Tobiah's Choice

If you have been following the story of Tobiah from the Book of Tobit this week, you will immediately realize the irony with which Raguel addresses him today: "Eat, drink, and be merry. . ." (Tobit 7:10b) Tobiah has just asked Raguel for his daughter's hand in marriage, a woman who has already lost seven husbands.

Similar words appear several times in the Scriptures. Isaiah 22:13 uses similar words in an oracle condemning those Israelites who had failed to enter a fast as he had warned. The Book of Ecclesiastes, another volume from the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Scriptures uses similar words in 9:7.

Another tradition holds that these words were used by the Roman gladiators on the night before the combat spectacles in which they fought to the death.

Each of these situations is completely different than the others. There is no common thread that unites them. Yet I doubt that we can simply regard them as a glib reaction to circumstances beyond our control.

Tobiah is entering into a marriage with a much maligned kinswoman. He is doing it with open eyes and complete understanding of her situation. Yet he chooses to enter into a marriage contract because he is convinced that it is God's will for him. Raguel, the girl's father, is hesitant on the one hand to subject his kinsman to what many consider a dangerous situation but also glad to dispose of his daughter and her less than honorable reputation. There are, after all, those who claim that she is the instrument of her many husbands' deaths.

While there are some who may argue that his choice is foolish, Tobiah acts out of love of God and love of his kinswoman. Coincidentally, the Gospel passage for today references the two great commandments of the Hebrew Scriptures. Tobiah's love for God is proven by obedience to God's will; his love for his neighbor is proven by his willingness to rescue Sarah from a life of shame and dishonor. The story may seem improbably, exotic, and out of the ordinary for the Sacred Scriptures. However, close attention to Tobiah's actions shows us that sometimes God asks us to go beyond the ordinary or, in the parlance of our day, push the envelope. I come away from the story with a greater resolve to do God's will in my life as well.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator