Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's first reading (make sure you read it before you go further), may make you chuckle. The reading comes with the caveat, "Do not try this at home." Really, fish gall may not be the best treatment for cataract. Also, do not try to peal of cataract off someone's eyes with two hands. Of course, we are mature readers. We know enough to say that the moral of the story is not providing treatment for cataract. The moral of the story is: Life is life, but at the end there is always redemption.
Tobia returns home to his father Tobias along with his new wife Sarah and a remedy for his cataract. Suddenly, the gloom has lifted. Tobias' problems are resolved, his anxiety is removed, his fears are banished, and his son has returned home. Yes! The important thing is how the story ends - "... and they lived happily ever after!"
In fact, is this not our ordinary experience of life? Life is not always pleasant, although it is often punctuated with much happiness. Life for many us life comes with its share of problems, conflicts, illnesses, tragedies, fears, and most of all the ultimate certainty of death. However, today's story tells us that God cares about life as we experience it. Today's reading tell us that at the end of it all, a Savior awaits us. Salvation history is the story of a God who come to give us hope. The hope is given not by God applying fish gall upon our problems but by the blood of Jesus. It is Jesus' redeeming sacrifice that teaches us how to live life with hope. All of us have cataracts. Some times we fail to see life in the way God intends for us to see it. Sometimes we fail to read the end of the story. Sometimes, we do not see the reason for hope. Our cataract must be peeled off. Jesus, his life, and his redeeming sacrifice is the answer. We too must learn to endure life like Jesus did, live authentically and sincerely like Jesus did, be loyal to God like Jesus was, love others sincerely like Jesus did, and live in hope even in our darkest moment like Jesus did upon the cross.
No matter where we find ourselves in life, perhaps we can express this hope is the words of the Psalmist. He says,
"Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live."
Life is life. But God is gives us hope. We will all live happily ever after. "Praise the Lord, my soul!'
- Fr. Satish Joseph