(11.) The Gospel Story of Tobit: A Healing and a Revelation
(11.) The Gospel Story of Tobit: A Healing and a Revelation.
“Sarah’s father embraced Tobias and said to him, ‘Goodbye, my son. Have a safe journey. May the Lord of heaven grant prosperity to you and to your wife Sarah. And may I see children of yours before I die.’ Then he kissed his daughter Sarah and said to her… ‘Go in peace, my daughter; let me hear good reports about you as long as I live.” (Tobit 10:11-12).
The Story Continues. After the marriage ceremony of Tobias and Sarah, Raphael took a quick visit near Media to retrieve Tobit’s long-lost investment money. Meanwhile, the wedding celebration continues. All this time, though, Tobit is anxiously waiting at home in Ninevah for Tobias’ return. It was mother Anna, though, that was taking her son’s absence the hardest. She would weep all day every day, wondering if her precious boy had perished during his journey. She kept an all-day vigil on the nearby roadside, and she refused even to eat. After her daytime watch, she would retire to bed and weep all night as well.
Finally! After two full weeks of wedding celebrations at Sarah’s home in Media, the newlyweds were finally able to extricate themselves from Sarah’s parents, but not without his impassioned blessings on them both (see above). Sarah’s mother spoke a special blessing over Tobias as well… “My child and beloved kinsman, may the Lord bring you back safely to your home, and may I live long enough to see children of you and my daughter Sarah before I die. Before the Lord, I entrust my daughter to your care, Tobias. Never cause her grief at any time in her life. Go in peace, my child. From now on I am your mother, and Sarah is your beloved. May all of us be prosperous all the days of our lives.” (11:13). The parting words of Tobias to Sarah’s parents were, “May I honor you all the days of my life!” (10:14). Could one find a more peaceful and healthy beginning to in-law relationships?
Welcome Home for a Healing. As Raphael and Tobias, with Sarah trailing behind a bit, approached his parents at home in Ninevah, it was mother Anna who spotted them first coming down the road. She immediately embraced her son as only a mother could. While still outside the home, Tobias wasted no time in applying the miraculous fish bile onto his father’s eyes, and Tobit was immediately healed. “Raphael said to Tobias before he reached his father: ‘I am certain that his eyes will be opened. Smear the fish gall on them. This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and will draw a filmy white skin off his eyes; then your father will again be able to see the light of day!’… Tobias went up to his father Tobit with the fish gall in his hand, and holding him firmly, blew into hie eyes. ‘Take courage, father,’ he said. Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes, left it there a while, and it made the father’s eyes sting. Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit’s eyes, Tobias used both hands to peel off the filmy white cataracts. When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around Tobias and wept. He exclaimed, ‘I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!” (11:7-8, 10-24).
The Miracle of Bile from the Fish Gallbladder. Gall from the fish is basically bile that has been stored in the gallbladder after the digestion process in the liver. It is digestive juice that breaks down the fat in the foods that are eaten. Gall contains highly potent toxins that directly attack unhealthy cells when applied to the eyes. It is a bitter poison when applied internally. It was commonly used as a healing ointment during the ancient eras of Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and even on into the Greco-Roman era of the first century AD., so it must have been moderately effective. Believe it or not, recent medical research has discovered that fish bile can be an effective homeopathic treatment for eye inflammation and conjunctivitis, because its components are mostly steroidal detergents. In other words, eye inflammation can sometimes be treated with the bile’s inflammatory agents that dissolve the film on the eye that is causing the blindness. That’s the latest from the NIH. Who knew?
Grateful Praise. Tobit was overcome with thanksgiving, and his first words after his blindness was cured were in praise of God: “”Blessed be God and praised be His great name, and blessed be all his holy angels! May His holy name be praised throughout all the ages! Because it was He who scourged me, and it is He who had mercy on me! Behold, I now see my son Tobias!” (11:14-15). The story reports that Tobit went back into his home shouting, rejoicing and praising God at the top of his voice.
