Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

Jan 08 2025

The Holy Spirit—The Tie That Binds

I was the chaplain on call for the day shift that day. A nurse called, “Please come!”

When I got to the seventh floor, by the nursing desk two men and a woman were shouting at each other. The room opposite was bursting with large people, arguing. I bent my head to the nurse, “What’s going on?” “Nine children. They’re fighting over their mother’s last wishes.” We got them calmed enough to pray together and be silent so they could focus on their dying mother. A few minutes later, with her last words, she pleaded quietly, “Children, please don’t fight.”

The deepest desire of a mother’s heart is for her children to flourish. Integral to that flourishing is her desire for them to get along and to care for each other. My grandma said to my dad and his six siblings, “Stay together.”

If this is how a mother feels, how much greater, then, are the desires of God’s heart? As we build in the next few weeks toward the empowerment of Pentecost, what are the Lord’s designs for our flourishing?

The Holy Spirit is the tie who binds a community together. When the early Christians bickered over who was getting enough food, the apostles were inspired to anoint the first deacons to serve. That way the church could be at peace and prosper.

Jesus prays that we all be one. The tension in today’s Gospel is that Jesus knows that he is about to go away. How are his followers to stay together? He wants them to flourish. They flourish best together. He is the Way. If they remain focused on him, they will stay together. They are about to be handed an important mission: to be Christ to the world. They need that focus. So do we.

Consider/Discuss

One of the most rewarding elements in the Christian life is to find out God’s vision and take it for our own. What is God’s dream for the world? What is your part in that grand vision?
Jesus says that he is “the Way.” He doesn’t say, “I am a nice idea.” In a world sometimes unconvinced, is the Christian message good for human flourishing? How does faithfully following Jesus matter?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, we put our hope in you. There is much that pulls us apart from each other. Your vision is for us to be together. We pray earnestly for you to heal our divisions, for you are our unfailing help. We commit ourselves to you again this day. Be our Way, our Truth, and our Life.

Jan 08 2025

From Ruin to Restoration

When I was little, my grandpa gave me a packet of World War I postcards for my postcard collection. He had been stationed in Paris in 1918. I remember staring for long minutes at his sepia pictures of bombed-out buildings. The streets were empty and full of rubble. My ten-year-old imagination said that France was in ruins.

I went to France in 2011 to visit my brother. Streets bustled with cars. Apartment buildings were bright with petunias in window boxes. The sidewalks were full of people walking. Mothers were pushing strollers. My grown-up impression of France was of a community that had been materially restored.

Ruin comes in many forms. Thieves who break in and steal the sheep can devastate the owner of the sheep. Deceit, corruption, and insult can tear a person down. A leader who goes astray from a moral path can bomb holes in family and community. The rubble from the abuse crisis litters the streets of the Church and tests our ability to trek onward.

It is the Good Shepherd who wants to lead us from ruin to restoration and then to flourishing. Despite the impression that sentimental Jesus pictures might give us, a shepherd is not a soft character. He is weather-hardened and battle-ready. He is willing to fight to the death for his sheep so that they can safely walk through dark valleys. He restores and watches over all, for his protection is communal; sheep move in flocks.

Jesus says that he came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We pray for this renewal. From a personal Spirit-filled abundance, we are to work toward the reinvigoration of the Church and the whole world. We go together. The Good Shepherd will lead us to a vibrant new life.

Consider/Discuss

This week we begin a subtle scriptural shift. In the first half of the Easter season, we’ve focused on the revelation of who Jesus is. In this second half as we build toward Pentecost, we shift our focus toward the empowerment to be the people Jesus calls us to be. Look back at today’s readings. Which passages, verbs, and images speak about what we are to do and who we are to be?
The hunger for restoration is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. As we form impressions of the world in which we live, do we think more about ruin than restoration, or more of restoration than ruin? Where does our information come from? How do those sources affect the way that we approach life? How does that impact our hope?

Living and Praying with the Word

Shepherd of the flock, if we are headed off of a cliff, use your staff to snatch us back. If we are scattering in all directions, herd us together and steer us where you want us to go. As we walk through today’s dark valleys, help us trust that your rod and your staff will help us to travel securely together. Bring us to abundance and help us to flourish. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.

Jan 08 2025

Aha!

Loss. Heaviness. Heartache. Jesus is dead. Two despondent disciples are going home. All their expectations and joys are gone. The mission is over. Their eyes are downcast. There is an ache in the pit of their stomach. Can you feel how disheartened they are? To understand the Resurrection as the first disciples did, we must first get inside their agony. And not just any death: Jesus’ death. Have you ever felt that low?

Jesus doesn’t pop in and say, “Hey, look, I’m here! There’s a happy ending!” They’re too dispirited for that. No, Jesus has mercy. He engages them in quiet conversation. Jesus is gentle. Each time he appears in the resurrection stories, he looks different somehow. They had known him before. They do not recognize him now.

They walked a long way together. Jesus gradually brought them out of their funk by recasting the story that they had been telling themselves. He gave them a fresh understanding of who the Redeemer was to be. Their hearts started to burn within them.

Then in the breaking of the bread, suddenly their eyes are opened. Aha! They see! Awakened to joy, they turn and dash back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles! (Remember, if you want to see jubilation, watch the feet.) The resurrection of Jesus is an earthquake-causing “Aha!” Death has no more power. Life is the final answer!

