The Prisoner of Azkaban started very much like the first two Harry Potter books. Harry is back with the Dursleys and his magic again gets him into trouble. I hope one of two things happens by the end of the series: that Harry doesn’t have to go back to the Dursleys’ during summer vacation or they have a change of heart and reconcile themselves to Harry.
I enjoyed the first five chapters and, as always, things really pick up when everyone gets back to Hogwarts. Below are some reflections from chapters 1-5 of The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Trouble
Harry is always worried about getting in trouble: with the Dursleys, with Dumbledore, with the Ministry of Magic. It makes sense because Harry is 13. Even though I’m over twice Harry’s age I worry about the same thing. Whenever anyone says “we need to talk”, I always assume the worst and that I am somehow in trouble. A lot of us have that fear of getting in trouble when we’re children but it sometimes lingers into adulthood and our lives with God. Sometimes we’re so worried about getting in trouble with God that we focus solely on sin management. We think that if we can just avoid sin then we won’t get in trouble with God. Unfortunately, when we just think about not getting in trouble with God, we miss out on so much more that God wants to do in and through our lives.
Aunt Marge
Aunt Marge is just plain mean. I thought Vernon, Petunia and Dudley were bad, but Marge makes them look like fluffy Ewoks. There really isn’t any excuse for how Marge treats Harry and the things that she said about his parents. I really don’t even feel bad that Harry accidentally inflated her like Violet Beauregarde. I’m definitely not the nicest person I know but I hope that I’m kinder than Marge. Kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. If we’re pursuing God and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, then kindness should be evident. We may not be the nicest people in the world but we definitely shouldn’t be the nastiest.
Divination
I can understand why people take issue with Harry Potter. One of his classes is Divination and it’s all about predicting the future. Obviously divination isn’t a good practice and the witch of Endor definitely isn’t a biblical role model. Having read about Harry’s class schedule, though, I don’t feel compelled to grab a stick and try to find some water or predict my future. God doesn’t want us to depend on divination or fortune tellers because they don’t hold our futures in their hands; he does. All the days of our lives are ordained in God’s book and he is the one in whom we need to place our trust. With our trust firmly placed in God, we can live our lives securely knowing that he will work everything for our good and his purposes.
So far I’m enjoying The Prisoner of Azkaban. I’m very excited to see what happens with Sirius Black and what the escaped convict has to do with the boy wizard.
What are your thoughts from the first five chapters of The Prisoner of Azkaban?
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