Joy to the World: Mettle Maker #335 and Christmas Holy Communion

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.”

Mettle Maker #335

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Fitness and Self-Defense Combo — A practical HIIT training session called “Very Bad Karma” from The Calisthenics Codex. Set a timer for somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes, and adjust the intensity as well to suit your fitness level and training goals. Your exercises are Dragon Flags (substitute Sit-ups if needed), Push-ups, Squats, and Jumping Jacks (martial artists substitute kicks, either vs. air or heavy bag). Set your rep count at ¼ the SSM of each exercise, and see how many circuits you can complete in the time allotted. I completed 5 sets of 4 Dragon Flags, 8 Push-ups, 16 Squats, and 100 kicks in 30 minutes. The video on the right demonstrates the same idea with four different exercises. Interested in a free fitness or martial arts distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — Practice your stalking. If you don’t have to regularly stalk to hunt your food or to evade human predators, you should set aside time for regular stalking practice.. “Hunt” for animal photos by stalking real animals in your back yard or the local park. Or, to focus on just the physical aspects of stalking, practice your stalking step for 100 yards. Go very, very slowly and make every step as silent as possible. If it takes you less than 7 minutes to cover 100 yards, you’re going way too fast. Aim for 8 - 10 minutes and keep your knees bent the entire time. Extra credit: Do the exercise on a flight of stairs. Try to avoid making any sound at all, and avoid touching the handrails or walls as much as possible. Make three total circuits (three times up and three times down) and make sure it takes you at least 4 minutes or you’re going too fast. This will prepare you for hills and uneven terrain. See video on the left. Want more nature appreciation and survival instruction? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Dec. 25th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 52:7-10, Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6., Heb 1:1-6, John 1:1-5, 9-14

 

John 1:1-5, 9-14  World English Bible

 

1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  The same was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. 4  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome* it.

 

9  The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.

 

10  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 11  He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. 12  But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: 13  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

 

14  The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born† Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

 

Today we celebrate the day that angels appeared to shepherds in the hill country and said,

 

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11 KJV)

 

And today, like those shepherds – metaphorically at least! – we move toward the spiritual City of David where this child is to be found, lying in a feeding trough for animals.  Here we partake of the spiritual food which is Christ the Lord.   We are those shepherds.  And just like they did after they found Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus as the angel promised, we proclaim the good news far and wide, to friends, our neighbors, and our families. 

 

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. (Luke 1: 16-18 KJV)

 

As shepherds, as witnesses of the transforming power of the miracle of the Incarnation, we have good tidings of great joy to share.  And this news is desperately needed.  Poll after poll, survey after survey, shows that most people outside our faith have one of two views of Christianity.  They see it as either a system of mostly political rules and morals they don’t agree with, or as just another club or activity selling them spiritual fulfillment as a product.  It’s up to us to let them know that Christianity is not a political party or a product.  We are not competing with their backpacking club.  This is not an organic gardening or Yoga class.  For people who feel like they do, Christmas may seem like just another drain on their attention, just another excuse for someone to sell them something, just another chore or grab for their pocketbook.

It’s up to us to proclaim through our words and actions that Christmas is a holiday like no other, because Jesus is a figure like no other.  He is not merely a wise, mortal teacher like Buddha or Plato who lived a long time ago and who encouraged morality, ethics and good manners.  No, no – he is the Son of God, true light from true light, true God from true God.  He came, not to show us how to be kind and nice, like a really, really, good kindergarten teacher.  He came to show us how to fundamentally remake ourselves in the image of God.

Let everyone know, my fellow shepherds, that Jesus came bringing salvation – liberation from the slavery of selfishness and evil; deliverance from the emptiness and pointlessness of modern life; alleviation of the pain associated with separation from God; and the possibility of never-ending blissful union with him in the life to come.

Let the world know that the Son of God entered his creation so that we might partake of his divine nature.  So that, by entering into communion with the Son of God, we might ourselves become sons of God in turn.  As St. Athanasius said, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”

Merry Christmas to all!

—————————————————————-

*1:5 The word translated “overcome” (κατέλαβεν) can also be translated “comprehended.” It refers to getting a grip on an enemy to defeat him.

†1:14 The phrase “only born” is from the Greek word “μονογενους”, which is sometimes translated “only begotten” or “one and only”.

Mettle Maker #334 and Holy Communion for Third Sunday of Advent

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.”

Mettle Maker #334

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Fitness — Common sense fitness? How many times could you push a shovel into the dirt without taking a break? 100 times? How many times could you carry an 80 lb. bag of concrete the 50 yards from the truck to the jobsite before taking a break? 5 times? Remember the old school adage: “If you can’t do it every day, you can’t do it.” Bottom line: practical movements with real-world applications ought to be the bread-and-butter of any fitness routine, and you should approach your sets and reps in a common-sense fashion. Real life isn’t an Olympic competition you peak for,. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — How’s your Shoulder Shrug to Arm Drag? Some folks decry this maneuver because they say nobody will stand still for it (see video on the right). But that hasn’t stopped this maneuver from working ten times at every wrestling meet in North America since 1971. Of course people don’t stand still! For Pete’s sake, you might not pull off the whole thing from A to Z, but you may well at least break free with the shrug and have a chance to scram. Look, the position will not “hold” the same way it does in a training video. Isn’t that obvious to anyone who has ever sparred? Don’t be a silly goose. Practice it! Interested in a structured self-defense program? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood — Know your seeds. Maples aren’t the only trees whose seeds are fashioned like wings. Take a look at the photo set below. These are the very tiny seeds of the Crepe Myrle (Lagerstroemia indica). They fall in winter, and seem to be increasingly popular as a food source for birds., but they aren’t edible by humans. Maple keys are though, and they’re yummy! See video on the left. Want more nature appreciation and survival instruction? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Dec. 18th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 7:10-14, Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, Rom 1:1-7, Mt 1:18-24

 

Matthew 1:18-24  World English Bible

 

18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19  Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. 20  But when he thought about these things, behold,§ an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21  She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus,* for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

22  Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,

 

23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child,

and shall give birth to a son.

They shall call his name Immanuel,”

which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”✡

 

24  Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; 25  and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.

 

 

How does our Lord enter into his creation?  After all, God is not a being in the world, not some kind of sky fairy, not a being living somewhere in the universe.  He’s not a super powerful alien vacationing in Maui or hiding in a distant galaxy. As the uncaused cause existence itself, we cannot find him in the material world.  We cannot open a book, rifle the pages, and expect the author to fall out like a pressed flower.

So I ask again: how does God enter into his creation?  Does he smash his way in like an intruder?  Does he enter by war, patricide, and retribution the way that the Greco-Roman gods did?  Is he born of a giant, like Odin?

No.  Our Lord enters by faith.  Mary is visited by the archangel Gabriel and told her destiny is to be the Mother of God.  Does she say, “Please, no!  My husband and his family will never believe this really happened, and he’ll divorce me!”  No, she says instead, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38).  What does Joseph do and say when the archangel Gabriel appears to him?  Does he reject the news?  Does he allow pride and doubt interfere with his belief?  No.  He believes.  He has faith in his bride’s fidelity, faith in the angel, and most importantly, faith in God!

And when does the Lord enter his creation?  Does he show up, like the old pagan gods did, at some point in the misty, shady, prehistoric past?  No indeed!  It’s no coincidence that the world clock reset to zero at the birth of Jesus, and that we number the years according to his birth.  Jesus is born during history.  There are no eyewitness accounts to the myths of the old gods.  Jesus’ mother and father are alive into his adulthood, even into his ministry.  At the time his story is recorded, there are living observers to the events in his childhood.  The Lord enters his creation, not just mythically, but literally.  In the here and now.

How appropriate it is that we should find Psalm 24 paired with this passage from the Gospel of St. Matthew.  Because Psalm 24, my favorite, describes exactly that is going on in the arrival of the infant Jesus. 

Faith is the door, the gateway, through which the Lord enters his creation. He does not make a mere symbolic, philosophical entry– it is symbolic and philosophical for sure! – but he also enters as a literal fact in time, in and through the actual choices of two humble people named Mary and Joseph.   Our hearts and minds reel with the thought of it!  It’s so spectacular, so shocking, so extraordinary!  Through the gate of their true love and true faith, the Lord enters his creation to save us all.

 ———————————————————————————————————

 §1:20 “Behold”, from “ἰδοὺ”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

 *1:21 “Jesus” means “Salvation”.

 ✡1:23 Isaiah 7:14

See, Hear, Speak: Mettle Maker #333 and Holy Communion for Third Sunday of Advent

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.”

Mettle Maker #333

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Fitness — Give the exercises in the video on the right a try. Three sets is all you need if you aim for perfect form. Do Pull-ups (max 3 x 8), Dragon Flags (max 3 x 8), and Stone Lifts (max of 3 x 3). If you don’t have stones (who does besides me?!?) substitute sandbag lifts or deadlifts. Don’t go to failure — stop on the rep just prior to technique breakdown. In other words, when you feel like, “I could do a couple more reps, but my technique might not be perfect.” Most injuries happen when form breaks down. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — How’s your Standing Arm Triangle? If you don’t a Standing Arm Triangle, get one. It’s so easy, once you get the knack of it. Start by watching the YouTube short on the right — the one with the horrible thumbnail! — then find yourself a partner and get to work. Interested in a structured self-defense program? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood — Are you blind, deaf, and mute? How important is it to pay attention to what you see, hear, and say — not just when you’re in a survival situation, but all the time? Paying attention is the investment, and dividends are more fun and better odds. Examples, you ask? What if rain is coming and and you have little food and water? Well, if you were paying attention earlier in the day when that woodpecker was knocking, or that woodpecker feather was right there on the ground (see picture below), you could go straight to that standing dead tree around which all that great firewood was piled up. Otherwise, you might have to wander all over creation, waste energy, get soaked, etc. etc. Want more? Listen to today’s homily on a related topic (see below). Want even more? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

A picture of my son Robert , taken when were standing on the top of Mount Rogers, the highest point in Virginia. On the right, a feather from a southern yellow-shafted flicker (Colaptes auratus auratus) — a type of woodpecker.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 11th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 35:1-6a, 10, Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10, Jas 5:7-10, Mt 11:2-11

 

Matthew 11:2-11  World English Bible  Catholic Edition

 

2  Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3  and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”

4  Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear,✡ the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.✡ 6  Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

7  As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8  But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9  But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. 10  For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’✡ 11  Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.

