This month I am looking at resilience in my sermons. I’ve been wrestling with different approaches to resilience and what I might have to say in sermons. One of the best parts of the Soul Matters collective is that I get to brainstorm with a bunch of other ministers the month before in an online video chat.

One of the great joys of ministry is that I have to to read a lot and get different perspectives for what I share during worship. Some times I think I don’t know how to read for pleasure. I read pretty much anything with an eye towards what themes does this piece of writing illustrate. For Christmas, I asked for and received the 2019 edition of the Best American Sports Writing edited by Charles P Pierce. It seems like an odd choice for a minister who only has a casual interest in sports.

I got about five articles into the Best American Sports Writing when I realized this - sports and athletes are a
nearly perfect example of resilience. Athletes compete knowing that chances are good, they will not win, and yet also competing for the championship every time. It’s about practicing enough to get over the fact that you struck out in that inning, but entering the next inning knowing that you could hit a grand slam. Athletes practice their sport to become resilient. They can tolerate the lows of failure and the highs of success. Their years of practice allow them to perform and do what is required of them, consistently.

I wonder does our congregation create a similar sense of resilience? A sense of resilience that gives you momentum to get through the highs and the lows to continue to bring more compassion to the world.