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Mettle maker #418: Happy Warrior!
The other day I got a gift in the mail from my coach and friend Mark Hatmaker — Book Lover's Guide to Great Reading by Terry W. Glaspey. I was speechless. It’s always a shock to me when folks of quality think I’m worth care and attention.
I dropped him a thank you note in the mail of course, because there’s nothing quite like a paper note with a stamp on it — an actual card means so much more than just an email. I enclosed a copy of the great poem below, of which I’m always reminded when I think of Mark.
Thank you Mark, for your kindness, example, instruction, and patience. In your honor I share this great poem, which touches upon what makes a great warrior, and also speaks to the essential concepts for which we share such a strong mutual affection. God Bless,
~Mitch
Character of the Happy Warrior (1806)
By William Wordsworth
Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be?
—It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought
Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought
Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought:
Whose high endeavours are an inward light
That makes the path before him always bright;
Who, with a natural instinct to discern
What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn;
Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
But makes his moral being his prime care;
Who, doomed to go in company with Pain,
And Fear, and Bloodshed, miserable train!
Turns his necessity to glorious gain;
In face of these doth exercise a power
Which is our human nature's highest dower:
Controls them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves
Of their bad influence, and their good receives:
By objects, which might force the soul to abate
Her feeling, rendered more compassionate;
Is placable—because occasions rise
So often that demand such sacrifice;
More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure,
As tempted more; more able to endure,
As more exposed to suffering and distress;
Thence, also, more alive to tenderness.
—'Tis he whose law is reason; who depends
Upon that law as on the best of friends;
Whence, in a state where men are tempted still
To evil for a guard against worse ill,
And what in quality or act is best
Doth seldom on a right foundation rest,
He labours good on good to fix, and owes
To virtue every triumph that he knows:
—Who, if he rise to station of command,
Rises by open means; and there will stand
On honourable terms, or else retire,
And in himself possess his own desire;
Who comprehends his trust, and to the same
Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim;
And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait
For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state;
Whom they must follow; on whose head must fall,
Like showers of manna, if they come at all:
Whose powers shed round him in the common strife,
Or mild concerns of ordinary life,
A constant influence, a peculiar grace;
But who, if he be called upon to face
Some awful moment to which Heaven has joined
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a Lover; and attired
With sudden brightness, like a Man inspired;
And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw;
Or if an unexpected call succeed,
Come when it will, is equal to the need:
—He who, though thus endued as with a sense
And faculty for storm and turbulence,
Is yet a Soul whose master-bias leans
To homefelt pleasures and to gentle scenes;
Sweet images! which, wheresoe'er he be,
Are at his heart; and such fidelity
It is his darling passion to approve;
More brave for this, that he hath much to love:—
'Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation's eye,
Or left unthought-of in obscurity,—
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not—
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won:
Whom neither shape or danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward, persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self-surpast:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name—
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
That every man in arms should wish to be.
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Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, 8/11/24 – Father Mitch
Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8, Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Eph 4:30 - 5:2, Jn 6:41-51
John 6:41-51 World English Bible
The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
43 Therefore Jesus answered them, “Don’t murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ * Therefore everyone who hears from the Father and has learned, comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. 47 Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Elijah calls out, “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Elijah is all of us. He is mankind, all of humanity. We make a little progress on the technology or medical front perhaps, but morally we find ourselves mired in the same human failings as our ancestors. If we allowed ourselves, we could easily become discouraged. But Elijahs’ prayer is answered. The Lord sends an angel to him, bringing sustenance. Elijah eats the food and it sustains him for a miraculous journey.
It has become commonplace to think that faith means believing in supernatural things for which there is no material evidence. This is a trick of the devil. He delights in the inversion of definitions. He takes great pleasure in our disorientation. In the fog of confused meanings, he leads us away from God.
Contrary to the lies of the devil, faith is not belief in the supernatural without evidence. Faith is trusting that a perfect God serves perfect food. When we were children, our parents and guardians put food on our tables. We ate and we grew up. If we feared the food was spoiled, unhealthy, or would make us sick in some way, we’d understand that was because our parents and guardians were deeply troubled and, to one degree or another, imperfect. The evil one tricks people into thinking that God’s food is imperfect or too late – that there’s no point in trying. He says, “Sure, there may be some food. But it’s not all that great. And besides, it’s going to come at the end of a long uphill journey. You’ll never make it. There’s no point. Just give up.” He wants us to think that we’ll never be truly nourished. But that is a lie.
Again, faith is trusting that a perfect God serves perfect food. We don’t have to be filled with the Holy Ghost. We don’t have to be strong in our convictions. We don’t have to be good at resisting temptations to bad behavior or be morally upright. We can even have doubts about certain particularities. It may shock you to know that, when I entered seminary, I was unsure of the literal truth of the Gospel! Can you imagine being that confused? I can. Many people are. But I had tasted what the Lord was offering, and I was certain of one thing: I had tasted something incredible, something unimaginably good, something so sustaining that I had to have more. And I knew had to encourage everyone I met to have a taste. So I ate. And by the grace of God I was nourished for the journey into fullness of belief in the truth of the Gospel.
This is possible for everyone. All we must do, brothers and sisters, is trust enough to take a bite of the food that the Lord offers, and keep coming back. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” as we read in Psalm 34. Christ’s Holy and Universal Church, the company of all faithful people, is a soup kitchen for all those sick and starving for nourishment – for the homeless, the hungry, and the heartbroken in body, mind, and spirit. His food comes before the journey, not at its end. Come one, come all, to the Supper of the Lamb!
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* 6:45 Isaiah 54:13