Written by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060121.cfm

The book of Tobit, which we’ll be reading all week, is a novel...part fairy tale, part love story...and intended to entertain as well as inspire faith in God. Today’s story brought a smile to our face, but the book also brings some tears about, as we will hear further this week.  Good people suffer...that we know for a fact.  Tobit is no exception.

As a little background to this book, when the author wrote it about 200 B.C., the Israelites needed assurance that God would be with them in their time of oppression.  They remembered all too well when their ancestors were oppressed by the Babylonians, and here they were again, this time under Greek rule.  They would ask themselves "why should we follow God's law if all we have to look forward to was more suffering? The book of Tobit assured them, and all the faithful, that God would eventually reward them; it was just a matter of time.

In today’s reading, Tobit is sleeping out in the open under the wall of the courtyard of his house. Because of the heat, his face was uncovered.  As he slept, he didn’t realize that there were sparrows nesting above him. We heard what happened next.  Mother Nature took over and the birds’ fresh droppings fell into his unprotected eyes and caused cataracts to form on them.

Despite all the efforts of doctors, he ended up becoming totally blind for 4 years and losing his job at court.  He had to be supported by his wife…a further humiliation for him since he was a once wealthy public servant.

Here again, an unspoken question is why such a tragedy should happen to such a good man. Was it pure accident or was it a time of testing for Tobit? The author answers that key question with a story of Tobit that shows the fidelity of God and the courage of believers.  Tobit turns to God in prayer and his prayer is answered when God sends an angel to help heal him.  He, however, doesn’t know the end of the story, and so Tobit must continue to be courageous and trust in a merciful God.  He does this by observing the law, being hospitable to others, giving alms, and respecting his family members. Through his fidelity to others, the power of God’s love in his life becomes real.

That’s the lesson from Tobit for us today: that is, although God’s fidelity may seem hidden from us at times, it is the ordinary, daily human events of our lives that are the setting for God’s faithful care of us.

As we go about our day now, take special note of who you meet and what you do. Somewhere amidst it all, God is there, too.