In 1997 (or 98, depending on your location), the world got the privilege of meeting Albus Dumbledore. At the time, he was the jolly old wizard in charge of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since then, he has grown into a wise sage and spiritual leader.
When the books became popular, conservative Christianity went crazy. They couldn’t fathom how any God-fearing person would allow their child to indulge in this sorcery. They also couldn’t fathom how ridiculously awesome these books would be. Their protests gave the series even more fire to grow.
So whether you were once told that Harry Potter was of the devil or you grew up going on adventures with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, join us as we explore some of Dumbledore’s greatest spiritual teachings.
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” –Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Christians are guilty of dwelling on dreams of paradise where the streets are gold and the only people they see are those who prayed their version of the sinners prayer (and likely look exactly like them). Some people get too focused on escaping this world for the perfection of heaven and end up squandering opportunities to participate in bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice and goodness. Faith is not a ticket somewhere else.
If we are honest, we all get a little caught up in our hopes and dreams for the future. We may dream of a day when children no longer go hungry or when equal rights is a reality. Progressive people (of faith and of no faith) can get caught in the dream of a just world and fail to work for justice in the process.
We must both dream and live. We can hope for a better future for ourselves, our children, and our fellow humans, but we can also live it. Thanks to Dumbledore, we can be reminded that our dreams must be balanced with being present in the moment. It is in the present moments that we have an opportunity to shape the future.
“You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.” –Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The religious world has placed so many limitations on humans for their humanity. It is as if being born a human is an automatic strike against us. Language of original sin and depravity limit us from the start. How much more beautiful is it to see the truth in Dumbledore’s words here that growth is always possible?
This encouragement from Dumbledore alludes to the fluidity of our identities. We are not the person we were last year and that is a good thing. Even more so, we are not the person we were when we were born. Whether you have recognized this through your own gender or sexual orientation journey, your deconstructing faith journey, or your search for a meaningful career, you may have noticed that you are not defined by your past. And that is the best news ever.
Progressive people of faith have probably noticed baggage they carry throughout the journey. We all acquire baggage that affects how we live and move in the world. But there is always possibility to not let who we were define who we will become.
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” –Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Could there be a more appropriate quote at a more appropriate time? In this time when people can threaten a world war in 140 characters or fewer, our words carry an extraordinary amount of weight these days. There are people who are getting fed up with political correctness, saying, “We can’t say anything these days.” In doing so, they imply that they miss the old days when they could use racist and sexist language to assert power and dominance. Words are magic. They can be used to put people in their place or to lift people up.
Progressives need to hear Dumbledore’s second sentence here: “Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” How are we using our words to remedy harm? There is a cacophony of words inflicting injury, but words that are remedying it have rarely been heard. We can do better, folks.
“Be honest to to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.” –Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Finally, we will end with this beautiful quote from Dumbledore in which he shows Harry that he has been reading Brené Brown. He encourages Harry to be vulnerable. Show your pain and scars, Harry. Christians have not modeled vulnerability well. Many Christians humans of all stripes struggle to show weakness. We are taught to be strong. We are taught to avoid suffering and if you can’t avoid it, definitely don’t show it.
People of faith have used their religion to mask their pain and suffering as if their God would never let anything bad happen to them. In the process of masking pain and suffering, we become fake and further alienate ourselves in our pain and suffering.
We all can model vulnerability. We can embrace it and show our scars. After all, our scars tell great stories.
So there you have it. Lessons from St. Albus Dumbledore.