Day 193: The Book of Tobit

Isaiah 3:1-15 The Lord pronounced judgement on those who foolishly neglected recourse to his assistance. No one can escape divine judgment; the Lord in his infinite wisdom will reward the just and punish the sinful. (CCC 1465)

Ch 3:16-26 Isaiah criticized the women of Jerusalem who found ultimate fulfillment in adorning themselves vainly. He went on to say that their vanity would be punished through painful humiliation. Worse still, their men would die in battle, leaving relatively few alive for remarriage. This theme continues in Chapter 4, which describes women desperate to find men and bear children since maidenhood and barrenhood were seen as dishonors. Obsession with physical appearance is a form of idolatry since it gives undue reverence to the body as an end in itself. (CCC 2289)

Ch 4:1-6 After much war and destruction, Isaiah speaks about the restoration of a remnant of Israel. (CCC 710-711, 1081)

Tobit 3:1-6 Tobit viewed his suffering as punishment for his own sins and for the sins of his ancestors, a common Jewish perspective that began to be challenged in the Book of Kings and Chronicles but persisted even in the time of Christ. He prayed for death not as a matter of despair but as an act of obedience, love, and total trust in God. In a similar manner, Christians look forward to death because of the desire to be with the Lord. (CCC 1011)

Ch 3:7-10 The extraordinary misfortune that befell Sarah’s husbands left her at the point of despair. Unlike Tobit, she desired death and even contemplated suicide as an end to her misery. (CCC 2281)

BY REASON OF NATURAL LAW WRITTEN ON OUR HEARTS, we can know that human life is sacred and must be preserved and protected. Taking one’s own life, or suicide, is a grave sin against the Fifth Commandment since only God has the authority to call us out of the life he gave us. In many instances, however, suicide is preceded by despair over a painful situation. Though suicide is a gravely evil act objectively, there are many psychological factors that can significantly mitigate the culpability, or guilt, of the sin of a person who commits such an act. (CCC 2280-2283)

Ch 3:11-16 As in the Books of Ezra and Jeremiah, the Chosen People found recourse to prayer in an ever deepening way. Over the years, their prayer became richer and more personal; this is reflected not only in the growing eloquence since the days of Abraham but also in the more personal nature of the prayers themselves. As the people of Israel continued to grow in their knowledge of God, they began to establish a relationship of friendship marked by a desire to fulfill God’s will. Included in their worship of God were prayers of praise and thanksgiving. (CCC 2585)

Ch 3:17 Raphael, whose name fittingly means “God cures,” is one of the archangels; he was sent to heal both Tobit and Sarah, whose prayers were virtually simultaneous. This coincidence was clearly seen as the work of God, who would use these misfortunes to effect a great good in bringing Tobit and Sarah together. 

Ch 4:1-21 Tobit sent Tobias to collect his deposit with some parting words of wisdom, exhorting him to keep the Law and Commandments, to be generous and merciful toward the needy, to practice temperance, and to marry a woman from his own tribe. 

Ch 4:3-4 The Fourth Commandment calls us to honor our fathers and mothers. Parents cooperate with God both in bringing their children into existence and in rearing them; for this reason, children are called to give special honor and respect to their parents and those in authority. Tobit reminded Tobias of his obligations to his mother after he himself died; he also noted the obligation to bury each of them with proper respect. (CCC 2214)

Ch 4:5-11 Tobit, so diligent in the works of mercy, encouraged his son always to do the same. Giving alms is a way of enabling the poor to live a life worthy of their dignity as human beings made in the image of God. (CCC 2247)

Ch 4:12: Blessed in their children: The procreation and rearing of children is one of the primary purposes of marriage. (CCC 2378)

Ch 4:14 The prompt payment of fair wages to an employee is a matter of social justice. (CCC 1940)

Ch 4:15 What you hate, do not do to any one: This word of counsel is a negative restatement of the “golden rule”: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you (cf. Mt 7:12; Lk 6:31). (CCC 1789)

FEEDING THE HUNGRY, GIVING DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead are the CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY. The SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY are counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing sinners, comforting the afflicted, forgiving offenses, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead. Since almsgiving covers a number of works of mercy, it is in many cases an indication of our love for God and neighbor.