 

 

The blind, deaf, and mute are everywhere.  You, or I, may be one of them from time to time or from moment to moment.  Blind to the suffering of others.  Unable to see a way through the fog of life, deaf to the cries of those who are suffering, unable to make out the pleas for help coming from our loved ones, or from the depths of our own souls for that matter.  Unable to speak our minds, incapable of properly expressing our thoughts.  Literally or figuratively, we have all been, or are now, blind, deaf, and mute.

Maybe you can’t see past your bills or your health issues.  Maybe you can’t see a future beyond your addiction, your physical disability, or your grief.  Remember though, Jesus sympathizes.  He has been there.  How hard was it for him to see past the blood in his eyes that ran down from the crown of thorns on his brow?  Pray to him.  Ask him, “Lord, how did you bear this kind of misery?  Show me the way.  Shine a light on my dark path.”  He will be there.

Maybe you can’t hear the Word of God over the racket of cell phones, TikTok, social media, pop culture, and fashion.  Maybe you’re tone deaf and you don’t even realize it.  Pray to Lord.  Say, “What are my spouse and children calling out for?  Love?  Attention?  Engagement?  What’s my boss or mentor asking of me that I’m not paying attention to?  What am I ignoring?  Lord, what is your plan for my life?”  The Lord will answer.  He’s been there.  How hard was it to hear over the pounding of the nails into his hands and feet on the cross?  And when he answers you, listen.  Take action.  You might even have a happier family, build stronger friendships, get a raise, or find your true calling!

It's also easy to be mute in this world – hard to bend your knee in prayer sometimes, Hard to be a proper witness of the Gospel, hard to find the right words when topics is awkward.  Perhaps you need to have a serious talk with a loved one but, out you’ve been holding your tongue out of fear that one of you will get angry.  Do you need to have a talk with your boss, or a difficult employee?  Is there a confession you need to make to your guidance counselor, therapist, priest, or to the police?  Ask the Lord to be your intermediary.  Pray for him to take your hand and fill your mouth with perfect, polite, patient, and measured words. 

Remember, the Lord has been there too, standing before Pilate in the crosshairs, under threat of death.  He knows.  He understands.  He will help.  And with his help, you will find your voice.  You may even sing!

Mettlecraft Month Recap, Mettle Maker #332, and Holy Communion for Second Sunday of Advent

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.”

Mettle Maker #332

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Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month is a wrap! For the full and complete wrap up go here for details. But the short version of the story is that we achieved success — all members of the Heritage Arts family faced the challenge, and at least one of us was able to beat it! It isn’t a contest. Mettlecraft Month is about facing down a tough challenge, both as a group and as individuals, and personal growth through self-assessment. Huzzah!

Fitness — Give the exercises in the video on the right a try. Three sets is all you need if you aim for perfect form. Do Pull-ups (max 3 x 8), Dragon Flags (max 3 x 8), and Stone Lifts (max of 3 x 3). If you don’t have stones (who does besides me?!?) substitute sandbag lifts or deadlifts. Don’t go to failure — stop on the rep just prior to technique breakdown. In other words, when you feel like, “I could do a couple more reps, but my technique might not be perfect.” Most injuries happen when form breaks down. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — have you read about Richard Fierro? He’s the army vet who swung into action and tackled the Club Q gunman. He said, “Listen, the little bouquet of flowers I got from a lady that I hadn't met and I lived next door to for 15 years, how about everybody this Thanksgiving, you know, find that hero around their table and do an action for somebody next to them? I think that will resonate. The people here, they're going to get supported. People are going to send them the things they need and they should. But how about we just, you know, make a hero at the dinner table for Thanksgiving.” Read or listen to the entire article here. Interested in learning self-defense? Sign up for one of our free distance learning program.

Wildwood —John the Baptist, survival expert. Seriously, this guy makes Bear Grylls, Cody Lundin, Les Stroud, and all the rest look like suburban softies. Read my homily for today (see below) and you’ll see what I mean. Looking for an outdoor skills program? Click here to sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Second Day of Advent, Dec. 4th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 11:1-10, Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17, Rom 15:4-9, Mt 3:1-12

 

Matthew 3:1-12  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

1  In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” 3  For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying,

 

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

make the way of the Lord ready!

Make his paths straight!”✡

 

4  Now John himself wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5  Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him. 6  They were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

 

7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8  Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! 9  Don’t think to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10  Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

 

11 “I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.* 12  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.”

 

✡ 3:3 Isaiah 40:3

 

 Surviving in the desert alone makes even the most hardened survival experts quake in their boots.  The level of precision, calmness, discipline, and wisdom that it takes for to survive alone in the desert – the most desolate environment on earth – is staggering.  The landscape is dizzyingly desolate.  There are no landmarks you can use to find your way.  And getting lost is doubly dangerous there, because nourishment and water are both incredibly scarce.  Every step you take, every calorie of energy you burn and teaspoon of water you lose through perspiration, could be the difference between life and death.  I once spent several days at a survival school in the high deserts of Utah.  There were three dozen people in the camp and several survival instructors there.  Even so, I felt raw, exposed, and in real danger. 

 So what kind of man is this John the Baptist, this prophet wearing skins of camel hide, surviving on locusts and honey?  He’s wearing camel hide because the camel, one of the most resilient desert animals in the world, has died in the sand.  But John has survived.  He has skinned that camel and fashioned its hide into a garment to protect him from the stings of bees so that he can eat honey from the comb.  He is tough – tougher than anyone you and I ever met by far and away. 

Not just physically tough, but mentally tough.  In the desert there is no wood for campfires.  I’m a survival teacher, as many of you know, and I can tell you firsthand that the first time you spend a night alone in the middle of nowhere without a campfire, the darkness of the nighttime world collapses in on you.  Every sound makes you jump.  You cannot relax.  If you are in the woods, all you can do is obsess about an approaching bear you cannot see, or think about the silent, deadly ticks you cannot feel or see that are drinking your blood.  When you are in the desert, all you do is think about are the snakes and scorpions that are crawling up around you to steal your warmth.

But, once you acclimate and overcome your fears, you get to see and experience things others have not.  You get to watch the moon rising slow and clear, illuminating the world around you.  Sitting still in a moonlit clearing without a fire, I have had fox walk right up to me, nose to nose, and give me a curious sniff.  In the desert, at night, far away from the lights of the city, you get a view of the sky you can get nowhere else.  The first night I spent in the desert, I lay on my back and looked upward.  The depth of the perspective was so breathtaking that it triggered my fear of heights.  I felt as though I was going to fall upward into a limitless heaven filled with stars.

Again – who is John the Baptist?  He’s tough, resilient, careful, precise, wise, and completely unafraid.  He makes puny, pampered people like you and me – and the city folks who come out into the desert to be baptized! – look like mere babes in diapers.  And guess what?  Jesus, just as John did, went into the desert.  For forty days and forty nights, he confronted his human fears, fought the devil, and returned home alive. 

So, when these men speak, people listen.  When John the Baptist tells you that you need to take a hard look at yourself and get yourself straightened out, you respectfully shut your mouth and listen.  That this why the people of their day listened to these men, and it is why we should listen to them as well.  Because they speak as those who have authority, not as the scribes and Pharisees (Mark 1:22).  They have braved the dangers few of us will ever face, and seen the sights few of us will ever see.

The Waters: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #331

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.”

Mettle Maker #331

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Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month is about to wrap up. But there’s still time take a run at the challenge — go here for details — and to get a picture of yourself posted here! Here’s a shot of James after putting up a blistering time of just 13:28!

Fitness — Is there too such a thing as too much water? According to a recent study widely reported in the news, Bruce Lee died from cerebral oedema caused by his body’s inability to clear excess water. Most sources state that drinking about 3 liters of fluids per day is sufficient for most people under normal conditions. That’s total fluid intake — most doctors no longer advise drinking eight glasses of water in addition to other liquids. You don’t need to force yourself to drink additional water if your urine is clear and you don’t feel thirsty. But if you’re drinking that much water and aren’t urinating at least six times per day, something could be wrong. For more details read this informative Mayo Clinic article. Interested in a free fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Self-Defense — Are you drowning in techniques? How many techniques do you really need? You are not a shark. If you insist on patrolling the oceans of martial arts trying to snag new techniques, you just might drown in them. How many do you need? Well, you need enough new techniques to keep you from getting bored, but no more new material you can train regularly. You should be spending the vast majority of your time training and drilling the foundational skills and methods. And when you find something better, jettison the old skill and replace it with a new one (or a new-and-improved version of the old one). Want some help sorting this out? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

Wildwood — Water is life. No water? No life. In a survival situation, without water you’re dead in about three days. What if you find yourself stranded with no water bottle? What could you make to hold water? Well, I doubt you’ll be able to find a gourd and enough beeswax or paraffin to make a water bottle and finish it properly. But maybe, if you learned the skills, you could apply them to other materials. Could you, let’s say, make a water bag from the knotted leg of your cotton pants and an unscented paraffin survival candle? Watch the video below to learn more. Want to learn more? Sign up for the free Wildwood nature appreciation and survival distance learning program.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the First Day of Advent, Nov. 27th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Is 2:1-5, Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, Rom 13:11-14, Mt 24:37-44

 

Matthew 24:37-44  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38  For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39  and they didn’t know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40  Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42  Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43  But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44  Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.”

