An Enemy Worth Hating

Here is the fact: We don't quite know what to do about death.

A couple of weeks ago a horrific tragedy occurred in the lives of some people I know up in Oregon. They lost their 18-month old daughter in a tractor accident. While I did not know the family well, the accident hit me really hard. It also brought out to me the reality that we as human beings waver between two extremes when it comes to dealing with death.

The first extreme is to avoid death. If I am honest, I practiced this in some ways. When I got the news (via facebook) I prayed for the family, but I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. My wife and I didn't talk about it until a couple days later when she got the news. It was as if talking about it would make it more real. Talking about it brought the tragic nature of the event home in a way that made me really uncomfortable.

Many of us are similarly uncomfortable with death. We're afraid of it. We want to keep it as far away from us as possible. We avoid funerals. We respond with jokes when serious subjects come up. We do all that we can to disguise the signs of aging. Our fear drives us to denial and renders us incapable of dealing with the reality of death.

The second extreme is to sanitize death. We do all that we can to lessen the horror of death. We say things like, "She's still with us in spirit," and "Death is just a passage to the next life." We say that there is no reason to mourn at funerals; just celebrate the person who has moved on.

Neither of these extremes reflect the Christian perspective. Death should be neither avoided nor sanitized. It shouldn't be sanitized because it is a real enemy. It shouldn't be avoided because it is a defeated enemy.

In 1 Thessalonians 4 the Apostle Paul says that believers should not grieve as those who have no hope. He doesn't say that we shouldn't grieve. We should. Death is terrible. It separates us from love ones. And enough of the silliness of saying that they are still with us. They aren't. Death is horrible and grief is appropriate. Jesus certainly thought so; he wept and groaned with grief at the death of his friend Lazarus (John 11). When we stand over the casket of a child (or the casket of anyone), we should hate death. We should sense the horror of it and be repulsed and grieved. But the grief is not that of an irretrievable loss. It is not a grief without consolation.

And, for the record, the hope is better than we give it credit for. In that passage in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul doesn't say that we can grieve hopefully because our loved ones are in a better place. He says that we can grieve hopefully because they will be raised. There will be a reunion. Life will win out over death for those who have embraced Jesus and his gift of life.

Death is a defeated enemy because of the resurrection of Jesus. But it still remains an enemy. Its sting in removed because it does not have the final word. But its presence still brings bitter grief as we experience separation from people we love. 

Death is an enemy worth hating. When we grieve we appropriately demonstrate this. But we must never forget that death is a defeated enemy. When we have hope for resurrection and reunion, we appropriately demonstrate this.

Harry Potter: The Difference Between a Good and Great Story

Just Wait Till the Craze Dies Down. . .
At the prodding of my friend, Phil Shahbaz, I recently read through the seven Harry Potter books. I know that I was ridiculously far behind the trend, but I didn't have a great deal of interest in them when the craze was at its height. Phil told me that he thought the books were a wealth of illustrations for the gospel, so I thought it would be worth reading through them.
Overall, I thought that the books were very well done. I know that there are some questions about whether or not the books serve as a door into the occult and I think there is validity to parental awareness of this. At the same time, the core story is not about the occult. The core story is an epic tale about Good vs. Evil. It is certainly not a Christian allegory in the sense of The Chronicles of Narnia, but there are still powerful images in the books that serve as conversation-starters about several subjects, including the heart of redemption.

Heroism through Sacrifice
Many stories, whether intentional or not, reflect the sacrifice of Jesus. Most great epics depict a heroic character sacrificing his life so that his people can be free. It appeared to me that this was the direction of the Harry Potter sage. As I drew closer and closer to the conclusion it seemed certain that Harry would save his friends, and the whole world, from the evil Voldemort (that's right, I used his real name!), but that he would lose his life in the process. In fact, I was certain that I had heard somewhere that this was the conclusion of the story.
I know it is hard to believe that anyone would not know how the story ended considering the insane craze about the books and movies. But I truly didn't know how it was going to end. But I could swear that I overheard that he died in the end. Moving through the final book, I prepared myself for this fact.
I prepared myself for it, but I didn't like it.
I remember thinking, "I guess it will make for a good ending. At the same time, I want to see what his life and his relationships would be like if he was to live. I just think it would make for a better story." But I kept telling myself that a hero giving his life for the freedom of his people is still an awfully good story.

The Surprise
Spoiler warning (not that anyone other than me would need a spoiler warning at this point).
Harry did die. Kind of. He died, and then he came back. And when he came back, he defeated Voldemort, freed his people, and went on to live the full life that his mother had died to give him.
This ended up bring a wonderful surprise for me. I was so certain that he would die that I was delighted when he ended up living. He not only experienced a resurrection of sorts in the story, I experienced his resurrection in my heart because I had been so certain of his impending death. My heart was filled with joy as I read the happy conclusion, not just for Harry's friends, but for Harry himself.
(By the way, when Harry dies, and before he comes back, he is in a train station at King's Cross; that is a not-so-subtle gospel reference by Rowling.)

Resurrection is Better than Sacrifice
It is a good story when someone gives his life in order to set his people free. A good story, not a great story.  The reason this is not a great story is because death still wins a half-victory. While death is defeated and held off from the people, it still claims the life of the hero. Sacrifice is a good story, but not a great one.
Resurrection? Now, that is a great story. It is great because the people are free from death, and the hero is also free from death. Death is utterly defeated. It claims nobody!

Throughout the Harry Potter saga, death did claim several beloved characters: Harry's parents, Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black (a moment of silence, please, for my favorite supporting character), Albus Dumbledore, Mad Eye Moody, Fred Weasley, Lupin and Tonks, and Severus Snape (my other favorite). But the ending was delightful because the heroic Harry won a double victory. His friends all lived and he lived on with them.

The resurrection is a wonderful surprise because it seems too good to be true. Jesus not only gives his life for the freedom of his people, but he himself lives on with them. A truly happy ending snatches new life from the grip of death. Any story that reflects the delight of this surprise is a good story.