Episode Transcript  

One

Car Heist

Imagine your boss stopped by your office and said, “Hey, there’s something I need you to do for me. I need you to go down to the strip mall a few blocks from here. In the parking lot, you’re going to see a beautiful classic convertible, still in mint condition. What I need you to do is to hotwire that car and drive it here to me. Okay? If you don’t know how to hotwire an old car, just look it up on YouTube.”

You’d probably be totally aghast. Maybe the first thing out of your mouth would be, “Uh, I don’t know if that’s a great idea. What if someone sees me trying to make off with a car that doesn’t belong to me?”

Your boss smiles and says, “No problem. If anybody says, ‘Hey, what do you think you’re doing?’ Just say, ‘My boss needs this.’”

Pretty crazy scenario, right? But that’s really similar to the situation the disciples were in when Jesus told them to go get Him a donkey.

Two

Christ’s Ride for Palm Sunday

In Matthew, Jesus gives two of his disciples these instructions, “Go into the village opposite you, where on entering you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’”

Doesn’t that sound like a super-uncomfortable assignment? I imagine what those disciples were saying to themselves.

“Are we seriously going to just take somebody’s donkey and colt?”

“I guess.”

“We could get into really big trouble.” 

“Look, there they are. Let’s untie them really quick. Maybe nobody will notice.”

“Hey, you guys, what do you think you’re doing? Those are my animals.”

“Shoot. I knew this was a bad idea.”

But, of course, it all works out. The owners let them take the donkey and colt. Because, in the end, it always does work out when you follow the Lord’s instructions.

Three

What Looks Like a Bad Idea

So many of the Lord’s instructions to us seem like bad ideas sometimes. Like being open to life within marriage, “Lord, what are we going to do with all the kids?” Or lifelong commitment to a vocation, “Lord, what if something goes wrong with the marriage, or the diocese, or the religious order?” Or putting a bunch of imperfect, sometimes totally clueless men in charge of his Church, “Lord, think of the damage and the scandal when the popes or bishops or priests say or do something stupid, or worse than stupid!” Or making us His evangelists, while He himself remains hidden, “Lord, how am I supposed to convince anybody You’re real when You won’t even show yourself?”

We look at the Lord’s instructions, and we’re tempted to say, “Lord, are you sure you’ve really thought this through?” But if we obey Him, we’ll see every time that He knows better than we do, that He’s got it all planned out, and that it’s going to be just fine. 

Four

Christ Can See More Steps Ahead Than We Can

The disciples knew that you normally get in big trouble when you just take someone else’s animals without asking and Jesus knew that too. But He knew that in this case, the owners of the colt and the donkey would surrender their ownership rights in deference to Him.

So too, Jesus knows that openness to life in a marriage can lead to a lot of kids; but He also knows the ways He is planning to provide, materially and spiritually, for that family. Jesus knows that a lifetime commitment to marriage, priesthood, or religious life can bring a lot of suffering with it, but He also knows that maturity and love only happen by being faithful to a promise, no matter the challenges.

Jesus knows that the weak and sinful men in charge of His Church will do a lot of damage, but He also knows that the weak humanity of its leaders and members will actually highlight the miraculous character of the Church as it holds fast to its constant orthodoxy and endures till the end of time.

Finally, Jesus knows that our inadequate witness will never be enough, by itself, to produce faith in others, but He also knows the special graces of conversion that He will offer to others as soon as we have the courage to evangelize.

Jesus always knows more than we know. If His instructions seem like a bad idea, it’s not because He’s missing something; it’s because we are.

Five

We Know it Will Work Out, We Just Don’t Know How

Many people think that being a Christian is a boring, tedious business where you live a humdrum existence just following the instructions. What they don’t understand is that the life of faith is so exciting because the instructions always seem to be heading you into some sort of disaster. Like those two disciples told to make off with someone else’s livestock, Jesus’ instructions seemed to be heading them straight to jail time.

It’s actually the best of all worlds: we can be confident in the Lord’s instructions because, of course, Jesus can never be wrong. But we are also going to be pleasantly surprised at how everything works out so well in the end. Obey the Lord in everything, with confidence. And be surprised at how strangely and perfectly everything will always work out. That’s a very good, very exciting life.   

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• Take the next leap of faith God is calling you to, even if it seems illogical. Obviously, there is a need for foresight, but we must also remember that we can’t know everything, and we can’t say no to doing the right thing just because we can’t predict the outcome.

• Spend time reflecting on all the circumstances God has put you into which, at the time, seemed ridiculous, but now make sense in retrospect.

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