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• So um, where did this Book of Tobit come from?

• I hear that there is a rumor out there that Catholics have 73 books in their Bible whereas non-Catholics have 66 books in their Bibles?

• What’s up with that?

• Fr. Mike will do his best to recount that tale as best he can

• Today is the day where Fr. Mike is going to try to explain why the Book of Tobit is in CATHOLIC BIBLES and why is it NOT IN NON-CATHOLIC BIBLES

• Let’s go for it

• Let’s give a little explanation right now, because we might as well

• In order to address this, we must understand what the Deuterocanonical Books are

• Remember DEUTERONOMY?

• DEUTERO = SECOND

• NOMOS = LAW OR WORD

• So Deuteronomy was the SECOND TIME that Moses was giving the LAW to the people

• The first time Moses gave the Law was in EXODUS

• Moses recapitulated the LAW at the end of the DESERT WANDERINGS

• So it means SECOND LAW

• IT DOES NOT MEAN SECONDARY in the sense of LESS PRIVILEGED

• It is kind of similar to how Isaiah is called a MAJOR PROPHET and some of the other prophets are MINOR PROPHETS

• That does not mean that Isaiah was MORE IMPORTANT than the minor prophets

• It was simply a way to distinguish between LARGE WRITINGS aka MAJOR PROPHETS and SHORTER WRITINGS aka MINOR PROPHETS

• Same thing with DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS

• They don’t mean SECONDARY in terms of WORTH

• They mean SECOND in terms of WHEN DID THEY GET ESTABLISHED

• So what are the DEUTEROCANONICAL BOOKS?

• There are SEVEN of them!!

• TOBITH

• JUDITH

• BARUCH

• ECCLESIASTICUS also known as SIRACH

• WISDOM

• 1 and 2 MACCABEES

• And also there are certain ADDITIONS to ESTHER and DANIEL

• We are going through ALL OF THOSE in Bible in a Year

• So WHY are they in some Bibles and not in others?

• In the CATHOLIC BIBLES there are 73 books

• In NON-CATHOLIC BIBLES there are 66 books

• It’s important to understand that at THE TIME OF JESUS, there was NO ESTABLISHED CANON

• THERE WAS NO CLEARLY ESTABLISHED LIST OF SCRIPTURES

• THERE WAS NO LIST OF CLEARLY ESTABLISHED BOOKS THAT BELONG TO THE WRITINGS THAT ARE INSPIRED BY GOD HIMSELF

• THERE WERE DISAGREEMENTS

• In the time of Jesus, there were a number of different lists that were considered to be INSPIRED

• So there was NO OFFICIAL LIST that Jesus had given or that God had given before the ERA OF THE CHURCH, before the AGE OF THE CHURCH

• So the EARLIEST LISTING we have in the CHRISTIAN AGE is in the MIDDLE OF THE SECOND CENTURY

• KEEP THIS IN MIND

• Go back to the Jewish People

• There was NO ABSOLUTE LIST OF ALL THE INSPIRED BOOKS

• They would not have called the Hebrew Scriptures the OLD TESTAMENT

• THAT IS GOING TO BE VERY VERY IMPORTANT

• God had not previously given and EXHAUSTIVE and DEFINITIVE list of what books were in the HEBREW SCRIPTURES

• Why is that important?

• It is important because when Jesus establishes the NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT

• When Jesus establishes HIS CHURCH

• Matthew Ch 16 Jesus says, “You are ROCK and upon this ROCK I will build my CHURCH and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it…”

• When Jesus establishes HIS CHURCH, the Church has FULFILLED the ROLE of the People of Israel, the Jewish People 

• REMEMBER

• The Jewish People were in COVENANT WITH THE LORD IN THE OLD COVENANT

• BUT…

• In the FULFILLMENT of the OLD COVENANT in JESUS…

• The Hebrew Scriptures are NOT IRRELEVANT

• BUT…

• THE AUTHORITY HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED

• FROM THE RABBIS

• FROM WHATEVER LEVITES THAT STILL EXISTED

• FROM WHATEVER TEMPLE WORSHIP THAT STILL EXISTED

• ALL THIS HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO THE AGE OF THE CHURCH

• JESUS ESTABLISHED HIS ACTUAL CHURCH

• In the EARLY CHURCH, what books were they reading?

• IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT AT ONE POINT, when ALEXANDER THE GREAT conquered the known world, he had people translate all the great readings of all the peoples that he conquered INTO GREEK

• HE ALSO DID THIS WITH THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

• The GREEK translation of the HEBREW Scriptures is known as the SEPTUAGINT

• Why is it called this?

• The legend was that Alexander had 70 different translators

• Those 70 translators took the HEBREW VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES aka the OLD TESTAMENT

• They went into their huts/caves/wherever they translated

• These 70 TRANSLATORS TRANSLATED all the Old Testament separately in their rooms and ALL 70 TRANSLATIONS WERE EXACTLY WORD FOR WORD, LETTER FOR LETTER!!! (ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! 🤯🤯🤯)

• So the SEPTUAGINT has its name because of the 70 TRANSLATORS

• The Septuagint was the Bible, the OLD TESTAMENT Scriptures that were used at the time of Jesus PREDOMINANTLY

• So 60-70% of the time, or ⅔ of the time the New Testament authors are quoting the Old Testament authors, they are QUOTING FROM THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT

• Here is why THIS IS IMPORTANT

• The SEVEN BOOKS mentioned above are INCLUDED IN THE GREEK SEPTUAGINT

• THIS IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT

• When The Church gave us the FIRST OFFICIAL LIST of the Books in the Bible, that was not until the YEAR 350 AD

• That was the FIRST TIME the Church actually said, in an OFFICIAL WAY, “These are the books of the Old Testament and these are the books of the New Testament.”

• This happened at the COUNCIL OF ROME in 350 AD

• This happened because PEOPLE WERE CHALLENGING 

• Here is the thing...

• Whenever someone CHALLENGES something, the Church has to respond by saying, “Here is the DEFINITION of this thing”

• For example, in the year 325 AD, there was something called the COUNCIL OF NICEA that ESTABLISHED CLEARLY that Jesus is FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN in ONE DIVINE PERSON!!

• Why did the Church have to ESTABLISH this and CLARIFY this?

• Because people were saying, “Jesus is not really human” or “Jesus is not really God”

• So in response to these challenges at the COUNCIL OF NICEA in 325 AD, the Church had to respond, “Oh no no no. Here is Jesus, FULLY GOD and FULLY MAN in ONE DIVINE PERSON.”

• Later on in 381 AD in the COUNCIL OF CONSTANTINOPLE the challenge people made was, “Is the Holy Spirit equally God?”

• So the Church had to respond to THAT

• So in 350 AD, in response to the question, “What are the books of the actual Bible, the Canon of the Bible?”

• The COUNCIL OF ROME in 350 AD had established THE 73 BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS TOGETHER

• This was reiterated in the COUNCIL OF CARTHAGE in 398 AD

• For the next 1200 YEARS, EVERY CHRISTIAN believed that these 73 books were part of the Old Testament and New Testament

• They were INSPIRED BY GOD

• INCLUDING THESE SEVEN BOOKS

• INCLUDING THESE EXTRA PARTS OF ESTHER AND DANIEL

• THOSE EXTRA PARTS WERE NOT EXTRA!! 

• THEY WERE PART OF THE BIBLE!!

• Until Martin Luther came along

• He had some DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCES

• The doctrinal difference he had was about the DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY

• Martin Luther DID NOT BELIEVE IN PRAYING FOR THE DEAD

• Martin Luther DID NOT BELIEVE IN PURGATORY

• Martin Luther had a debate with Cardinal Cajetan 

• In the midst of this debate, Martin Luther said he didn’t believe in PURGATORY or PRAYING FOR THE DEAD

• Cardinal Cajetan said, “What about 2 Maccabees Ch 12? It talks about PRAYING FOR THE DEAD!”

• Martin Luther said, “I don’t accept 2 Maccabees Ch 12 because I don’t accept 2 Maccabees. And I don’t accept those other seven books.”

