JK Rowling, who I understand is a Scots Presbyterian (and don’t tell me if I am wrong), uses a lot of clever wordplay whenever she introduces a new spell that Harry Potter and his friends are learning in their wizarding classes at Hogwarts. For example Lumos is the spell for firing up some emergency lighting, and Reparo oculus is the spell for repairing your glasses when they break. There is one spell that really resonates with me in a theological way. Harry is trying to learn to defend himself from some evil creatures who feed on the happiness and liveliness of humans. They will take all the joy out of someone, leaving only an empty shell if that person cannot offer a defense or escape. Our hero Harry must come up with a way to defend himself. A kindly professor teaches him the Patronus spell, which will bring a powerful protector to Harry’s rescue. Harry has to bring to mind the happiest, most powerful moment of joy he can remember and then speak two words. The words of the Patronus charm are “Expecto Patronem,” literally, “I expect a protector, I expect a guardian, I expect a Savior.” When Harry performs this spell with the force of desperation and the belief that a Guardian will indeed come, he is rewarded with a bright silvery stag, sort of a family animal, which saves him from his pursuers. Hope, joy, safety, and peace return when the Guardian is there.
As I watched this scene in the movie and heard Harry’s words, I thought, “This scene must ring a deep bell with Christians because we, too, expect a Guardian, a Protector, a Savior, and that is Christ Jesus.” When mental unrest threatens to take every bit of joy from us, when circumstances distress and drag us down, when catastrophe or illness comes to us, we cry out, “Help me, protect me! I expect a Savior!”
What Jesus always does is draw near to protect us from being alone. He comes to bring courage. He comes to bring a measure of grace under pressure. He comes to bring hope and dispel despair, and He comes at the end of our lives to lift us free of sin and death. It’s not a magical incantation we recite. But we can confidently say, “I expect a Savior, and He will always come to save me.”