“The old argument,” Voldemort said softly. “But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncement that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.”
“Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.
We are nearly through the sixth book of Harry Potter. I took a screen shot of this page, much to the embarrassment of my kids, so I would remember this brilliant exchange between Dumbledore and Voldemort. Classic nerd and dad move. It says so much about where I am these days- caught between the tragedy of Voldemort’s lost imagination brought about by trauma and the desire to know where to rejoice in love found. Am I looking in the wrong places? Is joy an old argument?
I don’t think so. This week, as numerous doctors, hospital chaplains, and medical personnel received some of the first vaccinations, love and hope and reason to rejoice was found a bit. In these places, I saw flickers of God with us.
We are in the home stretch towards Christmas. We are also at a pivotal turn in this pandemic. The days before us may be harder still, joy may be difficult to find in light of such heavy loss, and the call to rejoice seem both strange and unreasonable. We may not always feel it. Be kind to yourself in these moments. Feel what you feel...or do not feel. But also trust the love of God with us is beyond an old argument or magical sentiment. So find a friend to help you look for love in the right, or at least different, places. You may even find it in the manger- the divine assurance that despite the distance and despair, we are not completely alone in this madness.