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Mettle Maker #374
What’s the weekly mettle maker? Training tips and educational information in support of our free programs, that’s what! What’s mettle? According the American Heritage Dictionary, mettle is, “The ability to meet a challenge or persevere under demanding circumstances; determination or resolve.”
Fitness — More on light dumbbells: We’ve touched on light dumbbells before. They really are effective for keeping shoulders healthy and strong. Watch the video on the left, give them a try, and let us know what you think in the comments. You might be glad you did. Looking for a free fitness coach? We’re a 501c3 charity! Click here to sign up for our distance learning fitness program!
Martial Arts - Practice your Square Choke like you mean it. The video on the right only has 47 views, probably because it’s not exotic or sparkly, but workmanlike. If you’re going have a tight choke that you can apply with full force and aggression, you have to practice it. Don’t imagine that if you have to defend yourself you’ll somehow magically develop super strength and endurance. You actually have to train your techniques. Watch the video on the right and do the work. Want to learn more practical self-defense material? Join the club in Richmond, VA or click here to sign up for the Heritage self-defense distance learning program!
Vitis Palmata — the catbird grape
Wildwood Outdoor Skills — Say hello to Vitis palmata, the catbird grape. If you’re looking for a trailside nibble this time of year, catbird grape is a fairly common find in the southeastern and south-central U.S. The fruit is often insipid (the technical term for low in flavor and sweetness) but definitely edible. Look closely and you’ll notice that the tendrils are forked. For a comprehensive outdoor skills program, click here to sign up for the Heritage Wildwood distance learning program!
Holy Communion is LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM EASTERn. Click HERE to watch live. To view and print a copy of the program for holy communion, CLICK HERE.
Homily for the Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sunday 9/24/23 – Father Mitch
Readings: Is 55:6-9, Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18, Phil 1:20c-24, 27a, Mt 20:1-16a
Matthew 20:1-16a World English Bible Catholic Edition
Jesus said, “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius† a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 He went out about the third hour,‡ and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. 4 He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour,§ and did likewise. 6 About the eleventh hour† he went out and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
7 “They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
“He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’
8 “When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ 9 “When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. 10 When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, 12 saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. 15 Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Friends, there is very little more toxic than a work-and-reward mentality with regard to the spiritual life. Christ, in today’s parable, shows us what happens when we fail to get beyond this cumbersome outlook.
We’ve all had the experience of working alongside someone who has this very simplistic, legalistic mindset. This is the coworker who, when someone gets a promotion at work, says “I’ve been working here longer. Why didn’t I get the position?” This is the teenager who says to his mother, “You let my sister stay out until 11 pm. Why do I have to be home by 9 pm?” Every experienced parent, supervisor, pastor, or leader of any kind recognizes this “it’s not fair” outlook as a very sinister poison.
To nip this in the bud, leaders must immediately step in and teach those for whom they are responsible that the thought “it’s not fair” should be a call to introspection and faith rather than a call to bitterness. That’s what Jesus is doing in today’s gospel reading. When we start to think “it’s not fair” we should consider that perhaps the quality of our work isn’t as good as we think it is. Maybe we need to do better. Or perhaps we just need to be more patient. There could be something amazing coming our way very soon – something that’s even better than the thing we’re being envious about. But, most importantly, we must be mindful that “it’s not fair,” if left unchecked, becomes the mark of Cain. When God accepted Abel’s sacrifice over his, Cain allowed his “it’s not fair” attitude to become a motive for murdering his brother. This way of thinking literally points down to hell.
To begin heading upward, we must first see that although we sometimes use the term “the work of the spirit,” we should be taking up not a tedious list of chores but a labor of love. This is the pivot point around which the Christian life turns. Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39). And Saint Paul said, “If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Cor 13:3).
If we fill up the work of the spirit with love, it becomes a labor of love at which we can work tirelessly. Jealousy and resentment fall away. There is only joy for our brothers and sisters who are successful in both the material life and the spiritual life. We are happy for them at school, at work, in sports, and so on – and when they believe in the Gospel, we are filled with joy at the thought that they might join us in the world to come.
The Christian life is not a call to mere obedience to laws. It is a call to transformation. We are not destined to be laborers in a vineyard, but rather offshoots of the true vine (John 15:1-17). Say goodbye to the “sour grapes” way of life!
† 20:2 A denarius is a silver Roman coin worth 1/25th of a Roman aureus. This was a common wage for a day of farm labor.
‡ 20:3 Time was measured from sunrise to sunset, so the third hour would be about 9:00 a.m.
§ 20:5 noon and 3:00 p.m.
† 20:6 5:00 p.m.