Our
readings today approach the topic of love in different ways. We
have been hearing the wonderful story of Tobit all week. And at the beginning of the week, I have
encouraged you all to read the book of Tobit in its entirety if you have not
done so lately. It is a wonderfully
instructive book and at the same time very engaging and entertaining. In
today’s reading that spans several chapters in the book of Tobit, Sarah and
Tobiah, on the night they are wedded, pray together before God before they
consummate their marriage. They
praise and bless God for the divine plan to unite husband and wife together
in marriage. They
also pray that they may give glory to God and fulfill the purpose for which God
has united them. This
is a very selfless prayer, a beautiful prayer for a married couple to have in
their hearts, which is why this prayer has become a popular first reading in
Catholic weddings.
And
then we have the mandate to love God and love our neighbor as the greatest of
God’s commandments from Jesus’ teachings. Sometimes it is hard to love our neighbor or a friend or a family member with
all the complications, dysfunction, tensions, and misunderstanding we can have
in our human relationships. And
if we are honest with ourselves, sometimes it can be difficult to have respect
and love for God in the midst of all that we are going through in life,
especially if the reality of our lives seems to be overwhelming us. I
told you in the beginning of the week that the book of Tobit has a lot for us
to reflect upon. That is the great thing about our daily readings in the
lectionary, of how they provide us such a deep breadth of Scripture in God’s
Holy Word for us to reflect upon. We
can ask ourselves today: How am I being loving in my relationship with God and
with my neighbor? How do I need to
challenge myself to live out the ideal of love in my life of faith?
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