Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
(Tobit 2:9-14; Mark 12:13-17)
Tobit tries to please God and to help his neighbor. Being more zealous than prudent, however, his sense of righteousness causes him to err. In the segment of his story today he accuses his hard-working wife of stealing. We can almost hear him cry after discovering his mistake, “God, what a mess I make of everything. Why don’t you take my life?” Perhaps some of us, after committing similar blunders, have felt the same self-disgust.
As reckless as Tobit’s suspicions are, must Anna respond so bitterly? Does she need to chastise her husband for performing good deeds in the past? No, her words sting Tobit like a slap in the face. She also has to control her emotions. A more prudent response in her case would be, “Take it easy, Tobit. Don’t I also love God? I would never steal another’s belongings.”
Neither Tobit nor Anna needs to despair. God hears the cries of those who call to him. Learning from them, we should curb the inclination to judge others harshly. It is a much safer practice to pray for the person we are tempted to criticize. Then if it turns out that our impulse to criticize was indeed misguided, we can thank God for sparing us a situation where we would have acted foolishly.
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