 

 

Brothers and sisters, there’s not a geologist in the world who won’t tell you that floods swept the world after the last glacial period ended.  That’s why virtually every culture on earth has a flood myth.  Many of the world’s plants, animals, and people were wiped out by real floods in the distant past.  So: did the biblical flood of Noah really happen?  Sure.  Maybe the particulars aren’t exact, like the precise dimensions of the ark.  No 300-cubit-long replica – that’s over 500 feet! – of the ark has every successfully floated.  That’s because it is a fact of science that the practical size limit of a ship, due to the material limits of spliced wooden beams, is about half that.  So what?  The message is 100% true.  The biblical flood happened.  And there will be more literal floods in the future, both large and small.  They’re in the news every day.

But the flood was a spiritual flood too.  Noah, a righteous man, was surrounded on every side by corruption, lawlessness, and immorality.  He and his family were at very real risk of drowning in the waters of chaos and iniquity.  But he sheltered his family from all of that.  He showed them right from wrong.  He explained to them the structure of the universe, taught them about God’s creation, educated them about how God is the foundation of culture, morality, and science.  Doesn’t the story say that Noah build an impossibly large boat and brought into it pairs of every animal species and the seeds of every plant?  What a metaphor!  No one could do what Noah did without being an expert in every field – in construction, science, law, education, and parenting.

Here's the thing though: Jesus Christ is just like Noah, only better.  Our Lord does this over and over again.  The story of every biblical patriarch, from Adam down to David, is the story of an imperfect predecessor of Jesus Christ.  Adam is the first man, but Jesus is first perfect Man. Moses is a great high priest, but Jesus is the perfect high priest.  David is a great king, but Jesus Christ is a perfect King.

  So yes, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah.  His knowledge of science and law is perfect because he is the creator of the universe and the architect of both existence and goodness.  He has built for us an ark in the form of a church into which we can bring our families and our extended church families.  In it we preserve our knowledge, our wisdom, and our faith against the flood of chaos and corruption threatening to drown the world around us.

Yes indeed, Jesus Christ is the perfect Noah.  He teaches us how to build our bodies, minds, and spirits into arks that can ride on the waves of decadence and evil and withstand the torrential rains of selfishness and ignorance that are always and forever falling around us. 

Let us strive, as the children of Noah and Jesus Christ, to make ourselves and our churches into arks that can withstand the eternal floods of this world.

Rulership: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #330

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #330

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What’s your ruler? Do you keep a training journal? Do you keep track of your performance numbers? Set goals and develop plans to hit them? Do you have a training program, regimen, process, or system? Or do you just amble along, doing whatever you feel like doing on a given training day? You should consider that, without a training program and a tracking method, you have no ruler.

If you don’t “rule” yourself — if you don’t have a “ruler” — your only ruler is chaos itself.

Take control. This applies no matter what you’re looking to achieve.

Fitness and Self-Defense: Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month (go here for details) is two-thirds of the way through. But there’s still time to get in there and take your own measure. You don’t have to try and set the fastest time ever — just doing half of it is a step in the right direction. Maybe, like Arman, you smash it your first try. Or maybe it takes you three months. Or maybe you never get there. Ya gotta start somewhere! The challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 with perfect form in under 20 minutes: 25 Wrestler’s Bridges, 100 yards of Bear Walks, 25 Bodybuilders, 25 Shots, 25 Clocks, 25 Get-ups and 25 Drop Duck-unders.

Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — The above info applies to you too. Make a list of the skills you think you need or want to have under your belt, and start trying to get there. How will you acquire them? What will your text books be? Do you keep a training log? A wild plant book? Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

SPEAKING OF RULERS….

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King — the day we acknowledge Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe. For more information, watch Holy Communion for today or read the homily.

Holy Communion is now LIVE on YouTube every Sunday at 9AM. Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Nov. 20th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3, Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, Col 1:12-20, Lk 23:35-43

 

Luke 23:35-43  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”

 

36  The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, 37  and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

 

38  An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

 

39  One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”

 

40  But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42  He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

 

43  Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 

 

The first criminal says, “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us!”  This man, a true materialist, was speaking only of bodies on crosses at that time and in that place.  Today as then, there are billions of materialists like this.  The equivalent person in the modern world is the atheist who says something like, “Jesus never saved anyone.  If he wanted to save people, he would’ve come to Earth with antibiotics, electricity, and modern plumbing.”

The materialist Jews of Christ’s day wanted a warrior king to come and bring peace to Israel by liberating them from the oppression of Rome.  The materialist of today wants peace through technology and government authority.  As ever, the materialist is blind to the universal, metaphysical, healing power of Peace. 

St. Paul said that Christ is, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:12-20) and “all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself by him, whether things on the earth or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20).

What is this Peace that comes through acknowledging Christ as King? This is the Peace of acceptance that comes from faith and saves us from fear, anxiety, worry, and suffering.  This is the Peace which is the absence of vengeful thoughts and actions that comes from understanding that judgement is in God’s hands.  This is the Peace that comes when we understand that God loves us so much that he came to earth and entered into our state of suffering right beside us.  His is the Peace that is the harmony existing between and among all those who understand that, as children of God, we are all brothers and sisters by blood – the blood of the cross.

The poor materialist on the cross who asked Christ to save his physical body from the immediate suffering of crucifixion could not see the potential in Christ’s sacrifice, just as the modern-day materialist is blind to the billions of lives saved by the Peace of Christ – saved from war, saved from privation, starvation, and hardship by Christian charity, saved from self-harm and suicide, and indeed, saved from the death that lasts forever.

Christ is King, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).Let us praise Him and rejoice in his saving Peace.

Mythbusting Anti-Christianity

This post was on Heritage Arts founder Robert Mitchell’s old blog years ago. We thought you might appreciate the content, so we copied it over here.

IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO READ, WATCH THE CHRISTIANITY FOR DOUBTERS VIDEO SERIES

This is a nice place to start for people who don’t like to read stuff.  Or you can try to find you question below.




(A) GENERAL QUESTIONS

  1. There is a 99.99% chance that you are not the first person in history to attack Christianity with the question, issue or method you are currently using. Christianity has successfully defended attacks by very smart people for over 2,000 years. This field of study is known as Christian Apology or Apologetics, and the Library of Congress lists over 5,000 books under this subject heading. Start by reading some of the previous scholarship. If you have a scientific, hyper-rational bent, I recommend William Lane Craig’s book Reasonable Faith. If you prefer a more light-hearted, literary approach, you must start with C. S. Lewis. He’s the most famous and popular Christian apologist — an atheist intellectual who converted to Christianity and wrote about why.

  2. “Why do we need religion? Why can’t people just be good because it’s the right thing to do?” Because people aren’t all that good, and it’s very hard to make them. About 40,000 years ago humans starting working on ritual systems to solve this problem. These evolved into religions. Religions are not superstitions — they are sociological technologies. For more on this topic start by reading Supernatural Selection by Matt Rossano. The religion that changed the the world most dramatically in ways that have never been equaled is Christianity. Read Dominion by Tom Holland for more details.

  3. “If God is good, why is there evil in the universe?” This is called the problem of evil. There are lots of answers to this question. I like the free will defense. In a nutshell, all of the evil in the world is either caused by nature (storms, bacteria, viruses, physics, wild animals, etc.) or by human beings (lust, pride, greed, envy, hatred, etc.) not by God. God wants every living thing to be good, each of its own free will — for all of creation to sing together with the heavenly chorus. And we will, at the end of time.

  4. “If God created the universe, what created God?” The universe was created out of the initial singularity by the Big Bang. Before that, there was no space-time, no matter, and no energy — that’s a scientific fact. Therefore the creator of the universe is timeless and immaterial. If you say it’s possible for things to exist without a cause, then you are a believer in magic. This is the Kalam Cosmological Argument.

  5. “How is Christianity any better than the silly myths that came before it?” The myths that preceded Christianity were low-resolution pictures of the truth that was coming, kind of like the way the icon of a disc on the desktop of your computer is a low-res representation of the hard drive in your computer. C. S. Lewis deals with this beautifully.

  6. “What makes you think you’re so smart?” I don’t. But I do understand what it’s like to be confused about religion. I spent most of my adult life as a religionaut and spiritual seeker before finally re-embracing Christianity. I used to believe most of the anti-Christian myths myself. This allows me to be calm, polite, and measured. Anyway, I’m not that smart. I’m just a guy who made lots of mistakes, wasted a lot of time, and now wants to be a simple priest and alleviate suffering.

  7. “If God is real, why doesn’t He stop ______?” Fill in the blank with your choice of horrible tragedy, natural disaster or crime, such as death by hurricane or clergy sexual abuse. God is not responsible for human acts of evil resulting from free will, nor is He responsible for acts of nature. If people had no agency and there was no nature, the universe would be a giant depressing clockwork — static, rhythm-less and dead. Thank God it isn’t. Also see #3 above.

(B) GENERAL CHRISTIANITY MYTHS

  1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not crazy-talk. There are a number of perfectly good, reasonable, fact-based arguments to be made for the truth of the resurrection. The video on the right is one of my favorites. It’s for high schoolers, which means even I can follow it.

