Weekly HOMILY for June 13, 2010: Our Shadows Have a Lesson to Teach

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Testimonial Weekend
Our Lady of Grace
June 13, 2010

Our Shadows Have a Lesson to Teach
By Nicholas P. Amato


Shadow As Metaphor

This evening’s/morning’s readings have a very powerful lesson to teach us about forgiveness and to get us to those lessons, let us think for a moment about shadows.

Imagine with me the shadow you were casting just this afternoon (or the last sunny day.) If I stand with my back to the sun (gesture sun=forward; shadow=behind) I am definitely going to see my shadow as it is cast by the sun.

However, if a stand facing the sun, my shadow will be behind me.

Oh, it is still very much there, but I simply do not see it and after a while, I am not even aware of it.


Our Shadows and God

Now, let us identify our physical shadow with something in our lives that we are not proud of. Perhaps it is something we have done or a negative personality trait that pops up from time to time or even a hidden secret sin I have never shared with anyone.

And then, let us identify the sun as Jesus who has been known as “The light of the world.”

Notice: I only see my shadow when I have my back turned to Christ, the Sun. When I do that, I am focused on my shadow and in some cases even living out of it.


Today’s Scripture

I believe that this is a good way to understand today’s readings and especially the Gospel we just heard.

The woman in the Gospel has come to terms with her shadow – she knows she is a sinner and so does most of the town – yet, she has turned herself toward Christ.

Yes, her shadow remains part of her past, part of her life, but it is in a real sense put behind her.

She experiences God’s forgiveness and has been able to move beyond her shadow, if you will, into the light that is Christ.

I can see three important lessons about our shadows here.


Lesson #1: All Have Shadows

The first lesson is that we all have shadows – from the most saintly of Popes to the most sinful of sinners.

Jesus tells the story about the creditor and the debtors and how the individual who has been forgiven much will be able to love more.

Simon misses the point completely and instead disdains this unnamed, so-called sinful woman.

An underlying message here is that we all have something that needs forgiveness. The worse or sinful the act, trait, or imperfection is, the greater love that person will have toward the one forgiving.

The sins, little or great, are there and imaged (look over shoulder) as our shadow.

This is the core truth of life and of our relationship with God.


Lesson #2: Face God the Son

The second lesson is that we all need to turn and face God, who is represented by the sun or the light.

We can do this turning only by entrusting ourselves to the power of God. We can do this by prayer, by feeding on the Eucharist, and especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In this turning through the grace of God, God is then able to forgive us of the thing or the trait that make up our shadow, in much the same way that Jesus has done with the woman in the Gospel.

God first draws us into his light and then God empowers us to live in him.

Make no mistake about it, our shadow is still there, but it is, in a sense, behind us. It no longer has to determine what we do or who we are. We don’t have to live out of it.


Lesson 3: Don’t Look at Others’ Shadows

The third and final lesson drawn from this shadow and light image is that we need to be careful not to get focused on the shadows of others.

When we are facing God – the light, the sun – we can still see the shadows of others. The caution here is not to get focused on their shadows.

This is what the Pharisee named Simon is doing in the Gospel. He thinks he is facing God, but he is really focused on the woman’s shadow and he is feeling very self-righteous and condescending.

Amazingly, in focusing on the shadow of the woman, Simon is really in his own shadow without even knowing it. So, a telltale sign of living in our own shadow, even when we think we are facing God, is when we get focused on the shadows of others.

We, as individuals, can easily slide into this with one another. And quite honestly, we as a Church, can get into this in the way we talk about or treat others whom we think are not facing God fully, such as some politicians.

Far better to make sure that we ourselves are facing the Lord, the light! And far better for us to invite others to do this respectfully and positively!


Conclusion

So, some extremely powerful lessons to us about our shadows and what they have to tell us this evening/morning!

“Let those who have ears, hear.”