I watched The Bourne Ultimatum with my wife and friends recently, and–wouldn’t you know–it got me thinking about God and the radical freedom and responsibility He has given us.

If you haven’t seen the movies, I’ll catch you up on the relevant parts for this post: Secret CIA agency (Treadstone) brainwashed Jason Bourne to be a deadly assassin. Bourne diverted from the murderous course that they planned for him and so they sent out other assassin’s to kill him.

These assassins pop up in all the movies and are called “assets” by the Treadstone and CIA directors. Bourne travels all over the world and whenever he pops up in a city and the CIA finds out about it, they ask what assets they have there. A few minutes later, the asset is contacted and sent his mission, which is usually some variation of “kill Jason Bourne”.

It’s intriguing because it confirms, if fictionally, the suspicion we all have that the CIA and KGB have vast networks of spies, assassins, computer hackers, and demolition experts waiting for the call on their CIA cell phone to go and whack something.

The one common trait of all these people (the assets) is that they are intelligent and well-trained (usually in killing people), so you know when they send one after Bourne, he is going to have a tough fight on his hands.

How did this get me thinking of God and our human freedom?

Well, while the CIA in the Bourne movies fictionally has all these assets, God truly does have a vast network of assets spread throughout the world. You are one of them. So am I.

The difference between us and the Bourne assets is that 1) we are commanded to heal and love rather than kill and hate, and 2) we are much less well-trained in our respective fields.

I picture God in Heaven, looking down on earth, talking with His head generals (the archangels, presumably) about an important task that needs doing for His Kingdom: “Who do we have down in the northwest quadrant of Austin, Texas?” to which they might reply “Hmmm, well, we have several assets, including Devin.” Then I would imagine God would size me up–He knows everything about me, strengths and mostly weaknesses, after all–give a few moments of thought, frown a bit, and turn back to the angels: “Don’t we have anyone else?”.

Why? Well, let’s face it. I’m not exactly a kung-fu master when it comes to being a holy disciple of Jesus Christ. I fail to do what I should, believe as i should, and love as I should every single day. I doubt that God is speaking to me or if He is that I am able to listen to Him. I get frustrated and impatient all the time, even with those who love me.
And yet, God does not say, “who else do we got down there in Austin?”. He instead says, “Send Devin”, and the angels go forth to give me the message. Why doesn’t He send someone else? Because, very simply, I am the asset He’s got in this particular place for this particular task.

And likewise, you are the only asset He’s got in your particular place and for many important tasks. He can’t send others because they are not in the right place and time. He doesn’t have any others but you!

That means that you and me, with all our faults and failings and with the strength God gives us, have to go and do the important work. God has given us the astounding privilege and honor of sharing in His work of saving souls for Heaven. He could have done it a different way, but you know how God is, He always does it the best way. Jesus became a man because it was the best thing that He could have done to save us. It showed us without question how much God loved us.

The two areas where this responsibility weighs most heavily is as a parent and as a priest.

As a parent, we are given as our own God’s little children. The fruit of the love we have for our spouses becomes a new human being–who even resembles us in appearance!–and we are given authority by God to rear them as we see best.

The priest is in a similar situation, except that there are 15,000 souls entrusted to his pastoral care. He is not alone, as the parent is not alone, but he has real responsibility over them, to shepherd them, to teach them the Faith, to administer the sacraments of Christ, to be like Christ to them.

The priesthood in the U.S. is a good example of the “assets” that I have been talking about. Our priest has 15,000 people in his parish. Surely one man can’t be responsible for that many people’s spiritual well-being? Why doesn’t God send some men to help him?

Guess what? God did send all He had: this priest was the only one who answered the call to serve His children as an alter Christus, “another Christ”. With all his faults, this priest is there, doing what God wants Him to do, doing it imperfectly, but with God helping him everyday with His grace and mercy.

We are not alone, for our Lord is with us, but we are the ones that God has, here and now, to do His holy work. There is none other. This is the way God has chosen to do it.

It is terrifying but for the fact that God is with us and will help us. The best of best friends, He loves us to the end and gives His life for us. May His Kingdom come!