Expecto Patronum...

 “Expecto Patronum” 

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c
5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.

5:2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.

5:3 She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."

5:8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."

5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house.

5:10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."

5:11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!

5:12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage.

5:13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?"

5:14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

5:15c Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel."

 

 

In the James Bond film (sorry, I’ve been a James Bond fan since childhood, when we could get in to see a movie matinee at the Latonia theater on Saturdays by just bringing a can of food for the local food pantry…), Goldfinger, our hero Mr. Bond was handcuffed to an atomic bomb at the movie’s climax, and was feverishly trying to figure out how to disarm the beast before it vaporized him and the entire U.S. gold repository at Fort Knox. He looked over the complicated mass of spinning things, flashing lights, multi-colored wires, and whirring sounds typical of giant movie bombs, and kept second-guessing which wire to yank, knowing that the wrong one would mean bye-bye Bond. Then, with a second or so to spare, a “good guy” scientist arrives and simply throws a toggle switch to “off,” and the bomb is silenced. It may be one of the few times in the whole Bond corpus where he is made to look pretty foolish, but the joke works so well on Sean Connery. AND, the joke works so well because, like all secret spies, the expectation is that defusing an atomic bomb would require an incredible intellect, cat-like reflexes, and the precision of a surgeon. Nope. Just a switch.

 

Fast forward to more modern times, and arrive in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. Think of all of those “spells” these adolescents try with a flick of their “magic wands.” Some, like “little Hermione,” are presciently adept at choosing the right spell for the right job, and executing it posthaste. Others, like Ron, who waves a cracked “Weasley” wand and always seems to clear his throat before speaking the magic words, usually fails. Then there is the kid—I think he is Seamus?—who usually manages to blow things up, including his eyebrows. Spells, wands, and magic, it turns out are complicated things, something like a Bond bomb. No spell is more difficult, and yet important, as the “Patronus Charm.” Here’s a narrative about it from a Harry Potter fan site, maintained by a bunch of people with way too much time on their hands:

 

The Patronus Charm (Expecto Patronum) was the most famous and one of the most powerful defensive charms known to wizard-kind. It was an immensely complicated and extremely difficult spell, that channeled the caster's positive emotions into a powerful protection and evoked a partially-tangible positive energy force known as a Patronusor spirit guardian. It was the primary protection against Dementors and Lethifolds, against which there were no other defenses.

 

The wolfman professor (“Lupine?”) teaches it to Harry, and it becomes a big thing as the Potter saga unfolds. Oh, just for fun, here’s a little Harry Potter commentary from this fan of the series…(this is for free, not part of the sermon, per se)…

 

Many “Christians” have decried the Harry Potter books and movies as “demonic.” Really? Actually, I think J.K. Rowling brilliantly “rescues” Medieval “wizards tales” from the ash-heap of history and revitalizes their typically “biblical” elements they once symbolized. Dumbledore is the God-figure in the stories. Ron is the stumble-bum disciple, Peter. Hermione is a composite of the curious, yet clearly superiorly-thinking women who follow Jesus. Neville Longbottom is Thomas, whose post-resurrection legend just grew and grew, historically. Judas? Clearly Draco Malfoy. The mysterious young blond girl who happens into the story—Luna—may be the disciple John, who seems to truly “get” who Jesus is. I’ve been playing with the idea that Hagrid may be the doppelganger for the Holy Spirit, as he always seems “present” to Harry Potter in each phase of his life. No one needs help to figure out who plays Satan in the story, do they? Unless, of course, you never “did” any Potter. OK, the devil is Voldemort. Duh! And, of course, our dear Harry Potter is Jesus, himself. Oh, come on, you didn’t figure THAT out? “Harry” is as common an English name as was “Jesus” in the first century. And “Potter” (as in “Thou art the POTTER, I am the clay…”) invokes the divine connection, even as “Christ” does. Both are supremely NOW and apocalyptic, at the same time. Harry fights evil, struggles mightily between his humanity and his “wizard-ness,” passionately embraces his friends, takes on all of evil to protect his beloved community, dies that evil might be rendered powerless, and experiences a resurrection, as ultimate good triumphs over evil. What about the three parts of the ”key” to the story, the “Deathly Hallows”? They are: the “cloak of invisibility,” which sure seems to be an analogue for the incarnation of the Divine in Jesus Christ, allowing God to walk around the creation “undetected”; the “Elder Wand,” representing the miracle-working power of Jesus that both enables his crowd-gathering ability, but often gets in the way of his prime message; and the “Resurrection Stone,” that, well, you get it. Even the ending of the final film, when the aged Potter “kids” bring their offspring to Platform 9 ¾ to head off to Hogwarts, is a kind of “launching of the church” and sending the new disciples forth. 

