Tobit 10:1-6: a reflection

1Tobit his father counted every day. When the days of the journey were expired, and they didn’t come, 2he said, “Is he perchance detained? Or is Gabael perchance dead, and there is no one to give him the money?” 3He was very grieved. 4But his wife said to him, “The child has perished, seeing he waits long.” She began to bewail him, and said, 5“I care about nothing, my child, since I have let you go, the light of my eyes.” 6Tobit said to her, “Hold your peace. Don’t worry. He is in good health.”

Tobit and Anna are living through a parent's agony: their son has not returned when expected, and they do not know whether he is safe or dead. Tobit counts the days and frets; Anna gives way to grief, weeping, He has perished, since he waits so long, the light of my eyes gone. Tobit tries to steady her: Be quiet, do not worry; he is safe. Two parents, waiting in anxiety for a child, fearing the worst, holding on to hope with difficulty.

Notice how honestly the passage renders their anxiety. It does not present them as serene believers untroubled by fear; Anna weeps and imagines the worst, and even Tobit, trying to comfort her, is himself deeply grieved. The agony of waiting for a loved one, not knowing whether they are safe, is one of the hardest human experiences, and Scripture does not pretend the faithful are exempt from it. The parents' fear is real and named.

And yet Tobit's word to Anna, spoken through his own worry, is a small act of faith: he is safe. It is the choice, amid the anxiety, to hold on to hope rather than surrender to the worst. If you are waiting in anxiety over a loved one, fearing for someone whose safety you do not know, this passage meets you honestly; the fear is real, and you are in good company. And it gently models the choice, even through tears, to keep holding on to hope and to entrust the one you love to God, who does know where they are and holds them.

Lord, Tobit and Anna waited in agony for their child, fearing the worst, and yet held on to hope. When I wait in anxiety over someone I love, not knowing whether they are safe, meet me as honestly as you met them. My fear is real; help me bring it to you. And help me, even through tears, to keep holding on to hope and to entrust the one I love to you, who knows where they are and holds them.