On March 25, every social media platform was flooded with it. Excitement, joy, nostalgia and energy were everywhere. It was Christmas in March: The new Harry Potter series trailer had dropped.
Oh, you should have seen the hashtags, the comments, the subjects of people’s posts across generations sharing the good news that, one more time, we were all returning to Hogwarts. Maybe you did.
Or maybe you saw their excitement and didn’t understand why so many adults and young people were happy about this. Maybe you aren’t familiar with J.K. Rowling’s books or you saw the movies but weren’t up to date on this event.
Or perhaps your day was so full that you simply didn’t have time to care. All of the above are acceptable.
In an interview on Speaking of Psychology, Dr. Tedeschi explained the process of trauma transformation. He approaches trauma through post-traumatic growth, affirming that people seek to make sense of aversive events and recognize how those experiences have changed their lives. He also suggests that “facing up to things” creates the possibility for future healing.
So let’s review: the war in the Middle East, a president pushing hope to the brink, ICE making life harder through deportations and the deaths of innocent people, gas prices rising because of war; soaring real estate costs, and the Department of Education being dismantled by those who are not educators. We are watching, in real time, as political colonialism strikes back.
And all of this during Lent—and now Holy Week—meaning day 90 of 365. That’s trauma.
In his book Body Connections: Body-Based Spiritual Care, Dr. Michael S. Koppel reflects on what it means to sense the sacred in our bodies. In chapter 5, he writes about touch and how it can promote healing.
Maybe you touched a friend or loved one and asked, DID YOU SEE IT?! THE NEW HARRY POTTER TRAILER?!
Maybe you messaged a friend or colleague, excited about the new show. Maybe you reached for your calendar to set the premiere date. Touch, as Koppel asserts, reinforces positive emotions when we are anxious or troubled.
In troubling times, I feel drawn to Jesus’ words: “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me” (John 14:1 CEB).
When we face trauma, our foundations are shaken, and trust can feel like a foreign language. But in the midst of new and unsettling realities, Jesus’ presence disrupts and enters our lives: in Jerusalem, in the temple, with the fig tree, on the path to Golgotha, at the cross and the tomb.
Jesus meets us where we are—with anything, even the anticipation of a show—and offers the gift of hope. He does not ignore our trouble or our trauma. Instead, he calls us to disrupt our paths of loneliness and despair, to begin trusting, healing and becoming whole.
When the Harry Potter trailer dropped, many were already carrying grief, anxiety and exhaustion from the state of the world. But still—there was something to look forward to.
There is, however, a catch: Not everyone has the luxury of waiting for a show to air. Some are being denied even the basic necessity of breath because of race, ethnicity, immigration status, sociopolitical realities, gender or religion.
So yes, let’s celebrate hope. But let’s also work for the hope of others.
Let’s imagine what hope can be and act for others’ liberation. Let’s hope the show is good but that life is better.
With everything happening, many of us needed the good news that a new Harry Potter series is coming—whether you’re excited, skeptical or planning to skip it altogether. It functions almost like an eschatological promise: not one that allows us to escape reality, but one that restores a sense of hope, renews courage and helps us begin to heal.
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Albus Dumbledore, The Prisoner of Azkaban
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