February 6, 2026 // Diocese

Theology on Tap Speaker Explores ‘Christ in the Chaos’

Todays Catholic

The winter Theology on Tap series in Fort Wayne opened by naming a reality many young adults experience daily: chaos. From global conflict and polarized politics to artificial intelligence blurring truth, constant social media noise, and deeply personal struggles, disorder can feel inescapable. This season’s Theology on Tap series, titled “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” was intentionally designed to meet people in that place – not by avoiding chaos but by walking through it toward hope.

Organizers explained that the series is structured as a journey, mirroring Christ’s own passage through the desert during Lent. Just as Lent ultimately leads to resurrection, the Theology on Tap series is meant to lead participants toward hope – a fitting focus following last year’s Jubilee Year of Hope.

The first two talks of the winter series confront the environment many people inhabit daily: wars, political division, AI-driven misinformation, biased media, technological escapism, and the fatigue that comes from being constantly connected. Coupled with personal struggles – family tension, vocational uncertainty, and fractured relationships – this constant noise can easily lead to hopelessness and despair. These opening sessions are meant to name that reality honestly before turning toward healing and renewal.

‘God’s Order Is Not Our Order’

The series began with “Christ in the Chaos,” presented by Mike Habeeb, director of mission programming at the University of Saint Francis. Habeeb structured his talk around two perspectives: first, that God is the author of order, and second, that God is one who works even within what appears to us as disorder. While the first idea is familiar to many Christians, the second is more challenging – and, he argued, more transformative.

Beginning with Genesis, Habeeb described creation as emerging from Tohu wa-bohu – a Hebrew phrase often translated as “formless and void” but more accurately understood as “chaos and desolation.” Into that chaos, God speaks order into existence.

But if God is the author of order, where does that leave people when life falls apart?

Habeeb shared stories that illustrated how God is often encountered not after chaos has passed but while it is actively unfolding. One such story came from World Youth Day in Spain, when a violent storm tore through a field of more than a million pilgrims during an overnight vigil.

“There was chaos – pure chaos,” Habeeb recalled. Yet in the middle of the storm, people ran toward danger to help others. A group of pilgrims lifted a collapsed tent so those trapped beneath it could escape, while at the same time someone else carried the Blessed Sacrament to safety.

Another story brought listeners into a hospital emergency room after Habeeb suffered a severe table saw injury on his final day at a woodworking job. After hours of untreated pain, a nurse intervened despite being told to wait.

“For me, she was the face of pure mercy,” Habeeb said. “That was God in the chaos.”

Habeeb then pushed the audience further, suggesting that God is not only present in brief moments of relief but actively at work within chaos itself – even when it defies human understanding.

He pointed to moments in Scripture that appear chaotic from a scientific perspective: the Red Sea parting, storms instantly calming, and water turning into wine. “That’s not how water works,” he repeated, emphasizing the tension between human logic and divine action.

“Our perspective is limited,” Habeeb said. “God’s justice is not our justice. God’s order is not our order.”

What appears chaotic to us, he argued, may actually be God restoring a deeper order that we cannot yet see.

Habeeb grounded the message in everyday experience by reflecting on family life. Raising young children, he admitted, is rarely peaceful or predictable. Mornings are loud, Mass can be exhausting, and patience is constantly tested.

Yet rather than viewing those moments as obstacles to holiness, Habeeb framed them as his vocation.

“In serving my children,” he said, “I serve Christ.”

Holiness, he suggested, is not found only in silence and stillness but in faithfulness amid the mess.

Attendees Reflect on the Message

For many in attendance, the talk offered a new way of understanding their own experiences.

“I gained a new perspective on viewing chaos in general life situations,” said Grace Huisman, noting that “even though it doesn’t inherently seem like there can be beauty in it … God’s way and God’s plan” can still be present. “I feel like I can take that with me from here on out,” she added.

Molly Nord resonated with the challenge to rethink disorder itself. “I love chaos. I thrive in chaos,” Nord said before reflecting that “God’s justice isn’t our justice,” and “God’s order isn’t our order.” What feels disordered to us, she said, may actually be God “seeing order and making order out of it.”

For Sidney Swick, reflection was key. “Sitting with that and looking back and reflecting, you can also gain perspective,” she said. Often, she added, “we’re not going to even know or be able to understand until afterwards.” Taking time to reflect allows people to “actually appreciate how God was working in those moments.”

A Journey Toward Hope

As the Theology on Tap series continues, organizers hope participants will come to see that chaos and hope are not opposites. Rather, hope often takes root precisely where chaos seems most overwhelming – not a shallow optimism but the enduring hope rooted in Christ Himself.

As St. Paul reminds the Church, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). That conviction framed Mike Habeeb’s opening talk and sets the tone for the entire series.

Hope begins where Christ enters our mess. Hope is found in chaos. And in Christ, hope does not disappoint.

A schedule of upcoming sessions, recordings of talks, and more information on Theology on Tap are available at diocesefwsb.org/tot-fw.

By Nick Mills