What Needs to Go?
By Rev Steven R
Mitchell
Mountain View
United Church, Aurora, CO 12-8-2013
Based on Isaiah
11:1-4a, 6-10
Harry
Potter has become the most successful series both in literature and on film of
this century. Artfully crafted, the
author JK Rowlings has brought to life a story that chronicles the life of a
young wizard named Harry Potter and the hope of the future that only he can
bring. The first time that I actually
heard about this series was in a conversation with my eldest daughter, Bobbie
Jo. She sheepishly admitted to me that
she had been reading the Harry Potter series.
I thought to myself, what was so wrong with a twenty something girl
reading this fantasy? I later realized
that I was confusing the Harry Potter series with that of the Beatrix Potter’s
series of animal books, specifically the Tales
of Peter Rabbit?
What
starts with an evil wizard out to conquer the wizardry world and enslaving
mortals, a young child survives a brutal attack that kills both his
parents. Harry is then hidden until he
comes of age to learn how to use his magical powers. As the series progresses, you eventually
realize that JK Rowlings is using basic Christian stories in developing her
primary character, Harry, to retell the stories of Jesus and his role as savior
for humankind. With each book, the
stories become more dark and sinister; in the movie series, the photography
becomes darker helping us to visually experience the power that the Dark Lord
Voldemort brings to the world. Harry’s
character becomes blatantly the Christ figure, in a battle which looks a lot
like Armageddon with Harry dying and returning as the only wizard who can
defeat the Dark Lord and bringing peace and harmony to the wizardry world.
Another
telling of this basic theme comes in this morning’s reading of Isaiah. Isaiah, has just finished telling the people
of Israel that God will be cutting down the forest thickets with an ax. Isaiah was sharing with his audience that
there was going to be a complete upheaval of the world that they knew and
loved, but that this upheaval wasn’t going to be the work of a foreign empire
Babylon, but rather orchestrated by the hand of God. Although the destruction may seem complete,
Isaiah says there is hope for out of the stump; for out of the stump of Jesse
will come one who will bear fruit and will possess the Spirit of the Lord, with
the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of counsel and of power, and the Spirit of
knowledge and of fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:1-3a So changed will the world be that the wolf
will live with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the goat, a child
will play near the hole of a cobra and put his hand into a vipers nest; so
changed will the world be that the Root of Jesse will be a banner that even
nations will rally to him. The desire
for the type of world that Isaiah speaks about continues in the heart of
humanity. It has even appeared in a jingle
in 1971 titled, Buy the World a Coke. It had such a powerful message calling for
peace and harmony that it soon hit the pop charts having eliminated the “buy a
coke today” and helped inspire a generation to work toward ending war and challenged
a rethinking of what is truly important in life.
World peace, the
end of poverty, justice for all truly sound like great goals don’t they? But what is the price to achieve all of
this? Are these even real objectives or
some dream that comes out of the end of a smoke pipe? There are forces with voices so strong
telling us that world peace is not achievable, that poverty will never be
irradiated, and that justice is just an exercise in futility. We are told that “self” is the primary object
that each of us needs to be looking after.
Our laws are constantly written
in favor of those who have the stronger voice without any consideration of the
harm that can be done for those whose voices are weak. The Lord Voldemort’s of this world seem to be
in control and growing stronger each day.
In the Harry Potter series, I noticed that few of the adult wizards and
witches seemed to be willing to stand up against the darkness that Voldemort
represented, mostly out of fear.
In the examples
that Isaiah uses such as the wolf (who is by nature predatory), he contrasts
with the lamb (who is non-aggressive), or the calf and the lion, again non-predatory
verses the predatory, and all these will be lead by a child, not an adult,
symbolizing innocence over calculating adults.
What is the message being given here?
Is it truly possible that the predatory nature that seems to terrorize
the world can actually be altered to a point that there can be harmony, peace,
and equanimity for all? Is it truly
possible, or are people like Isaiah just blowing smoke about a world that is
only a daydream?
The world is
mourning the passing of Nelson Mandela, one of the world’s most loved men. Loved because he strove to enrich the world
that Isaiah dreamed about. Mr. Mandela
helped the world understand that peaceful change could happen. Mr. Mandela taught the world that the
possibility of the wolf laying down with the lamb is possible, but at a
price. The price is the ability to let
go of the Lord Voldemort’s value system of power. Under Mr. Mandela’s Presidency the world saw
for the first time an experiment in forgiveness as a stepping stone to peace
between two races through the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” For this experiment to have worked both sides
of South Africa had to let go of the age old standard of “an eye for an eye”
and “a tooth for a tooth” mentality. I
would like to share several of Nelson Mandela’s most favorite quotes as
examples of “letting go”:
1) “For to be free is
not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and
enhances the freedom of others.”
2) “A good leader can
engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the
other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea
when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.”
3) “Hope is a powerful
weapon, and (one) no one power on earth can deprive you of.”
I love how JK
Rowlings translates the Dark Lords desires as being held within Horcrux’s as a
way of protecting his hate filled desires.
Each one of those Horcrux’s had to be destroyed so that Voldemort
himself could be defeated thus restoring life to the way it was originally
intended to be lived – that of peace and harmony. In this Advent season, we need to prepare for
the joy that comes with being in the presence of God. Each of us hold basic horcrux’s that prevent
the world that Isaiah speaks about, a world of wisdom, peace, and justice that
is based on the knowledge of God. We
know that God exists, but what needs to be let go so that the vision of Isaiah
and the vision of a child who was born in Bethlehem might truly be
realized? The Voldemort’s of this world
tell us we are dreaming about Isaiah’s world, but the word of God tells us it
is already happening, we have seen it at work in South Africa. We are that branch from Jesses stump, we are
capable of being the branch that bears fruit!
Amen
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