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WEEKLY FELLOWSHIP! JOIN AROUND THE CAMPFIRE!
Sundays at 11:30 AM ET. Click here to join via Google Meet!
What’s the weekly mettle maker?
Training tips and educational info in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? Mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
What’s new?
Our program is now called HERITAGE ROUGH ‘N’ TUMBLE. To understand why we’ve made this change, read this post .
Skin in the game is now required. The program is still free if you can’t afford a donation of $1/month — but you have to at least hang out with the crew each week or volunteer to be a social media promoter, blogger, researcher, newsletter editor, fundraiser, mentor, artist, or even come up with your own idea.
Mettle maker #414: Side Control Escape
There are plenty of ways to escape side control, many of which are super complex and technical. I encourage you to learn, study, and perfect as many of them as give you joy. There are, however, two ways to escape side control that are simple, easy to learn, and so similar to the bridge-and-roll methods that we use for escaping top saddle that they are incredibly instinctive — so much so that they’ve become our go-tos around these parts.
Watch the video above for the low-down. Practice them on your floor bag. Three, three-minute rounds should do nicely every now and then.
Interested in a totally free program that incorporates self-defense, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development? Sign up for our free Rough ‘n’ Tumble Distance Learning Program!
Fr. mitch is traveling this week so there will be no live service. Recorded holy eucharist service below.
Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 7/15/24 – Father Mitch
Readings: Am 7:12-15, Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14, Eph 1:3-14 or 1:3-10, Mk 6:7-13
Mark 6:7-13 World English Bible
Jesus called to himself the twelve, and began to send them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse, 9 but to wear sandals, and not put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter into a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 Whoever will not receive you nor hear you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them. Assuredly, I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil who were sick and healed them.
Brothers and sisters, are we all able to leave our jobs behind and set out into the world to serve Christ and preach the Gospel? Can we leave behind our obligations – our families, spouses, children, loved ones, and jobs – and be itinerant preachers? No, but we can ways to live our lives in an apostolic way.
Jesus instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick. A walking stick is a very modest, multi-purpose tool for protecting oneself from wild dogs, ruffians, thieves, and killers, as well as from uneven terrain. And so, we can suppose that Jesus doesn’t expect us to become victims or expect us avoid all risk; for if there was to be no risk – if there were going to be no scuffles, bumps in the road, no hills to climb, and no loose soil requiring additional stability – then we would need no walking stick.
Jesus tells the disciples take no food, no bag and no money. We can't go about our daily lives begging. But we can devalue food and money. We can emulate the disciples by demoting those things to secondary importance. We can be more focused on what is coming out of our mouths and less focused on the next delicious bite we might be able to put into them. We can divert our attention away from possessions, toys, shopping, and creature comforts, and away from how much money we're going to make today and how much cash we have in our pockets.
And, since Jesus told them to wear their sandals, we know that he doesn't expect us to go out into the world stepping very lightly and very carefully for fear of stepping on a stone or piece of glass. He wants us to have a thick hide on our feet so that we can travel rough roads safely and go where others may perhaps fear to tread. But he also doesn't want us to carry a second tunic. For the disciples that means that he doesn't want them carrying fancy clothes so that they dress to impress. The mission matters more than the clothes. The same goes for us. It's important that we dress appropriately. But we should be concerned about being clothed in righteousness, not draped in the most fashionable and fancy clothes.
If the apostles entered a place, Jesus says, and were not welcome, they were to shake the dust off their feet and move on. We can do that in our daily lives too. If we're not welcome in a place or in a group, or if people treat us unfairly, there's no need for us to get ugly. We can simply move on.
And finally, Jesus tells the twelve to go out, preach repentance, heal the sick, and cast out demons. We can do likewise. We can speak out against bad ideas and promote good ones, undo misconceptions, speak the truth and refute lies, as we walk through the world as Christians.
We may think that we aren’t role models, but we are. Every human being is a role model, every single one of us, whether we like it or not. We probably won’t literally anoint anyone with oil. But we might bless them with a smile, anoint them with friendship and love of neighbor, and heal the wounds of loneliness and isolation. We might banish our share of falsehood, negativity, hatred, and evil. And if those aren't demons and sicknesses, what are?