry, the killing curse rebounded and tore apart Voldemort’s soul. One piece of his soul latched onto the nearest living thing—Harry. While that part of Voldemort’s soul is living in Harry, he could not die. Harry realized that “his job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms” (691).

Fast forward to the Forbidden Forest as Harry is surrounded by the shadows of his family. He is walking to his death in order to save the ones that he loves—very similarly the way that Jesus voluntarily died in order to save every person. After the killing curse is cast, Harry chooses to come back to life to rejoin his friends and family. Harry fulfils the prophecy set on his parent’s tombstone—he is resurrected and conquers death. Very literally, living after he has died.

My feelings for both Dumbledore and Harry changed in the last chapters of the Deathly Hallows. I gained more respect for each of them than I ever had before. Dumbledore had a long vision to defeat evil and did it in a way that he knew that it would be accomplished. Harry was able to face his fear of death because he knew that the outcome would be life for those who would live on after him. Each of those actions are the epitome of the self-sacrificial love that we should strive for every day.