• AND WITH THAT, Martin Luther had ORDERED the REMOVAL of those SEVEN BOOKS from the CHRISTIAN BIBLE!!

• THIS IS THE KEY

• In the 1500s, Martin Luther REMOVED those seven books that had been ACCEPTED BY EVERY CHRISTIAN

• The Orthodox and Catholic TRADITIONS go back ALL THE WAY TO THE APOSTLES!!

• BOTH ORTHODOX AND CATHOLICS ACCEPT ALL 73 BOOKS OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT!!

• It wasn’t until the 1500s until Martin Luther came along and said, “I reject these seven books that EVERY CHRISTIAN UP TO THIS POINT HAS ACCEPTED.”

• So the reason why, maybe you have listened to this Bible in a Year and you are not Catholic, THEN YOU HAVE BEEN DENIED THIS

• THESE SEVEN BOOKS ARE PHENOMENAL!!

• THESE SEVEN BOOKS ARE INCREDIBLE!!

• Not only are these INCREDIBLE STORIES

• Think about the Book of Tobit

• Think about the WISDOM that Tobit is giving to his son, Tobias in Tobit Ch 4 that is SO WISE and SO GOOD

• When we get to Sirach, it will BLOW YOUR MIND

• The Book of Wisdom will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF

• IT IS A GIFT!!

• So many of our brothers and sisters who aren’t Catholic or Orthodox HAVE BEEN DENIED THIS GIFT FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIVES

• THEIR PARENTS HAVE BEEN DENIED THIS GIFT FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIVES

• Imagine realizing you have SEVEN SIBLINGS YOU HAD NO IDEA ABOUT

• You have SEVEN PEOPLE in your life who are SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR LIFE and for YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, you are JUST FINDING OUT ABOUT THEM NOW!!

• Unfortunately that is what happened when Martin Luther REMOVED THEM from the Canon of Scripture

• THANKFULLY, in Bible in a Year, you will be EXPOSED AND INTRODUCED TO THESE SEVEN BOOKS

• We will call them our SEVEN SIBLINGS

• We will call them our SEVEN FRIENDS

• IT IS GOING TO BLESS YOUR LIFE

• The Septuagint, the Greek Translation, is the one JESUS USED

• The Septuagint, the Greek Translation, is the one THE APOSTLES USED

• The Septuagint, the Greek Translation, is the one THE EARLY CHURCH USED

• With all those SEVEN BOOKS, those are the translations and the versions that the EARLY CHURCH USED

• Now, you get to be in company not just with the last 500 years of Christianity

• You get to be in company with THE FIRST 1500 YEARS OF CHRISTIANITY

• You get to be in company with the GREAT HOLY MEN AND WOMEN WHO WALKED WITH JESUS

• THE HOLY MEN AND WOMEN WHO WERE TAUGHT BY THOSE WHO WALKED WITH JESUS AND ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD!!

• Fr. Mike can’t wait for you to experience not only the 66 books you have ALREADY experienced, but THESE SEVEN STRANGERS THAT WILL BECOME YOUR VERY VERY GOOD FRIENDS

• YOUR DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

• FR. MIKE GUARANTEES IT

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we thank you and give you praise. We know that you invite us, you command us, you tell us to seek wisdom and to avoid foolishness. And so not only in the Book of Proverbs do we have this sense of like, ok Lord, you remind us that yes so many voices are calling to us, so many voices are saying ‘Hey! Over here over here over here. Come over here. Give us your attention. Give us your heart. Give us your mind. Give us your life.’ Because everything that takes our attention is taking our life. Everything that we give a minute of our attention to, we have given a minute of our lives to, a minute of our heart to. And so, God, help us to be wise. Help us to not turn to every foolish voice, every foolish opportunity, but help us only listen to those wise voices in our lives. Help us only turn to the people that we know are wise, especially your Word, Lord God. We thank you for your Word because it is your Word that gives life. It is your Spirit that gives life. And so we give these minutes, we give this day, we give our heart to your Word, to your Life, to your Spirit, and to your Wisdom. Help us to always walk in your Spirit and always walk in your Wisdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”