11th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle C
June 12, 2016 9:00am
and 11:100am Masses
Saint Margaret
Parish, Bel Air
Our Shadows
This
morning, let’s think for a minute about shadows.
Just
imagine that the sun is back there in the sky and there is no wall. If I am standing here with my back to the sun,
my body will cast a shadow and I will see it.
But, if
I stand facing the sun like this, my shadow will be behind me. It is still there, but I just don’t see it
and may not even be aware of it.
Our Shadows and God
Now,
let’s take this a step farther and think of our physical shadow as something
that I am not proud of. Maybe it is a
trait or habit, like verbally putting down certain people all the time.
And
then, let’s think of the sun as God, as Jesus who is the light of the world. Now notice this – it is probably obvious.
I only
see my shadow when I have my back turned to the sun – to Jesus. When I do that, I may be focused on my shadow
and may even be living out of it.
But
when I am facing the sun, Jesus, my shadow doesn’t disappear. It is still there, but I am not focused on it
and am probably not living out of it.
In
fact, I am focused on the light and the way of Jesus. And I am probably living out of that.
Today’s Gospel
This is a helpful
way to understand today’s gospel story.
The woman in the
gospel has come to terms with her shadow and has turned to Jesus. Her shadow remains part of her, but it is in
a sense behind her.
She experiences
Jesus’ forgiveness and moves beyond the shadow.
With that in mind, I see three lessons here.
Lesson 1: Everyone Has Shadows
The first is that
we all have a shadow.
In the gospel, the
man named Simon disdains the unnamed, so-called sinful woman. Because of that, Jesus tells the parable
about a creditor and debtors and his point is that we all need forgiveness for
something.
It may be little
or great, but it is there – our shadow.
I see this as a basic truth that we all need to admit.
Lesson 2: Face Jesus/ the Sun
The second lesson
is that we all need to turn and face the sun or God.
We can do this in
various ways. For example, we have the
Penitential Prayer at the beginning of every Mass.
Here we can
consistently, every week, bring to God the trait or habit that is our
shadow. And here God forgives us and
empowers us to move on – just as Jesus does with the woman in the gospel.
Our shadow will
still be there, but it is in a sense behind us.
We are empowered not to live out of it any longer.
Lesson 3: Don’t Look at Others’ Shadows
And the third lesson
is that we need to be careful not to get focused on the shadows of others.
Notice that when
we are facing God, the sun, we might still be able to see the shadows of
others. But we should not get focused on
them.
This is what Simon
is doing in the gospel. He thinks he is
facing God, but he is really focused on the woman’s shadow and ends up being
very full of himself.
In focusing on the
shadow of the woman, Simon is really acting out of his own shadow of holding
himself above others. So, a telltale
sign of living in our own shadow even when we think we are facing God, the sun,
is when we get focused on the shadows of others.
We need to be aware
of this. It is important just to face
the light, Jesus, and live out of that and not look at the shadows of
others.
Conclusion
So, a powerful
lesson about our shadows this morning!
