Sara, serious and courageous

We are in the context of the book of Tobias, a little jewel of literature and full faith in the Lord. It is the story of a family deeply believing in the goodness of God, as the same name that the father Tobi gives to his son denounces: Tobias "the Lord is good" or "God is my good". Tobi accidentally becomes blind, his wife and his friends mock him by criticizing the Lord's reward for his good works. Dejected, with a heartfelt prayer, the old man pleads with God to make him die: "Lord, remember me and look at me ... he gives orders that my life be taken ... for me it is better to die than to see this great anguish in front of me and thus not to feel insulted anymore "(Tb 3,3-6).

At the same time Sarah, "a serious, courageous and very pretty girl" (Tb 6:12) prays to be freed from the devil Asmodeus (the one who devastates and kills), who killed her 7 husbands, who died on the night of the wedding, leaving her a virgin and "insulted" even by the servant. She has experienced absolute pain (7 in the Bible is completeness) and lives in terror of being the bearer of death, she is desperate and wants to "hang herself" (Tb 3,10). But with a deeper reflection, he understands that that gesture would have caused great anguish to the parents and that it would have been more correct to ask the Lord to put an end to his days: "He commands that I be removed from the earth so that I no longer have to hear insults" (Tb 3.11-13). God answers the prayers of the two afflicted ones - who live in different countries - by sending the angel Raphael who under the guise of the young Azaria will accompany Tobias on the journey to his relatives, indicating the way and suggesting the best behavior from time to time. Arriving at the home of Tobi's relatives, in the Media, they are welcomed with great joy. There they meet Sarah, whom Tobias will have to marry to obey the Law of Moses according to which the closest relative must marry the widow.

Tobias, having "heard that a devil kills her husbands" is afraid. But Azaria reassures him by giving him a precious advice: «When you are about to join her, both stand up and pray, beg the Lord so that his grace and his salvation may come upon you. Do not fear she has been destined for you from eternity. You will be the one to save her ». That of Tobias, therefore, is a precise vocation of God, all fear is overcome and "he loved her very much without being able to take his heart away from her" (Tb 6:19). The wedding was celebrated amidst the fear of all, except the spouses who had taken their step in total trust in the Lord. The joy that explodes in the praise of old Tobi: «Blessed God! Blessed be his holy name ». It is joy for everyone: "The wedding was celebrated with joy for seven days" (Tb 11:20). The entrustment to God transformed Sarah's "absolute pain" into a joy that spread to everyone. That joy which is characteristic of believers; of those who have found that All that will never be taken away.

Anna Maria Del Prete
NP march 2021