based on The Book of Tobit
In which a young man, an angel, and a small dog determine the destiny of old Tobit and of many others in exile. And we learn that the only real debt that we have to collect is that of hope.
An old man, before dying, told this story of misery being overcome by adventure.
A black sun rose over Jerusalem. I, Tobit, was exiled to Nineveh in Mesopotamia.
I left, erasing all our traces. My wife, Anna, and our young son, Tobias, came along.
But I lived with the dead.
The king Sennacherib killed all the sons of Israel, and every night I searched for the bodies of my brothers to bury them.
I was so pious in my sorrow that I thought of nothing but the sad demands of my funereal duties.
Every night, digging graves. While my neighbors watched, laughing.
One evening, I looked up to the skies and got the droppings of a sparrow in my eyes.
Incurable scarring. Like the dead who so obsessed me, I went completely blind.
I asked: Is there no more joy? I’d rather be dead than in such pain.
At the same time in Ecbatana in Media, Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, having been insulted and mocked, was lamenting.
Seven times married and seven times widowed—and always on the night of her wedding! The victim of a demon.
A young man, a little dog, and an angel.
I remembered some money I’d left with a relative in Ecbatana. Tobias offered to go there to get it.
A stranger, Azariah, appeared and walked along beside him.
We didn’t know it, but he was Raphael, the healing angel.
So off they went, angel, dog, and man.
First step: the banks of the Tigris.
Tobias went to wash his feet. And a huge fish leapt out of the water and grabbed him.
Azariah called out: Fear not! Just catch him.
And take out his bile, his heart, and his liver. You’ll need them later.
They grilled the rest and had a lovely dinner.
Second step: Ecbatana. The house of Raguel and his daughter Sarah.
Introductions were made. Sarah’s sad tale was told.
Who would love her if seven times, death had been the winner?
How about me? Tobias suggested. Raguel accepted, though not without misgivings.
The wedding was held as the dog frolicked in the yard and the angel retired to a corner, majestic and peaceful.
See Tobias and Sarah heading off to bed.
Azariah asked to have the heart and liver burnt to thwart the demon’s curse.
The lovers’ prayers: Tobias: I will do her no harm; I will only love her.
Sarah: You have given me to him like Eve unto Adam, so he’ll have a companion.
But Raguel dug a grave for Tobias, just in case.
A servant entered the room at dawn. And found the lovers asleep, alive and calm.
Tobias had survived!
Third step: Recover the money. And head back home.
Anna saw them coming and threw herself into the arms of her son.
Tobias took the bile of the fish and rubbed it into my eyes.
I, Tobit, regained my happiness with my sight.
I wanted to reward Azariah, who revealed that he was Raphael, an angel sent by God.
Kings keep their secrets, but God reveals his: To do good is to cure the bad.
Joyous prayer: Jerusalem will be rebuilt. Peace will return.
I, Tobit, tell you that hope is a story.
And that a marvelous tale can heal the world.