  2. Christianity is not at odds with science, nor has science disproved Christianity. A humble Friar named Roger Bacon pioneered the scientific method, a Belgian priest named Father George Lemaître was the originator of the Big Bang Theory, and Father Gregor Mendel was the world’s first geneticist. One of the top biologists in the world is a Christian by the name of Francis Collins. He led the Human Genome Project and now directs the National Institutes of Health. He was a close friend of the late celebrity atheist Christopher Hitchens who called him “one of the greatest living Americans” and said “one of the most devout believers he had ever met.” In 2006, Collins wrote the best-selling book The Language of God in which he tells his journey from atheism to Christian belief, showing that science is not in conflict with the Bible, but actually enhances faith. He started a foundation called BioLogos. Watch this awesome video.

  3. Religions do not cause wars. Religion has been a factor in less than 7 percent of all wars and in less than 2 percent of all people killed in warfare. Consult the Correlates of War Project for data and statistical support.

  4. Miracles aren’t made up by crazy people. Things we can’t explain happen all the time. Ask anybody you know and you’ll get dozens of examples of spontaneous healing, freak events, and other improbable “coincidences.” If one in a million of them is “real,” there have been millions of miracles. C. S. Lewis wrote a book called Miracles that I highly recommend.

  5. “It’s impossible for somebody to be raised from the dead, so Christianity is obviously made up.” Obviously it’s impossible, which is what makes it a miracle. That’s why a religion sprang up around this one guy named Jesus who rose from the grave after three days. You should know that nobody attacked Christianity in its infancy by contesting the empty tomb — not even Jewish or Roman authorities — which is why many modern atheist historians do not. And you should ask yourself why hundreds of people claimed to be witnesses to the risen Christ and were willing to be crucified and die rather than deny what they saw. It’s also useful to note that the gospels don’t make it 100% clear what happened. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus just disappears from the tomb and that’s it. In other Gospels he appears but the apostles don’t recognize him at first. What happened or didn’t happen isn’t all that clear. Most Christians understand that and are okay with it.

  6. “God is your invisible friend or a flying spaghetti monster.” Billions of Christian believers over the last 2,000 years have not attested to the reality of a flying spaghetti monster. Would you convict someone of a crime based on eyewitness testimony? Then why not believe billions of witnesses of Christ? This is called the “argument from reason” and lots of really smart people seem to like it and/or have a hard time refuting it.

  7. Christians are not blind automatons. The word “Israel” means either “God struggles” or “to struggle with God.” Either way, Christianity is a conversation between God and humanity spelled out in 73 volumes.

  8. Christianity doesn’t owe its popularity to forced conversions. Isolated cases occurred. But, for the most part, people dropped pagan religions like a hot potato and picked up Christianity instead. And the world is better for it. Start here.

  9. Just because some Christians don’t practice what they preach doesn’t mean that Christianity stinks. Don’t make a short list of radical, stupid, and/or evil Christians and say “see, Christianity stinks.” This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. All doctors aren’t perfect, but we don’t give up on medicine do we?

  10. Christianity isn’t some childish belief system you can outline on a 3″ x 5″ index card and then poke holes in. Christianity has been developed by the the greatest minds of the last 2,000+ years. The Bible is a library of books that is completely unique for having been compiled by means of a multi-generational collaboration by thousands of authors across several millennia. Its 73 books are complex, universally relevant, inspirational and interconnected to a degree you cannot possibly imagine.

References:

  • The Correlates of War Project — the world’s largest database of war data

  • The Encyclopedia of Wars (1997)

  • The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics. All anti-Christians should start here. A reformed atheists and great writer — nobody explains Christianity better.

  • Jordan B. Peterson videos. If you don’t want to read books but you insist on being anti-Christian watch as many videos as you can on this video channel.

  • Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals brought the Roman Empire to its knees. And then they converted to Christianity. These were some of the most terrifying, brutal, powerful tribes ever known. Were they converted by force? Were the Vikings? The Celts? The native tribes of the British Isles? The mere thought of it is absurd. My people are Scottish by name and blood, and we are pretty hard-headed. Try converting me by force and see what you get.

  • See Bible link below.

(C) ANTI-CATHOLIC MYTHS

General Anti-Catholic Myths

  1. The Roman Catholic Church isn’t a parasitic organization that hordes wealth. The RCC is the largest non-government provider of health care services in the world, operating 18,000 clinics, 16,000 homes for the elderly and those with special needs, and 5,500 hospitals — managing 26% of the world’s health care facilities.

  2. Popes and priests are not rich fat-cats who gallivant around the world living large. Catholic clergy take vows of poverty. The Pope doesn’t get a salary at all, and priests may earn a small salary which averages about $40,000/year (paid mostly in room and board). Many priests subsist on room, board, healthcare, and a small stipend of around $250/month.

Catholic Sexual Abuse Myths

  1. Public school teachers are more than 100 times more likely to abuse minors than Catholic clergy.

  2. Catholic clergy aren’t more likely to abuse children than other clergy, nor have they been more likely to do so than men in general, or even more likely than public school teachers.

  3. Clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church can’t be blamed on celibacy, homosexuality, or on all-male clergy.

  4. Almost all of clergy sexual abuse cases in the Catholic Church occurred during the 1960s and 70s.

  5. Most clergy sex offenders aren’t pedophiles in the popular sense — most offenses were against post-pubescent teens, not young children.

References:

(D) CHRISTIAN BELIEF MYTHS

Before we even get going, I want to point out that most Christians are not anti-science.   In fact, many sensible Christians have a much more practical, common sense relationship with science than some atheists.  See the bit about Francis Collins above.   

Anyway, there are 2.4 billion Christians on the planet, belonging to hundreds of wildly divergent denominations. It is virtually impossible to make sweeping statements about what Christians do and do not believe.

  1. All Christians do not believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell.

  2. Furthermore, Christians do not agree on the definitions of certain key words, such as “salvation,” “heaven” “hell,” and so on.

  3. All Christians are not Bible literalists who believe Earth is only 6,000 years old, flat and other silly things.

  4. Christians are not generally motivated by fear of hell or promise of heaven. Salvation is achieved through some combination of either grace (a free gift from God) and/or works (doing good stuff in the world).

  5. All Christians are not fundamentalists.

  6. All Christians are not opposed to science.

  7. Most Christians do not hate gays.

  8. Christians do not despise the world and live for the next life to the detriment of this one. Despising the world is actually a pretty heretical belief in the eyes of most Christians. Probably the most famous Bible quote of all time is, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NRSV)

References

(E) BIBLE MYTHS

A page from the Catholic study Bible concerning divergent perspectives on the Bible

  1. This is a page from the introduction to my Catholic study Bible which explains the difference between fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist interpretation of scripture (right)

    Most Christians — especially members of the clergy — don’t believe the Bible was magically written by God. Or even that it was written by the people two whom the individual books are attributed for that matter. That’s because…

  2. The Bible is not just “some old book.” The Bible is a library of 73 books, and it is an incredible feat. Somehow, thousands of authors, editors and scribes, working in different times across millennia, managed to bring together this library of books in such a way that the disparate volumes form a cohesive narrative structure. See the diagram below. The Bible makes something like Wikipedia look like a tri-fold pamphlet. You might even say that it’s a miracle.

  3. The Bible doesn’t promote violence, or misogyny, or any of that. It contains stories with controversial themes — kind of the same way that a documentary about drug addiction might show drug use without promoting it. And it contains all of the outdated ideas that we’ve improved upon too. The great thing about Christianity is that its definition of “good” has evolved over time because Christians have generally tried to be humble. God is the highest possible good, and beyond our comprehension. As our vision gets better, “God” and “good” get better!

  4. People who study the Bible and think it’s important are not uneducated and/or backward. Most of the smartest people and greatest scientists of past and present were and are Christians. See references in previous section.

  5. Biblical laws were not and are not backward and draconian, nor are they evidence that Christianity is outdated and backward. The Hebrews were the first culture in the Ancient Near East to abolish physical punishment for property crimes, the first to establish a single code for all social stratum, the first to do away with divine kings, and so on. Compare the law of the Hebrews to those of their neighbors and you will see that the Hebrews’ are far more progressive. The philosophy that gave birth to those laws allows for the laws to be updated — see #2 above.

  6. Just because the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contradict each other doesn’t mean that the Bible is a nest of lies. It’s perfectly logical to think that four different eyewitness accounts might be a little different (q.v. J. Warner Wallace). The founders of the early Christian churches were aware of the contradictions — they just didn’t care all that much. Apparently they were wiser and more open-minded that most people are nowadays.

  7. Biblical laws, rules and customs cannot be taken out of context and used to prove points. The Bible is a library of 73 books written across millennia that document the centuries-long struggle of Jews and Christians to figure out exactly what the laws and rules should be. Of course there are contradictions. Copernicus and Ptolemy contradict each other regarding the correct model of the solar system, but we don’t claim that Astronomy itself is invalid. Also, it’s useful to note that the book of Proverbs is not a book of religious laws. It is called Proverbs because, as it happens, it is a book of proverbs, the ancient Hebrew equivalent of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Why do uneducated people insist on attacking Biblical material without any sense of appropriateness or context? “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” ~Proverbs 26:11

References:

Introduction to the Hebrew Bible – Prof. Christine Hayes (RLST 145 — Yale Open Courses website)

Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature — Prof. Dale Martin (RLST 152 – Yale Open Courses website). [Note: If you think it’s important, which it isn’t, but you might think it is if you believe in common myths about Christianity, Prof. Martin is gay.)

The Hebrew Bible — Rabbi Shaye Cohen (Harvard 2013)

The Bible is the first hyperlinked document. Click graph below for an overview or click here for the creator’s blog and the details.

Graph of the Bible’s 63,000 Cross-references:

Click the picture to read the article about the Bible’s over 63,000 cross-references.


When? Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #329

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #329

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

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Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages! ...

