Thoughts from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
The Underground Lake
Written Aug 2009
Rowling, a student of the scriptures, does a masterful
job of weaving thoughts and episodes from the life of Christ into her stories to give them a familiar ring and
to help the reader remember the Savior and see applications of principles of
the Gospel in the lives of her characters. One clear example of this is found in the adventure of Dumbledore and
Harry on the night of their visit to the underground lake where they seek one
of the hidden horcruxes. This night also
turns out to be the night of Dumbledore's death.
Here are seven connections between Rowling's story of
that evening and events from the life of the Savior.
1. In the
course of Dumbledore's evening he goes from visiting a subterranean lake to landing
on the Astronomy Tower, the highest point on Hogwart's Castle, where he also
dies. In this Dumbledore follows the
course of Christ who went from the lower parts of the earth, through his death
on the cross, to a place far above all. Paul
describes Christ's dramatic change of elevation in his letter to the Ephesians:
Wherefore he saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto
men.
(Now that he
ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth?
He that descended
is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all
things.)
Eph
4: 8-10
There are two possible meanings to Christ's going below
all things. One is that he made himself
more humble than any man has by accepting humiliation and suffering while he
was actually a God. He assures the
Prophet Joseph that . . . if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the
mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee
experience, and shall be for thy good.
The Son of Man hath
descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? D&C
122:7-8.
The second sense in which the Savior descended below all
is in his descending into the spirit world of the dead, if that place can be
thought of as below all things. After
this visit to the lower parts of the earth he ascends, by way of His death, to
the throne of the Father to be exalted.
This seems to be the meaning addressed in Paul's message to the
Ephesians.
2. Dumbledore
follows Christ in having to drain the Bitter
Cup to the very bottom - a feat that immediately strikes us as more than
humanly possible. This is a clear
reference to Christ's suffering being likened to a cup that He must drink. There is no alternative; the cup must be
drunk. No other person or action can accomplish
the atonement for mankind. Christ's 1st
person testimony in D&C 19 is the clearest reference to the cup.
Which suffering
caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and
to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I
might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the
Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. D&C
19:18-19
Matthew also records Jesus' reference to His suffering as
a cup to be drunk.
But Jesus answered
and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall
drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say
unto him, We are able.
Matt
20:22
And he went a
little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt.
Matt
26:39
Interestingly, when we commit sin we are said to be
filling the Cup of Our Iniquity. The cup
that Jesus had to drink!
Mine indignation is
soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when
the cup of their iniquity is full.
D&C 101:11
If we are not repentant we may have to drink our own
bitter cup, one which we have filled through our transgressions. This, in fact, was Dumbledore's experience as
he drained the cup 12 times.
The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone
in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Rev. 14:10
3. Harry is
to Dumbledore like the angel who
attends Christ in Gethsemane, comforting him, helping him through the agony. Luke is the only gospel writer who mentions
the presence of the angel at Gethsemane.
Saying, Father, if
thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done.
And there appeared
an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
Luke
22:42-43
Without Harry's help Dumbledore could not have finished
emptying the basin. Christ may not have
been as dependent on his angelic visitor for completion of His suffering, but
we suppose that the angel was a help to him.
4. Ron,
Hermione, and Ginny are left behind
as Peter, James, and John were left at the gate of Gethsemane.
Then cometh Jesus
with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye
here, while I go and pray yonder.
And he took with
him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very
heavy.
Then saith he unto
them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch
with me.
Matt
26:36-38
In the text Peter, James and John were charged only to
watch, wait and to stay awake. They may have also been expected to guard the
gate and watch for the enemies of the Savior who Jesus knew would be
coming. In a sort of parallel charge
Ron, Hermione and Ginny were instructed to watch Draco and Snape and to alert
the castle if any Death Eaters showed up.
They were even given Harry's Felix Felicis potion to keep them safe in
their dangerous watch.
5. We learn later
in "Hallows" that, in drinking the cup, Dumbledore experiences the
suffering of remorse for his own
mis-deeds; his succumbing to the temptations of power and fame that brought
about the death of his sister, Ariana.
Christ's suffering, of course, was caused by our mis-deeds, not his, but the concept of suffering for sin is
clear in Dumbledore's anguished cries while drinking the potion, and we are
duly warned that if we are not careful we may have to drink the cup of our own
iniquities.
6. Following
the drinking of the "Bitter Cup" Dumbledore is attacked by an evil army of Inferi which, even after
his suffering, he is still able to defeat.
This evil army reminds us of the Jewish elders and rulers who, together
with a veritable army of temple guards and Roman soldiers, confront Jesus
immediately following the completion of His suffering in the garden. The similarity between the two experiences
ends there as Jesus allows himself to be taken by the illegal midnight guards
while Dumbledore defeats and escapes from the bewitched Horcrux guards.
7. Upon
returning to his home, Hogwarts, Dumbledore is killed by one of his best
friends, Severus Snape. He knew his death was coming and he knew who would do
it. He was prepared for it. His death came about as a result of his
trying to save his friends by disarming Horcruxes. Christ, upon returning to his city,
Jerusalem, also was killed by his friends, at least those who should have been
his friends as he referred to them through the Old Testament prophet Zecharias.
And one shall say
unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those
with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Zech
13:6
Christ's death came about because he was trying to save
his friends, the whole human family, from captivity with Satan. Christ knew his death was coming and he was
prepared for it. And just as
Dumbledore's death marked the beginning of the end of Voldemort, Christ's death
dealt a binding blow to Satan as now all mankind had a way prepared whereby
they could return to the presence of their Heavenly Father.
It is well to note that Dumbledore does not represent
Christ in the story, but his experiences remind us of and point our attention
to the experiences of Christ in enabling our salvation. What Dumbledore does to help Harry become
capable of defeating Voldemort reminds us of what Christ does to make us
capable of defeating Satan. Dumbledore
has to die so that Harry can become perfected.
This story is taken out of The
Great Story of the Plan of Salvation.
