Have you heard that expression before? Referring to someone who is skittish, fearful or nervous, people say, “He’s afraid of his own shadow.” Of course shadows can be scary. Shadows are not harmful, but there is something that is making the shadow that may be harmful. I’ve been alarmed by shadows, especially when the angle of the light causes the shadow to magnify the object! A housecat can appear to be the size of a tiger if the light is just right! The Psalmist referred to the “valley of the shadow of death,” as if it could, in fact, be a scary place. Shadows are the evidence of something more substantive. A shadow is real but you could say that a shadow is the image of something more real. This is the subject of the text in Hebrews this week. The author reminds that the Law was merely a shadow of the substance to come. The practices of the priests and the activities of the Temple were real but they lacked ultimate substance. We can deduce this logically because of the repetition. If the practices of the Levitical Law were completing or finalizing anything, they wouldn’t have to be repeated over and over again. The reality, the substance, the finality of sacrifice was the cross of Christ. He is what all those people and practices were pointing toward. We can have assurance in this, and joy, and gratitude. We can face life and death with confidence because of what Christ has done.