We must do as well as ask

Today’s First Reading and Responsorial Psalm made me uncomfortable when I first read them. From the plot to harm Jeremiah in the first reading to the calling out for the Lord to “save me” in the psalm, this theme of harm and distress continued.

There is a trust in God that I can appreciate in these words, yet I still can’t help but feel unsettled by the passivity in the speaker’s voice, the expectation he carries that simply because we ask for help we’ll receive it. Sure, I believe that if we ask for help we’ll receive it, but I also believe even more firmly that we must do as well as ask. Lent is a particularly good time to model the “doing” part. During lent we are invited to make small sacrifices by giving something up or making an effort to do some sort of good we wouldn't normally do. Through these little sacrifices we participate in our own small way in Christ’s crucifixion - we carry our own cross. We receive God’s grace through these actions, the grace of more strength, more protection against such harm as Jeremiah experiences and the psalmist begs for protection from.

The last line of the Gospel hits home this idea of “doing” as well as “asking” from a different angle “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Above all we must “do” by living our life as an imitation of Christ. We can probably all agree this helps ourselves a little when we stand face to face with St. Peter. Even the smallest ways we “do” as well as “ask” lead us closer to God. Even if it’s as simple as saying hello to someone who normally we’d like to avoid, through these actions we strengthen our resolve, our will, and make ourselves more open to receiving God’s graces.

This Lent instead of moving forward with our “expectations” of God, let us do for others in imitation of Christ.

Author: Jonathan Alexander, Athletic Department, Basketball Coach