Self-defense and fitness: If not now, when? Have you always planned on participating in Mettlecraft Month each year, but never got your act together and actually did it? Well, no time like the present. If not now, when? If you’re new around here, November marks our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month — go here for details! The challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 with perfect form in under 20 minutes: 25 Wrestler’s Bridges, 100 yards of Bear Walks, 25 Bodybuilders, 25 Shots, 25 Clocks, 25 Get-ups and 25 Drop Duck-unders. Last Thursday at the club, me, Morgan, and Jack came in at 21:28 (my personal record is 20:43). Distance learning grad Arman crushed it a mind-boggling 13:11 . Clearly we all have some work to do if we’re going to catch Arman! Please play along — give it a try and share your pics, vids, numbers, and experiences — we will post them here! Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 4 (and a water bottle teaser). If not for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. After soaking the crushed nuts in repeated changes of water for four days, I put them in the dehydrator for 8 hours at 100 F to dry and then ground them to flour (see picture lower left). How do you cook with it? Coming soon: a crossover cooking video on the Two Riders channel. Coming up: how to make a water bottle from a gourd (picture of my gourd drying on lower right). Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

NOTE: Due to YouTube LIVE processing times, the weekly Holy Communion video is often partial until late afternoon or evening on Sundays. If you attempt to view the video, and running time is less than 40 to 45 minutes, please check back later.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 13th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Mal 3:19-20a, Ps 98:5-6, 7-8, 9, 2 Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19

 

Luke 21:5-19  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said, 6  “As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.”

 

7  They asked him, “Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?”

 

8  He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he†,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore don’t follow them. 9  When you hear of wars and disturbances, don’t be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won’t come immediately.”

 

10  Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11  There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12  But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13  It will turn out as a testimony for you. 14  Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15  for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict. 16  You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death. 17  You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake. 18  And not a hair of your head will perish.

 

19  “By your endurance you will win your lives.”

 

Like the disciples in today's reading, we are always asking, “When?  When, Lord, are you going to come in judgment and wipe away the old and establish a new heaven and a new Earth?”   Many have there been, and many even now, who incessantly pour over the Bible searching for symbolic meanings and historical clues – and even apply mathematical formulas and obscure numerological fortune telling methods! – to try and discern when the end of days will come.  Still more relentlessly search the Bible for proof that the prophetic words of Jesus are speaking of events in the past, such as the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the fall of the Roman Empire, World War Two, and so on. Those who look solely to the future or solely to the past are wide of the mark.  They deeply underestimate the power of the Word and its prevailing place at the center of reality.  Listen to the words of Revelation 4:6b-8.

 

In the middle of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind. 7  The first creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature had a face like a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8  The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy* is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!”

 

“Who was, who is and is to come!”  The eyes of the angels are in front, behind and within because they must penetrate all times and all places.  Make no mistake, Jesus answered the disciples the way he did in today’s reading, mixing the symbolic and the literal together, for a reason.  When he spoke of the temple stones being cast down, was he speaking of his crucifixion? Yes. Was he speaking of the Temple of Jerusalem being destroyed? Yes.  Was he telling us to be mindful of our own death?  Yes!  It's not either/or – it is all three.  Were his apocalyptic words about the fall of Babylon?  The fall of Rome?  The possible collapse of the United States?  World War I, World War II, the present war in Ukraine, or the possibility of World War III?  Yes!  He was speaking about all of this.

Jesus spoke, will speak, and is speaking right now, directly to everyone in all places in all times.  In Rev 13:8, he is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”  Our minds strain with the weight of it, but he died on a cross before the universe was made because he is not bound by the chains of time.

Jesus is the Truth that speaks to all people, in all places, and in all times!  The words he spoke to the disciples in today’s reading are eternally relevant!  Whenever war, famine, and destruction break into our lives, as they always do, we mustn’t be afraid or allow ourselves to be led astray by false teachers.  We will be betrayed by governments, employers, neighbors, friends, even family and loved ones.  There is always a coming persecution, because those who behave morally and ethically are always attacked and peer-pressured by misguided souls who resent those they label as “do-gooders.”  Betrayal, hatred, and slander are a persistent threat to anyone with a moral, ethical compass.  We will always be hated by somebody because of Christ's name.

But here's the good news: the son of man is always “coming in a cloud with great glory.” (Luke 21:27).  When the newly-converted soul sees the truth of Christ for the first time, he has come. When we conquer moments of fear and despair through prayer, he has come. Have no fear.  Do not prepare your defense before beforehand.  Christ came in the past, Christ is here now, and Christ will come in the future to any person who seeks his face.  Not a hair on the head of one who follows him will be destroyed forever.

Because ours is the blessed hope of a new life in the world to come.

Brothers in Torment: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #328

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #328

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Self-defense and fitness combo — POW Run. In case you haven’t heard, our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month started last week — go here for details! — and the challenge is to complete Constitutional #86 in under 20 minutes. Give that a shot it if tickles your fancy. Or, if you prefer, complete a POW run, as follows: Put your hands behind your head, interlace your fingers, and keep them there until you complete your run. Beginners try to cover 1/2 mile, intermediate 1 mile, advanced players 2 miles. Trust me, it’s an eye-opener and a real gut-check.

Central to this week’s the video and this week’s homily…

…is the story of Major Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr., one of America’s greatest heroes. Watch either the video above, or the homily below, to get the low-down on Mr. Thompson.

Interested in a free martial arts or fitness distance learning program? Check out our free programs here.

Crushed acorn nuts in the dehydrator after soaking

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 3. As mentioned in previous posts, if it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. After soaking the crushed nuts in repeated changes of water for four days, I put them in the dehydrator for 8 hours at 100 F to dry. When they were quite dry, I put them in the blender and ground them to flour. How do you cook with it? Well, keep your eye on the YouTube channel for updates — coming soon there will be a crossover video series. My video will fully explain processing and the Two Riders channel will be making a cooking video. Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Nov. 6th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14, Ps 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15, 2 Thes 2:16-3:5, Lk 20:27-38

 

At 7:30 AM on the 16th of March, 1968 the soldiers of Company C, first Battalion, 20th Infantry, U.S. Army marched into My Lai, Vietnam and started killing everything that was walking, crawling, running, or growing – women, children, animals, and crops.  It was hard work.  It was hot.  So after a few hours they took a break.  While they sat in the shade and had some water and some rations, did anybody desert?  Did anybody call HQ and report the tragedy?  Nope.  When they were rested up, they went back and started killing some more.

When we are tested, brothers and sisters, it might not be as easy as it was for the brothers in today’s Old Testament reading.  At least the bad guys were on the other side.  What if your brothers aren’t being tortured beside you?  What if they are the ones doing the torturing?  What if they’re the ones telling you to break God’s rules?

Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jr., aged just 25 years, a recon helicopter pilot, was flying air support when he noticed movement in a ditch full of civilian bodies.  He assumed they were victims of enemy forces.  He landed the ‘copter and began to look for help rescuing survivors.  One soldier told him he would only “help them out of their misery.”  Another told him he was “just following orders.”  He observed one of them shoot an unarmed woman at point blank range.  Shocked, confused, and infuriated, Thompson radioed headquarters and reported what he witnessed. 

Spotting a group of women, children, and old men in a bunker, Thompson landed his helicopter between them and approaching U.S. soldiers.  Risking court martial and the real danger of friendly fire, he told his crew to fire on anyone who attacked the innocents while he was attempting rescue.  Fortunately, that did not happen and a dozen innocents were flown to safety.  They continued rescuing more civilians, including a 4-year-old girl they found unharmed, buried beneath the dead bodies of her fellow villagers. 

Eventually a cease fire was ordered, but not until between 350 and 500 unarmed women, children, and elderly had been butchered.  Then came the cover-up.  Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, but the citation was filled with lies to hide the atrocities.  So he threw it in the trash. 

Friends, we don’t do the right thing for the recognition of men – we do what’s right to please God.  God is steadfast.  Men are fickle.  So I’m sure you can predict what happened when the truth came out.  Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr., former Boy Scout, devoted Episcopalian, and one of America’s greatest heroes, was called a traitor by the media.  Members of congress suggested he be court-martialed.  He received death threats.  Dead animals were left on his doorstep.

Eventually, after a four-year investigation, over 200 U.S. personnel were charged with crimes and/or court-martialed.  Thompson faded from the public eye.  After 20 years in the Army, he retired and became a private pilot.  In 1998, 30 years to the day after the massacre, he and his courageous crew, Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were awarded the U.S.  Army's highest award for bravery outside combat – the Soldier's Medal.

After great tribulation, Thompson’s story ended well.  But there’s no assurance the same will be true when impossible moral choices are forced on us.  We may well perish like the seven brothers.  All we can do is try and prepare ourselves to stand our ground and remember that, even if things don’t end well in this world, God is with us, and there is hope of life in the world to come. 

All Souls' Day: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #327

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #327

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Self-defense and fitness combo — Prep for Mettlecraft Month 2022. Our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month starts next week — go here for details! Watch the video on the right, learn the exercises, get your equipment together (the only thing you really need is a pair of gloves and some kind of pad for your head — I use a stadium seat cushion), and start thinking about your training regimen. You are probably not going to waltz through this year’s challenge by training once or twice a week. I recommend doing at 25% to 50% of this constitutional an additional 3 days per week for a total of 5 ‘touches’ per week on the exercises. I call this method MBF© or Martial Base Fitness ©. Get there. For more on MBF © and for formal martial arts programming, check out our free programs here.

