Walk the Path of Truth and Righteousness

I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. (Tobit 1:3)

Hallelujah! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in God's commands. (Ps 112:1)

Piety

Dear Lord, I delight in my place as a branch on your vine, nourished and cherished beyond all reasoning. Help me to see that as your tenant I can bring rich fruit to harvest by working in the vineyard you supply. Help me to be just rather than seek to be first. In you I shall have everlasting remembrance and joy beyond all understanding. I trust in your mercy and love. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/060407.shtml

Tobit, a book in the Wisdom literature, tells the story of a man who lived by his reverence of God in spite of an unjust, oppressive society. Jesus’ parable tells a tale of those who refuse to do so. In fact they make greed the god that they follow even to murder. Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands. (Ps 112:1)

The Psalm ties these two stories together outlining the many blessings which God will bestow on the faithful. Tobit performed an act of extreme charity by leaving his supper to retrieve and bury the body of his dead kinsmen. He stepped way over the societal and legal line, washing himself in ritual cleansing because this was an unclean act. Then he was threatened for it much the same way that Jesus was repeatedly threatened by leaders for eating with those unclean, healing on the Sabbath and other acts which went against their laws. In Verse 10, the psalm also describes how an unbelieving society reacts: The wicked shall be angry to see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the desires of the wicked come to nothing. This description fits Tobit’s neighbors; Jesus addresses the parable to the leaders who also are angry at his actions and words.

In the vineyard, tenants (Israel) reject their contract with the owner (God). These tenants, whom the chief priests, scribes and elders recognize as Israel, have chosen to ignore the generous gift and fruitful opportunities given by the Landlord. Human life is held in low esteem. Their greed and ambitions take over. Their actions, which prefigure the murder of Jesus, are in stark contrast and conclude in a much different result than Tobit’s. Tobit’s charity is a beacon of love in a dark world: His generosity shall endure forever. Light shines through the darkness for the upright (Ps 112, 3-4)

It is a difficult task to parse the expectations and mores of a society. It is easy to go along with public opinion, especially when it is described as for the common good. Acting out of “graciousness and mercy and justice” (Ps 112:4) can be risky. Jesus, Tobit and Sirach (in recent readings) portray very different expectations than social mores do of what it means to act in the freedom which God gives each and every one of us.

Action

In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy leader and activist for non-violence has endured house arrest for years for speaking out about injustice and corruption. She “does” nothing, in the sense that her actions are extremely restricted through imprisonment. But her light shines before the entire world.

“It is fear and not so much power, which corrupts, she once said. Fear of losing power corrupts the oppressor and fear of the oppressor, corrupts the oppressed. By an extension of the same idea, absolute fear corrupts both parties absolutely.” (Visit her website for information about her and the political situation in Burma http://www.dassk.com/index.php )

Where in our life do we “go with the flow” because it is easy, even rewarding, rather than choose to “greatly delight in the commands of God” (Ps 112:1)?