We may sometimes think that we are headed home. But our true homeland does not look like this one. The Word who became flesh transforms our despair into hope, our weariness into refreshment, our wanting to quit into perseverance, and our heartache into splendor. This is the meaning of the Paschal Mystery. This is the core of the Resurrection. This is the heart of the Christian story. This is the “Aha!” of Easter!

Consider/Discuss

The psalmist says, “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.” How have I been shown? When have my eyes been opened and my heart set on fire?
The “Aha!” of understanding enlivens the mind. The “Aha!” of feeling burns in the heart. The “Aha!” of seeing invigorates the imagination. Though it may not compare to the immensity of the Resurrection, have you encountered an “Aha!” moment of clarity like that?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord, sometimes we just want to go home. Life can weigh us down. The world can be discouraging. Our struggles are nothing compared to the grief from your crucifixion, but you can see that our eyes also can grow downcast. In this moment, walk with us on this road. We could use an “Aha!” moment. Reveal yourself to us! Make our hearts burn within us at your Presence. Let me delight at your right hand forever, risen Lord, for you are the joy of my life.

Jan 08 2025

Show Me!

We don’t know the day-to-day occupation of Thomas the apostle. He asked a lot of questions. His may have been the first-century equivalent of a scientific mind: He’s looking for evidence. He wants to be shown. He is not content to take the word of the others. He wants to see. He wants to understand.

The beautiful thing about this story is Jesus’ divine mercy. He doesn’t condemn Thomas’s request. He offers to show him his hands and his side. He respects the intellectual grasping of the “scientist.” Yet commentary after commentary deprecates Thomas’ questions, even though Jesus did not. “Just believe on the apostles’ word,” they interpret as today’s message. They must not live in the same world that I live in.

You can tell your scientifically-minded sixteen-year-old, “Just believe that God loves you” until you are blue in the face. She is not going to believe it on your word. She wants to see. Yet we have not seen God. With our limited minds, we cannot comprehend the Trinity; both St. Augustine and history’s agnostics agree on that. The difference between a Christian and an agnostic, then, is revelation— we believe that by the mercy of God, we have been shown. The Lord has breathed on us and because of that, we have seen his glory.

When I teach my undergraduate prayer class at Notre Dame, I get a mix of believers and non-believers. Early in the course, I offer them what I call The Atheist’s Prayer: “God, if you’re real, show me.” I cannot harangue them into belief. If God is real and they keep praying, they will be shown. I have seen it happen. God comes, not because we pray, but out of a deep desire to be with us. In every generation, age and after age, God shows up.

Consider/Discuss

Faith is a gift that we have been given. We have been shown. We have responded, but it was first a gift given. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, how can we have greater mercy for those who may not believe based on our word? What is one concrete thing that we can do to strengthen or mend a relationship with a family member who is far from faith?
In today’s story from the Acts of the Apostles, the early community “showed” the risen Lord by the way that they lived their lives. How can we build a faith community that is so loving that others are attracted? Together, how can we reveal that following Jesus is worth living for?

Living and Praying with the Word

Lord Jesus, thank you for offering to show your hands and your side to the apostle Thomas. As a result of your mercy, he came to faith and declared you “Lord and God.” Bless all those we know with scientific minds, especially those who do not now believe in you. Reveal yourself to them and show them that following you is the greatest adventure that they could ever undertake. For you are alive! You are here, now. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Jan 08 2025

Christ is Risen! Let’s Dance!

In her grief and uncertainty, Mary of Magdala is heavy of heart and slow of foot: she “comes” to the tomb, looking. She does not understand. Jesus is dead. Gone. Dead. Truly dead.

On this early Easter morning, what are you and I looking for? Like Mary, we too can be heavy of heart and slow of foot. A twelve-year-old girl asked me recently, “If Jesus is really God, why doesn’t he just fix all the bad things?” In the pre-dawn uncertainties of our day, we too do not understand.

But then the Gospel begins to pick up speed as the sun rises: watch the feet. Mary of Magdala sees the stone rolled away from the tomb; she takes off running. Peter and the other disciple come running. The younger man runs faster. When his sandals come back out of the tomb, they are dancing and boogying, hopping and frolicking—you can see it in his feet—the young man sees and believes! He knows! Peter dashes in, too. He is amazed. Where could Jesus be?

Watch the feet of a toddler. At the wonder of the first crocus, her whole body gets involved—her arms flap, her back sways, and her eyes radiate delight. Even before she is able to talk, she experiences joy; full of life, full of wonder—look at her face, her smile, her feet.

Look at the natural world. A month ago, my yard looked dead— deep snow, bare twigs. Now the raspberry canes are popping with tiny green leaves. The soil is warming. Even the chickadees flit at the bird feeder—just watch their feet!

The beauty of the visible world leads us to the invisible One. Candles, music, lights, movement—even the liturgy itself is like a dance. We sing “Alleluia!” Easter is real. Jesus is alive!

Consider/Discuss

The tomb is empty. The Lord is alive. Lent is over. Death and darkness and despair and uncertainty are not the final answer. What are our feet going to do today? This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad. Are you ready to dance?
On this Easter morning, you and I are also looking for the certainty of faith. The darkness cannot and must not be our final answer. We are looking for the Son. Even though we cannot totally comprehend resurrection, where do you find tastes of new life?

Living and Praying with the Word

Jesus our risen Lord, you have been set free! Open the tombs of our hearts so that we swell with your Easter joy. We thank you for transforming us from the plodding of pre-dawn heaviness to this moment when the sun comes up, when you are risen! Lighten our feet so that we too start to dance and boogie, hop and frolic, with the gift of certainty that you live. Glory to you forever and ever! Alleluia!