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter - part 2. As I mentioned last week, if it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. But you can’t eat acorns in their unprocessed state. Yesterday I started processing a couple of cups of acorn meat (photo set at the right). Watch the YouTube channel for updates — coming soon there will be a crossover video series. My video will explain processing and the Two Riders channel will be making a cooking video. Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE HOLY COMMUNION PROGRAM

Homily for the Feast of All Souls (Observed) Sunday, Oct. 30th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14, 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6, 1 Jn 3:1-3, Mt 5:1-12a

 

Matthew 5:1-12a  World English Bible

 

1  Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2  He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

 

3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4  Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5  Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

7  Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

 

Pawpaw, my maternal grandfather, was a pilot in WWII. He earned enough medals to fill a cigar box, one of which was a Distinguished Flying Cross for acts of heroism, bravery, and extraordinary gallantry under enemy fire. He was a great American and a fine grandfather.

My fondest memory of him dates back to when I was about twelve. My teenage uncle and I went off to explore Rattlesnake Creek and we didn’t come back for lunch as we had promised. When we finally emerged from the woods, eight hours late and after dark, we found our entire family and two police officers standing in the yard illuminated by flashing red lights, discussing the need to call out the dogs. They converged on us, hopping mad. But Pawpaw stood between of us and the crowd with outstretched arms. He wouldn’t let anyone get near us. "Boys will be boys," he told them, then turned to us and said, “You two, go wash up and get ready for bed." And that was the end of it. No tongue-lashing, no punishment. He knew we knew better and would never do it again.

I also remember him taking me to McDonald's when I was about eight years old. After we ate, he put me on his lap so that I could drive his cherished Buick around the parking lot. I remember him giving me my first big-boy haircut. I remember him teaching me how to properly shine a pair of shoes before church. I recall him making everyone root beer floats after Sunday dinner. And I remember, in the summer of 1980, when he died from a heart attack.

I mourned his loss, but some did not. Because, I regret to say, there was more to this man than warm memories. PawPaw returned from the war with what we now call PTSD. He got little sympathy and support from the community and armed forces and struggled alone. He was given to fits of depression, rage, and violence. I heard from relatives chilling tales of cold malice and wicked vengeance, some from my mother. She had borne the brunt of his most cruel abuses. But I never witnessed any of that firsthand. And so, while I mourned his loss, others did not.

There are those who will tell you that the right place for him is Hell. But I pray for him. I beg our Heavenly Father to find it in his heart to deliver him to heaven for the man he was when he was at his best rather than sending him to hell for his sins. Pray with me, brothers and sisters, for my grandfather and for all departed souls. For our heroes and departed loved ones, yes; but also for the baptized and the unbaptized, for those who died in repentance and those who died before they saw the light. I assure you, my friends, the good and the evil are often one and the same, like opposing sides of the same coin, and they desperately need our prayers.

We have all made mistakes and errors, and no man’s fate is certain. Just as we would appreciate the prayers of our loved ones, let us then obey our Lord Jesus’ instruction to do for others what we would have them do for us (Matt. 7:12). Let us pray together the prayer of Our Lady of Fatima: "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.”

Humility: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #326

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettlecraft Month 2022 is coming 11/1/22!

"Die before you Die. There is no chance after." (C. S. Lewis)

Soon it will be November and time for our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month at Heritage Self-Defense! This year’s challenge is a delightful little constitutional called “#86.” What’s a constitutional, you ask? It’s 7 calisthenics exercises done consecutively. And why is this one called #86? What are the exercises? Get real! This is just a teaser! Watch this bog for more info!

Mettle Maker #326

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Self-defense and fitness combo — 5 minutes of Bear Walks. Set a timer for 5 minutes and Bear Walk as far as you can. You should be able to get about 200 yards in that period of time. This kind of functional strength and fitness will serve you well (especially when wrestling). I always tell people, if you don’t know what to do for fitness, do Push-ups, Squats, or Bear Walks. Get there.

Want more fitness and more martial arts programming? Check out our free programs here.

Acorns waiting to be processed…

Wildwood — Gathering your nuts for winter. If it hadn’t been for acorns, the indigenous people of Virginia would’ve probably starved to death. According to the early writers, and confirmed by Helen Rountree in her book The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture, by the time settlers came to Virginia in 1607, the state was so overhunted that there wasn’t a deer east of the fall line. “The Powhatans,” she writes on p.87, “solved the problem of hunted-out territory from year-to-year by organizing large-scale hunts near the fall line in winter, after the crops were in and the thanksgiving festivities had concluded.” To eat acorns, the tannins must be removed by boiling or leaching. Some tribes boiled de-shelled acorns and skimmed off the oil, which they would use much the way we use butter today, or as an emollient. The nut meats would be dried, ground into meal, and eaten like grits. Some tribes put the nutmeats into baskets, which they submerged in streams to leach out the tannins. We’ll be putting together a video of acorn processing and cooking — watch the YouTube channel for updates! Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.


Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 9th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Sir 35:12-14, 16-18, Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23, 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18, Lk 18:9-14

 

Luke 18:9-14  World English Bible

 

9  He also spoke this parable to certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others: 10  “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. 11  The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12  I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13  But the tax collector, standing far away, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

 

"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  These immortal words of prayer from today’s Gospel reading, echo up and down the centuries.  In the Orthodox tradition, this is often called the “Jesus Prayer,” it is believed to be the unceasing prayer encouraged by St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (“Pray without ceasing”).  It central to the ascetic Orthodox practice of both monks and lay people known as hesychasm or “stillness.” 

It is also esteemed in the Roman Catholic Church.  According to Catechism 2667.

 

“This simple invocation of faith developed in the tradition of prayer under many forms in East and West. the most usual formulation, transmitted by the spiritual writers of the Sinai, Syria, and Mt. Athos, is the invocation, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners." It combines the Christological hymn of Philippians 2:6-11 with the cry of the publican and the blind men begging for light.18 By it the heart is opened to human wretchedness and the Savior's mercy.”

 

The Jesus Prayer also shows up in the Anglican Rosary, and is sometimes called “The Sinner’s Prayer” by Evangelical Christians.

Why is it that these words have had such far-reaching, and long-lasting impact?  What is it about this story – about the contrast between the Pharisee and the tax collector – that’s so important?  Perhaps it is because self-righteousness is so toxic and because humility, its opposite, is so powerful.  Self-righteousness is toxic to our souls.  When we begin to think that we’ve arrived, that we have no more work to do, our growth stops. When we begin to think that we are better than our neighbors, this is the slippery slope that begins with condescension and eventually ends in spite and hatred – the opposite of loving one’s neighbor.

Self-righteousness is also poisonous to the spreading of our faith to the spiritually starved who are in want.  The foremost complaint I hear about Christians in the course of my evangelization work is that Christians are self-righteous jerks.  They say that we Christians think we have all the answers.  They say that we think we are saved and everyone else is damned, and nobody wants to spend time holier-than-thou braggarts.  It’s one thing to harm our own growth and development, but poisoning the well of evangelization compounds the sin.

Humility – the opposite of self-righteousness – has the opposite effect.  Humility is the fuel of the way of Christ that accelerates our own development and improves our evangelization efforts.  This is why, when we say the Confiteor and confess our sins, that we rap our breasts with our knuckles as the tax collector beats his breast and beg for mercy.  This confession and prayer for mercy is merely the beginning.

 

5th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2022

Final Update! 12/4/22

The watch shows Morgan’s time, not mine — she crushed it!

Well it’s official — this old man is finally over the hill. I beat the challenge (my final time on Tues of last week was 18:47), but I was next-to-last on the list of times. It’s not a competition — true enough — but I had hoped to keep up with the kids for a few more years. Anyway, the good news is, my youngest daughter Morgan crushed the challenge with a time of 15:21! The final times were Arman (13:11), James (13:28), Morgan (15:21), Mitch (18:47), and Jack (21:28). If Jack hadn’t gotten sick, he certainly would’ve put up a top time, I’m sure of it. Oh well — there’s always next year Jack!

UPDATE! 11/27/22

Last week I put up my best time yet (18:48) and Heritage Arts patron James put up a superlative time of 13:28 — just 17 seconds behind Arman! Can you believe these guys? What are they made out of anyway? A big round of applause for these guys, how about it!?!

UPDATE! 11/13/22

Last Thursday the club here in Richmond, VA put up a time of 21:28, while distance learning graduate Arman put up a mind-boggling time of 13:11. Looks like we all have some training to do if we’re going to catch Arman! Who’s going to get it done? Will it be you?

UPDATE! 10/25/22

This year’s challenge is to finish Constitutional #86 in 20- minutes or less with good form. Exercises have been announced!

  1. Wrestler’s Bridge (25)

  2. Bear Walks (100 yards)

  3. 10-Count Bodybuilders (25)

  4. Shots (25)

  5. Clocks (25)

  6. Get-ups (25)

  7. Duck-unders (25)

See video below (goes live at midnight 10/24)

10/17/22

"Die before you Die. There is no chance after." (C. S. Lewis)

Soon it will be November and time for our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month at Heritage Self-Defense! Want to play along with us? You can participate at home or at your club. Share your times in the comments here, email them to me at mitch@heritageartsinc.com or share them via social media!

This year’s challenge is a delightful little constitutional called “#86.” What’s a constitutional, you ask? It’s 7 calisthenics exercises done consecutively. And why is this one called #86? Well, the number 86 has several relevant meanings.

  • “86” is slang for something that’s been given up on or trashed, as in, “The mission has been 86’d.” You’ll want to give up about 2/3 of the way through this one and, by the end, you should be feeling pretty much trashed.

  • Once a upon a time, “86!” was shop code for “Shut up everybody, the boss is coming!” or “Stop cussin’, there’s a lady on the floor!” If this constitutional doesn’t make you shut your pie hole, we’ll eat your hat, and our hat too, for dessert.

What are the exercises? Please! Did you think we were going to give them to you early so that you can ease your way in? Fuhgettaboutit!

