God does not want the Eagles to win the Super Bowl.
Now before anyone gets upset, God does not want the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl either.
While so much about God is a mystery, there is one thing about God of which I am certain: God does not pick winners and losers.
What God wants for each and every one of us is to recognize that the gifts he has blessed us with are to be used in service to becoming the best version of ourselves. Those gifts and talents evolve, reaching toward their fullest potential only when we invest time and commitment into honing them. Notice I said reaching toward their fullest potential. This process is never-ending; there will always be room for growth, and there is no greater example of this than in sports.
Whether as a player or spectator, sport offers a wonderful lens through which to examine our faith, celebrate our blessings, and affirm God’s presence in our lives. Let’s use this lens to view a popular storyline being followed in this year’s Super Bowl: the Kelce brothers.
I have long-admired Jason Kelce’s work ethic, loyalty, leadership, service, toughness, sense of humor and self-confidence. Travis Kelce shares many of his brother’s qualities, but it’s his story of redemption that is quite admirable. His bad choices in high school and college almost cost him his pro football opportunity. Thankfully, Travis matured, learned from his mistakes and became not just one of the best tight ends in the league, but also a respected teammate and leader. It is easy to root for them both.
While much inspiration can be found through learning their personal stories, it is their brotherhood that particularly helps focus my sports and faith lens. You see, I am the mother of two sons. Two athletic, competitive sons. I had a front row seat watching my boys discover their talents, fall in love with their respective sports, train hard and learn everything they can. I also had a front row seat to their competitiveness with each other and the gradual recognition that each makes the other a better athlete and, more importantly, a better man.
It was this experience with my sons that helped me understand the true meaning of competition and God’s presence in it. Viewing competition as adversarial overlooks the true blessings competition offers. The Latin word for “competition” is “competere” meaning “to strive together.” Note the meaning is “together” not “against.” Imagine if there was more recognition of opponents as allies in the quest to become the best. Without opponents, athletes couldn’t hone their craft, strive for excellence, and dare I say, fulfill God’s calling to become the best versions of themselves.
I truly believe Kelce brothers’ mother, Donna, when she says she isn’t rooting for one son to win over the other. I imagine she roots for each of them to do the best they can and stands ready to celebrate with the son whose team is victorious and mourn with the son whose team loses. Who does that sound like?
God, like a loving parent, stands ready to celebrate and mourn right alongside us. Look no further than the Paschal Mystery for proof. When in the depths of sorrow, it’s easy to think that God has abandoned us and joy will never return. But it is the Paschal Mystery that teaches us God is always with us, his blessings never cease, and the joy of Easter Sunday is most deeply felt when preceded by the struggle and despair of Good Friday.
Joy AND sorrow are filled with blessings from God and are often gifted to us through sports. (I think Philadelphia sports fans know that better than anyone.) For it is in recognizing God’s presence in those experiences of joy AND experiences of sorrow that our relationship with him is strengthened.
(Hopefully, Eagles fans will have more experiences of joy on Super Bowl Sunday. Go Birds!)
Dr. Lee Mirenda DelleMonache is director of religious education for the Diocese of Camden. Previously, she spent 16 years with the Neumann University Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development, seven of which were as director.
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