 

If you think this is a bit contrived, you never had a literature course in college, or had a high school English teacher explain the symbolism behind Beowulf…

 

Back to the Bible…most of us are quite familiar with this story of Naaman, his bout of leprosy, and the possibility of a healing via the prophet of God, Elisha. Leprosy was a horrible disease back in the day, and often fatal, so the fear it induced would be akin to a serious cancer diagnosis in our day. When told by and errand boy of Elisha that he would be healed if he obediently went and washed seven times in the Jordan River, the commander of the armies of Aram became indignant. I don’t know whether Naaman was a narcissist or just dramatic, but he loses it to think that Elisha doesn’t show up and invoke some kind of magic, impressive Petronus Charm to affect the healing. There should be a rhyming, alliterative spell pronounced, and a lot of wand-swishing! And it should be done in person by the great “Man of God,” for after all, NAAMAN WAS AN IMPORTANT PERSON! If it hadn’t been for his servants, the “great commander” might have succumbed to his leprosy.

 

As in many good stories, “servants to the rescue” was the order of the day, though. They brought Naaman to the place we would later see the Centurion in the New Testament occupy—a confident humility that if Jesus were to just “say the word,” his servant back home would be healed. Appealing to this “chain of command” element of the military mind, Naaman’s servants persuade him to take the bath, AND he is immediately healed. No Petronus Charm, no pyrotechnics, no flicking of the wand, not even the presence of a prophet. To his credit, Naaman gives both praise and credit to the “God of Israel.” By the way, in case anyone ever tries to tell you that there was nothing “supernatural” in Naaman’s healing, and that it was this “washing” in the Jordan that actually cleansed his wounds and healed his leprosy, just ask them if they have ever been to the Jordan. That river is a cesspool. I’d worry profoundly more about what I brought OUT of it rather than what I left IN it, were I to “bathe” in it!

 

I’m like Naaman sometimes. No, not the keen, military mind, as I’ve never served, nor been trained at the Army War College. I’m talking about too often wanting to see the “Hollywood FX” manifested when I pray and ask God for something. Mostly it’s because such a display would let me know the prayer got through, and that God was on the job. Oh, there might be a slight whimper of entitlement present, given I’ve been a “practicing Christian” for so many years, and after all, I DID answer a call to ministry and served churches for 36 years! Have you ever tried to “Naaman out” on God, refusing to do the simple, mundane things the Holy Spirit prompts you to do to help remedy a difficult situation? Have you ever wanted the fireworks, or an angel to show up, just so you know “Your call is important to us, so please stay on the line…”? While these expectations are not necessarily sinful, they may be childish. And they may get in the way of God’s imparted wisdom, which is most often “the droid you are looking for,” as they say. When you pray, never ignore that “still, small voice,” in favor of the booming shout from the heavens. God may just “flip a switch” instead of make a dramatic “save.”

 

Even in the Harry Potter genre, simpler things are usually the “fix,” not the wands and spells. Friendship and loyalty holds the whole story together and wins in the end. I loved the ending of the very first film, when Dumbledore is talking bedside to Harry, who is recuperating from a truly “Hollywood” encounter with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. What was the secret to his defeating evil at this juncture, according to the great wizard? “Love, Harry, LOVE!” Sounds like a very Jesus-like lesson to me.

 

So, to the Naaman in all of us, I say “Love, Harry, LOVE!” For God SO LOVED the world that God gave God’s only Son...and don’t let your membership in the greater “whosoever believes” get in the way of knowing you are special in God’s eyes. Just don’t think that means you get a Petronus showing up every time you are in need. And listen in prayer for the “servant commands” the Holy Spirit may offer to help you navigate out of the “life leprosy” you may find yourself immersed in. Amen!