Our readings today are about eternal life; the eternal life that is Jesus; the eternal life that Jesus now makes possible for us to share with him; the eternal life which is both like and unlike the one we are now living.
In this eternal life: we will still be who we are: we will have our bodies reunited with us: we will be living in a completeness and fullness we never thought possible, we will be in many ways "like the angels." But Jesus tells us in the gospel passage what this life will not be like: it will not involve marriage (as marriage is but a sign of God's love, and pledge of eternal fulfillment that now all will have); and it will not be like death in any way – having rules of descendancy apply – for God is simply the God of the living!
In the first reading we see Tobit – who in yesterday's reading was stricken with blindness – as a symbol of the spiritual blindness – that the people of Israel kept insisting on taking upon themselves regarding matters of God and his wishes for them. They refused to see things God's way; and so he removed their ability to see things aright spiritually completely for a while: he gave them leave to pursue their hardness of hearts and myopic internal vision.
But in the reading today we have another very powerful dynamic: the awakening of conscience: when grace and willingness to accept the grace meet! Tobit acknowledges that God is the one true Righteous One, and all his deeds are just; and all his ways mercy and truth; and that he alone is judge of the world. Tobit – who represents all who have a distorted, faulty and improperly formed conscience – now asks the great Lord of mercy to be mindful of him and to look with favor upon him. He admits that he and his people disobeyed the commandments, causing God's just punishment of them at the hands of their neighbors among whom they were dispersed.
He affirms that God's judgments are many and true; and that now God has every right to deal with them totally according to his will. Tobit is in great anguish and tells God that it would be alright with him if God chose to take his life – because he is in such misery and must bear such insults, even from his own people!
This entire story of Tobit – is a symbol of the people of Israel who sinned against God, had an awakening of conscience and then were ready for God's great gift of redemption in Jesus, the Messiah who would transform everything for everyone from death to life; darkness to light; hatred to love; sin to forgiveness; selfishness to self-giving. And so we know that this particular story will have a happy ending for those who want to apply it to themselves – for it also includes us: the new people of God!
May we want to do that today; may we want to take the lead of our rightly-forming consciences, tell God of our sorrow for not always doing things as he might have wanted, and take advantage of the grace of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus – so that our day today can be very positive, and loving and giving – our consciences can be clear – and we will be prepared for the life of heaven – whenever it will begin for us.
We pray as well for all of those who stubbornly refuse to even let their consciences be rightly-formed – there is always hope for them – until the last trumpet sounds! I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.
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