Check back regularly for updates. In the meantime, here are some links to previous Mettlecraft Months so you can reminisce and/or get a feel for what the future holds…

4th Annual Mettlecraft Month 2021

3rd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2020

2nd Annual Mettlecraft Month 2019

1st Annual Mettlecraft Month 2018

What is mettlecraft? Mettlecraft is the cultivation of fighting aspect, physical endurance, unflagging determination, and resolute strength of body, mind and spirit. In short, it is the relentless pursuit of indomitability, the fourth virtue of Heritage Self-Defense. It’s a mash-up of two words used in the old-time way:

\Met"tle\, n. [E. metal, used in a tropical sense in allusion to the temper of the metal of a sword blade. See {Metal}.] Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.

 \Craft\ (kr[.a]ft), n. [AS. cr[ae]ft strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, from the root of E. cramp.] 1. Strength; might; secret power. [Obs.]

Faith in Justice: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #325

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettlecraft Month 2022 is coming 11/1/22!

"Die before you Die. There is no chance after." (C. S. Lewis)

Soon it will be November and time for our Fifth Annual Mettlecraft Month at Heritage Self-Defense! This year’s challenge is a delightful little constitutional called “#86.” What’s a constitutional, you ask? It’s 7 calisthenics exercises done consecutively. And why is this one called #86? What are the exercises? Get real! This is just a teaser! Watch this space for a more formal announcement tomorrow.

Mettle Maker #325

DID YOU KNOW…? That you you can get a daily motivational text message from Heritage Arts? Click the awesome (and perhaps a bit cheesy?) scrolling link below to sign up!

Click here to sign up for DAILY MOTIVATIONAL text messages!

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Self-defense — The best ammo is a smooth combo. Pick a combo, one that’s effective and not too complex (2 - 5 strikes, including at least 1 kick). Stand up a heavy bag and unleash 100 smooth, full-power iterations of that combo. One of the keys to power is removal of waste, which reduces the distance your limb has to cover, which increases speed; and speed is related to power (Power = Work/Time). Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. In other words, do lots of combos, get smooth in your body mechanics so that your speed goes up, and at last your power will climb. For extra credit, complete the power and balance drill outlined in the video below. Want more self-defense training tips? How about a full-blown curriculum? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

Wildwood and Fitness combo — Stalking and skulking. For 100 yards, stalk imaginary prey or skulk to escape imaginary predators. In a real life situation, you might need to move very slowly and silently for 15 minutes or more, and it isn’t easy. You will not believe how strenuous it is, trust me. Watch the video on the right for more info. Want more fitness drills? Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

Want to see a dog ride a onewheel? Watch the homily video below!

Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 16th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Ex 17:8-13, Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 2 Tm 3:14-4:2, Luke 18:1-8

 

Luke 18:1-8  World English Bible

1 He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up, 2  saying, “There was a judge in a certain city who didn’t fear God and didn’t respect man. 3  A widow was in that city, and she often came to him, saying, ‘Defend me from my adversary!’ 4  He wouldn’t for a while; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow bothers me, I will defend her, or else she will wear me out by her continual coming.’ ”

6  The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says. 7  Won’t God avenge his chosen ones who are crying out to him day and night, and yet he exercises patience with them? 8  I tell you that he will avenge them quickly. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

 

Well, you have to love the Gospel of Luke, because Luke doesn’t shy away from including all of the most difficult parables.  And today we have the parable of the persistent widow, which can be a little troublesome, because our natural inclination is to compare the unrighteous judge to God.  After all, the widow is begging the judge for justice, and pray literally means “ask” or “beg,” so it seems natural.  But there is no parallel between the judge and God in this parable, that’s for sure!

Jesus tells you at the very beginning what this parable is about.  We read, “He also spoke a parable to them that they must always pray and not give up.”  So, we know it’s about being persistent in our prayer.  But it’s also about faith.  Now remember, faith isn’t blind belief.  Faith us trusting in the evidence – trusting in God based on what we’ve seen him do in our own lives.  Trust in what we see Christianity achieving in the world, trust in what we witness taking place in the lives of others who are saved from negative behaviors, addiction, and misery of all kinds, and so on.  And of course, in the overwhelming evidence for the reality of the Resurrection.*

Now, make no mistake, the widow has no faith in the judge.  She is under no illusion as to the judge’s character. She knows quite well that he neither fears God nor cares about others.  But what she does have is faith in is Justice itself. Her prayer is persistent because she knows that God is Justice.  We have faith because we know that God is all-in-all, the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 22:12), who “will come to judge the quick and the dead,” as we recite in the Apostle’s Creed.

And because we have faith in God’s justice, we know that it can operate even through an unjust judge.  Even through unjust people, groups, governments, and so on.  When justice prevails, it always prevails despite those who perpetrated the injustices.  It always overcomes.  But, since God is not a vending machine, it might not happen on our timeline.  My dad used to say, “Everything always works out for the best.”  And I would say, “No it doesn’t!  Things turn out horribly all the time!” He replied, “Maybe things don’t turn out for the best on your timeline.  But on God’s timeline, everything always turns out for the best.”

My father had faith in buckets.  And so did the widow.  She had faith that justice would prevail.  Maybe not on her timeline, but eventually, in time.  And she’s content to pray and beg for justice every day of her life, and even beyond, if need be. 

Would that that we all had faith like the persistent widow.

 

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* Skeptical about the reality of the Resurrection?  Watch this gripping lecture by atheist-turned believer, and famous cold case detective, J. Warner Wallace, author of the best-selling book Cold Case Christianity.  Det. Wallace has been featured in numerous documentaries, films and television shows, including six episodes of NBC’s Dateline.  This lecture is called, “J. Warner Wallace: Did Jesus Really Die and Come Back to Life?”

 

Field Day, Swimming, Cards, and a Pop Quiz: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #324

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Yesterday we tabled at Glen Allen Day 2022 and promoted Heritage Arts! Sweet photo set above. The event was a huge success. We gave away tons of flyers promoting the self-defense club, and some freebies like the one on the left entitled, “How to Get Fit with a Deck of Cards.” Not excactly in the vein of ‘old-school training” but if it helps you overcome boredom — which is a real killer! — get froggy, print it out, tack it to your wall, and hop to it.

We took donations in exchange for pricier stuff like books and tshirts (you can order t-shirts by clicking HERE.) and made our “let’s partner!” sales pitch to many other organizations.

The most popular things on our table were the free rosaries. We gave away two dozen rosaries with instructions, many of them to young people and children, and several adults told me that they were inspired to reconnect with our Holy Mother.

Mettle Maker #324

Self-defense — You need more than one option for getting out of a Double Collar Tie or Thai Plum. Obviously you can cram your way out of a weak/newbie tie-up. And against a stronger tie, you can also strike your way out if you act fast! But you can also swim your way out. Watch the video on the left for two swimming options. Want more self-defense training tips? How about an full-blown curriculum? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

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Wildwood and Fitness combo — Glove Pop Quiz. Gloves dramatically change the dynamics of chores and activities. And if you can’t do it with gloves on, you can’t do it. What if it's 15 degrees outside and you have to self-rescue? What if you happen to have gloves on when disaster strikes, and there’s no time to remove them before you act? Put your gloves on. Then (a) lash two things together with a proper trucker’s hitch, (b) climb and descend a rope (or hang for 30 seconds if you can’t climb), (c) get out your pocket knife, open it, and put it back all with one hand, and (d) do one Pull-up (or Chin-ups or dead hang for 1 minute depending on your fitness level).

Take 2 points for each one you complete successfully, 1 point for each one you attempt, and zero points if you just sit on the sofa.

  • 8 points = A

  • 7 = A-

  • 6 = B

  • 5 = B-

  • 4 = C

  • 3 or less = FAIL (If you didn’t get at least 4 points, that means there was something you didn’t even attempt, and if you don’t try, you always fail.)

Want more fitness drills? Want to learn more about nature appreciation and survival? Sign up for one of our free distance learning programs.

Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 9th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: 2 Kgs 5:14-17, Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 2 Tm 2:8-13, Lk 17:11-19

 

2 Kings 5:14-17 World English Bible

 

14  Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15  He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, “See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”

 

16  But he said, “As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.”

He urged him to take it; but he refused. 17  Naaman said, “If not, then, please let two mules’ load of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will from now on offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh.

 

 

Wow, what a story!  Naaman, a great general of the Syrian army has leprosy.  More than likely this is psoriasis or eczema not leprosy – there’s little evidence for leprosy being prevalent in that area at that time.  And a little slave girl from Israel working in the court of the king suggests he might be healed by Elisha.  This little girl embodies the reality that very small but very potent ideas are able to infiltrate the halls of political power.  They seem innocent and inconsequential, but they have incredible implications.  She suggests this tiny idea called faith.  It seems so innocent, doesn’t it?  Just try.  Ask the prophet, do what he says, and see what happens.

So the king tells Naaman to take some gifts to Elisha and give it a shot.  Can’t hurt, right?  So Naaman does, and Elisha tells him to do a simple thing – dip yourself seven times in the Jordan river.  Ridiculous.  So simple!  And Naaman gets steaming mad.  He says the water in the Jordan is just like any other river!  He says he could’ve stayed home and taken a dunk, this is baloney! 

We Christians see this all the time, up and down the centuries, from people question the reality of our faith.  They can’t bring themselves to hear the message of a little child who says, “have a little faith.”  To modern people, scientists, and academics, it seems too simple, too basic, too infantile to possibly work.  They say Christian myths are no different than the Greek myths, the Norse myths, the Hindu, Mayan, African, or the Aboriginal myths.  Theys say that you can’t be healed by dipping yourself in a river. 