A Warm Welcome. Tobit then went to the city gate to meet Sarah as she arrived, and he greeted her with even more domestic bliss: “Welcome, my daughter! May you be in good health! Blessed be our God for bringing you to us, daughter! Blessed are your father and your mother. Blessed is my son Tobias, and blessed are you, daughter! Welcome to your new home with blessing and joy. Come in, daughter!” (11:17).
A Heavenly Exhortation. Before Raphael finally reveals his true angelic nature to Tobit and Tobias, he secretly offers them astounding words of wisdom and praise: “Thank God! Give Him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge all the good things He has done for you, by blessing and extolling His name in song. Before all people, honor and proclaim God’s deeds, and do not be slack in praising Him. It is prudent to keep a king’s secret, but it is glorious to unveil the works of God, and they are to be declared and made known. Praise them with due honor. Do good, and evil will not find its way to you. Prayer is good with fasting, almsgiving and righteousness. A few prayers with righteousness are better than many prayers with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold, for almsgiving saves one from death and washes away every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall be full of life; but those are habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.” (12:6-10). Astoundingly, these words of Raphael are virtually identical to Jesus’ words in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.
Almsgiving. Why is there such a focus in Tobit’s story on charitable giving, on doing good deeds and caring for the poor so extravagantly? Tobit revealed his heart and mind on this earlier in 4:7-11 when he gave his fatherly advice to Tobias: “Set aside part of your goods for almsgiving. Never turn your face from the poor and God will never turn His face from you. Measure your alms by what you have; if you have much, give more; if you have little, do not be afraid to give less in alms. So doing, you will lay up for yourself a great treasure for the day of adversity. For almsgiving delivers from death and saves people from passing down into darkness. Almsgiving is a most effective offering for all those who do it in the presence of the Most High.” Tobit’s advice to Tobias isn’t all that far from Jesus’ advice to the rich young ruler: “Now a certain ruler came up to Jesus and asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ … And Jesus told him, ‘Give away everything you own to the poor and follow Me.” (Mark 10). Tobit’s sage counsel also seems to anticipate Jesus’ words about heavenly treasures: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20). And we could add to that Christ’s words here, “For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:27); and here, “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my rewards with me, to repay each one for what he has done.” (Revelation 22:12); or St. Paul for that matter: “For we must all stand in front of Christ at His judgment seat, that each one may receive what he is due, paid back for the things that he did here on earth, whether they were good or bad. Everyone will receive the consequences, good or bad, of what he did, and will receive what rewards he deserves for his actions in this life.” (2 Corinthians 5:10). As usual, Mother Teresa of Calcutta puts things in perspective… When approached as to how much one should give to the needy, her response was, “Give till it hurts.”
Raphael Revealed as the Intercessor. At long last Raphael decides to remove his disguise and come clean with his true identity: “I will now tell you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed (refer to chapter 3), it was I who presented and read the record of your prayers before the Glory of the Lord… God commissioned me to heal you, Tobit, and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who report the prayers of the saints, who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord.” (12:11-15).
Shock and Awe. After Tobit and Tobias dropped to the ground in utter shock at this revelation of the person they thought they knew, Raphael completed his self-revelation before dramatically ascending back home to heaven: “No need to fear; you are safe. Thank God now and forever. As for me, when I came to you, it was not out of any favor on my part, but because it was God’s will. So continue to thank Him every day; praise Him with song. Even though you watched me eat and drink, I did not really do so; what you were seeing was a vision. So now get up from the ground and praise God. Behold I am about to ascend to Him who sent me; write down all these things that have happened to you.” (12:17-20). After Raphael had disappeared from sight, Tobit and Tobias sang the Lord’s praises and continued to thank Him. They couldn’t help but publicly acknowledge these “marvelous deeds which God had done when the angel of God appeared to them.”