Our first readings this week are from the book of Tobit, one of the Deutero-Canonical books that is included in the Catholic Bible, but which has been excluded from the Protestant Bible. Although, in the past, it seems like a lot of Catholics were unfamiliar with the book of Tobit, more of us are becoming familiar with this wonderful book of Scripture. In fact, many couples who are married in the Catholic Church choose a reading from the Book of Tobit as their first reading at their wedding mass. If you have not read Tobit in recent years or if you cannot recall the story, I recommend for you to read it all the way through. It is a very enjoyable read and a very instructive tale from the Old Testament.
Tobit was a Jewish man who had held a very high ranking in the Assyrian court, yet he got into trouble when it was found out that he was secretly burying Israelites who were being persecuted and killed by the Assyrian king. Tobit loses his eyesight in today’s reading, but the reader is left to speculate if this is due to a freak accident that happens by chance, or if Tobit was a good man being tested by God, similar to the circumstance of the book of Job. When Tobit accuses his wife for falsely acquiring a goat as payment for work she had done, her wife expresses her thoughts: Where have your good deeds gotten you, Tobit? How are you being rewarded for the good that you do for others?
Isn’t it true that we want to be rewarded or recognized for our good works. In our life decisions, we take risks and expose ourselves to dangers, which can lead to hardship and suffering. Perhaps that is what happens to Tobit in today’s passage.
Tobit was a good man, a righteous man, but perhaps he became a bit overzealous in the way he judged his wife and other, perhaps he needed to be more charitable and merciful. May our hearts reach out to those around us in compassion and mercy. May we bear the joys and the burdens that come to us on our journey.
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