Tobit 12:6-15: a reflection

6Then he called them both privately, and said to them, “Bless God, and give him thanks, and magnify him, and give him thanks in the sight of all that live, for the things which he has done with you. It is good to bless God and exalt his name, showing forth with honor the works of God. Don’t be slack to give him thanks. 7It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to reveal gloriously the works of God. Do good, and evil won’t find you. 8Good is prayer with fasting, alms, and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. 9Alms delivers from death, and it purges away all sin. Those who give alms and do righteousness will be filled with life; 10but those who sin are enemies to their own life. 11Surely I will conceal nothing from you. I have said, ‘It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to reveal gloriously the works of God.’ 12And now, when you prayed, and Sarah your daughter-in-law, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One. When you buried the dead, I was with you likewise. 13And when you didn’t delay to rise up, and leave your dinner, that you might go and cover the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me. I was with you. 14And now God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels which present the prayers of the saints and go in before the glory of the Holy One.”

When the angel Raphael reveals himself, he tells Tobit and Tobias something that had been unseen by them: that he had been carrying their prayers and good deeds before God. When you prayed, he says, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead and did not delay your good deed, I was with you; your good deed was not hidden from me. Their prayers and quiet good deeds had not gone unseen or unremembered; they were noticed, carried before God.

Notice what Raphael reveals: that their prayers and good deeds were seen and brought before God. Tobit had prayed, and buried the dead, and done deeds of mercy, quietly, perhaps thinking them unseen. But his prayers were carried before God, remembered; his good deeds were not hidden. What he had done in secret, in prayer and in quiet mercy, was noticed by God, brought before him, not lost or overlooked. His prayers and deeds were seen and remembered.

That is a comfort, for we can feel that our prayers rise into silence and our quiet good deeds go unseen. We pray, and hear no answer; we do quiet deeds of kindness and mercy, unnoticed by anyone; and we can feel they are lost, unseen, unremembered. But Tobit's prayers were carried before God, and his good deeds were not hidden; and so it is with ours. Your prayers are not lost in silence; they are brought before God, remembered. And your quiet good deeds, unseen by others, are not hidden from God; he sees and remembers them. When you feel your prayers rise into silence, or your quiet good deeds go unseen and unremembered, take comfort: your prayers are carried before God, and your good deeds are not hidden from him. God notices and remembers your prayers and your quiet acts of mercy, as Tobit's were noticed and brought before God; nothing you pray or do in faithful love is lost or overlooked, but seen and remembered by the God before whom your prayers and deeds are carried.

Lord, when the angel Raphael revealed himself, he told Tobit something unseen: that he had been carrying their prayers and good deeds before you. When you prayed, he said, I brought the memorial of your prayer before the Holy One; and when you buried the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me. Their prayers and quiet good deeds had not gone unseen or unremembered. Show me what Raphael revealed: that their prayers and good deeds were seen and brought before you. Tobit had prayed, and done deeds of mercy, quietly, perhaps thinking them unseen; but his prayers were carried before you, his good deeds not hidden. Give me the comfort of that, for I can feel that my prayers rise into silence and my quiet good deeds go unseen. I pray, and hear no answer; I do quiet deeds of kindness, unnoticed by anyone; and I can feel they are lost, unremembered. But Tobit's prayers were carried before you, and his good deeds not hidden; and so it is with mine. My prayers are not lost in silence; they are brought before you, remembered. And my quiet good deeds, unseen by others, are not hidden from you. When I feel my prayers rise into silence, or my quiet good deeds go unseen, help me take comfort: my prayers are carried before you, Lord, and my good deeds are not hidden from you. Thank you that nothing I pray or do in faithful love is lost, but seen and remembered by you.