Naaman’s servants set him straight.  They suggest that if Elisha’s instructions had been costly and extravagant he would’ve played along.  So if it’s easy, why not try it?  And I’m saying the same thing they are saying, the same thing as the little girl.

This simple idea called “faith,” this tiny, unassuming Judeo-Christian innovation, transforms everything.  It heals the spirit, it heals bodies, relationships, and even nations.  An alcoholic named Bill Wilson’s message of faith spawned Alcoholics Anonymous, the most effective anti-addiction treatment plan ever devised, and its faith-based methods have healed millions of addicts.  When the people of Poland listened to the messages of Pope John Paul II and to those of Fr. Jerzy Popiełuszko who was martyred for peace in the 1980s, the sickness of communism was healed in that country and across Eastern Europe.  When Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached to America and we listened, the wounds of segregation, fear, and hatred began to heal.  Twelve consecutive U.S. Presidents met privately to listen to the words of pastor Billy Graham, and we have no idea how many of them headed his words and bathed in the Jordan!

And yet, despite this evidence and much, much more, many people refuse to dip themselves in the river Jordan, to be baptized and transformed by faith – not blind belief uninformed by evidence – but by faith born of trust. 

The messages of Naaman’s remarkable story are many and manifold.  Fellow Christians, let us not make the mistake that Naaman made.  After he his conversion, he thought that the secret of his healing was in the place, the soil, the nation, the conditions, and he tried to carry it with him wherever he went.  Let’s not cling to our pre-conversion thinking and carry with us two mule-loads of baggage. 

And to those who are not Christians who can hear my voice: listen to the advice of a little girl and heed two thousand years of evidence.  Trust in the Lord.  Dip yourself in the Jordan River.  Be baptized and be healed.

Resilience: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #323

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #323

Self-Defense and Fitness Combo: Do you have the basic fitness and grit to self-rescue and/or survive under adverse conditions? Take Mark Hatmaker’s Self-Resilient Readiness Tests. Give yourself 2 points for success, 1 point for actually attempting the test, and 0 points for not even trying.

  1. Swim at least one half mile

  2. Run at top speed for 200 yards

  3. Jump over obstacles higher than the waist

  4. Complete at least 15 Chin-ups

  5. Complete 25 Dips

  6. Drag a 100 sandbag 50 yards in under 30 seconds

  7. Buddy-carry another human being at least 25 yards (Extra credit: carry a 45 lb. weight 1 mile in 12 minutes — no vests or rucksacks)

  8. Hold your breath for 1 minute with only a 5-second prep

  9. Swim underwater for 25 yards, or walk slowly for 50 yards, after only a 5-second prep.

  10. Do you drink or take drugs that impair your ability to self-rescue? If no, 1 point.

  11. Stand in the full spray of cold water for 60 seconds

  12. Go without food for 24 hours.

  13. For three consecutive nights, arise in the middle of your normal sleep schedule and stand stock still for 15 minutes (no books, no phones, no amusements)

  14. Tape a pebble to the sole of your foot and go about for the entire day. If anyone notices your discomfort, say you have a rock in your shoe. If they ask why, reply only that you like it there. No other explanation is permissable.

  15. Extra Credit pain test courtesy of Coach Mitch: Submerge your arm from hand to elbow in a mix of ice and water for 3 minutes.

Starved for more self-defense or fitness training? Sign up for one of our programs by clicking here.

Wildwood: The magic mulberry tree. Can you identify the red and/or white mulberry tree and list its habitat and practical uses? Red and white mulberry are rather common in North America. They usually grow in soil that is regularly moist, but not boggy, and prefer to be in places where they get a mix of shade and sun (red mulberry can grow deeper in the woods, white mulberry can handle full sun). Red mulberry has fine hairs on the underside of the leaves, white mulberry less so. Both grow to a height of about 30’ and have a rounded shape. The berries come straight from the stem, usually in May, and are white when unripe, either red or dark purple when ready to eat. The flavor is mild. The leaves are finely serrated on the edge, and like a sassafras, come in three different shapes (3-lobed, mitten, and eye). The wood is extremely resilient, great for bows, walking sticks, fighting canes, and tool handles. When the uncured, the bark strips easily and can be used for baskets, but once cured it’s locked on. Want more outdoor skills training? Sign up for the free Wildwood program.

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Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Oct. 2nd, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4, Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14, Lk 17:5-10

 

Luke 17: 5-10  World English Bible

 

5  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

 

6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree†, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7  But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’? 8  Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’? 9  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. 10  Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”

 

Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  Get eight hours sleep.  Maintain a body mass index under 25.  Limit yourself to two hours of screen time per day for mental health.  Don’t smoke.  Get a minimum of twenty minutes of aerobic exercise twice per week for cardiovascular health.  Brush and floss twice per day.  How many of us heed all of that advice.? What’s the problem?  Do we not trust the scientific evidence?

Evidence shows that people who go to church live longer lives than those who don’t.  People who pray suffer from fewer mental health issues than those who don’t.  Churches promote diversity and reduce political polarization by bringing together people of vastly different races, ages, and political affiliations.  Churchgoers donate more to charity, are more engaged in community activities, and volunteer more.  And yet every day in the U.S. about five churches shut their doors forever.  What’s the problem?  Do we not trust the evidence? ‡

Brothers and sisters, in the scene just prior to today’s reading, Jesus tells his apostles, “If your brother sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”  And the apostles say, “Increase our faith.”  The apostles are right there, observing Jesus’ works, seeing the miracles, listening to his interpretations of scripture, and all of that.  They know he’s who he says he is.  And yet they say, “Increase our faith.”  What’s their problem?  Don’t they trust the evidence? 

Jesus says, “If you had faith like a mustard seed…”  If you had faith like a mustard seed, a very tiny seed that grows into an enormous plant, “you would tell this mulberry tree to be uprooted and be planted in the sea and it would obey you.”  In other words, if our faith was capable of ever-increasing strength, we could do the impossible.  We could forgive our repentant brother seven times seven times.  We’d be able to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Maybe we could even love our enemies. 

Through the parable of the servant coming in from the field, Jesus warns us that following the commandments is the bare minimum.  We shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back because we didn’t raise up any idols, swear, murder, steal, or commit adultery today.  Let’s not sit down at the banquet and celebrate the fact that we did the bare minimum.  We should have faith that, like a mustard seed, grows ever larger and ever stronger.  As we see the evidence mounting – as we witness the transforming power of baptism, feel the demons being cast out of our own hearts, see the power of our churches to transform communities, and all of that – our faith shouldn’t just hold its own.  It should grow and grow until it becomes capable of the impossible.  Impossible forgiveness.  Impossible charity.  Impossible love. 

 

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† More likely a mulberry tree. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, this is the sik´a - mı̄n , ( συκάμινος , sukáminos) the black mulberry tree (Morus nigra; Natural Order, Urlicaceae ), known in Arabic as tût shrâmı̂ , "the Damascus mulberry," a fine tree which grows to the height of 30 ft. It produces the dark blood-red mulberry juice referred to in 1 Macc 6:34 (μόρον , móron ), "the blood of ... mulberries," which was shown to the elephants of the Syrians. The white mulberry, M. alba , has white and less juicy fruit, and it is cultivated largely for the sake of its leaves with which the silkworms of the Lebanon are fed. The tree in Luke 19:3 is the Ficus sycomorus, called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry because its leaves resemble the mulberry.

 

‡ For more detail watch my video “Ten Reasons Even Non-Believers Should Go to Church” or read Robert D. Putnam’s important study, “What's So Darned Special about Church Friends?” (2012) Altruism, Morality & Social Solidarity Forum, American Sociological Association 3(2): 1,19-21

Antlions, Airguns, and Aetiology: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #322

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #322

Self-defense — BB guns for firearm training? If you’re like me and you simply don’t have the time and/or the money to make regular firearm training practical (we can’t all live on a 40-acre farm!), you can always train with BB guns, or even airsoft guns, right in your backyard. Is it the same? Heck no! But you can still practice firearm safety, aiming, posture, and all of that. And you can shoot as often as you like for far less expense. If you want to, you can even get BB or airsoft guns that look, feel, and even operate, very much like like their very real cousins. Here’s a fascinating article on this topic with more info. Want more self-defense training tips? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

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Fitness — Can you do a Handstand Push-up? I got my first one back in 2017. at age 56 Getting there took about 18 months. If I had observed Old School Training directions I’m convinced I would’ve gotten there in half that time.

Why am I talking about them now? Well, I started taking them for granted, and somewhere along the line I stopped being able to do a full one. So I started doing 6” partials, and I’m working my way back.

Handstand Push-up Progression

  1. Start by reading the Old School Training directions here. Of particular importance are (a) stopping on the first rep where your form begins to degrade, or the rep before failure, whichever comes first, and (b) training 5 days/week.

  2. Perform 3 sets of traditional Push-ups. Stick with these until you can do 3 x 8 with ease — do not ignore the Old School Training directions!

  3. When you can easily get 3 x 8 of regular Push-ups, begin doing Decline Push-ups.

  4. Put a 2” block under your feet. When you easily do 3 x 8 of Decline Push-ups with the 2” block, add 2”. Use weight benches, ply boxes, etc. to achieve incremental heights, being careful to insure that boxes are stable.

  5. Continue this progression until the angle is unworkable for your lower back (likely to be about 36”).

  6. Do a simple Handstand against a wall. Don’t push at all. Just hold it until close to failure.

  7. When you can 3 x 15 secs with ease, begin doing partial Handstand Push-ups.

  8. Place a foam Yoga block or blocks on the floor such that you can do partial Handstand Push-ups to the block and back up. Start with about an 8” block, depending on your size.

  9. When you can get 3 x 5 with ease, reduce the height of the block by an inch or two.

  10. Continue this progression until getting your first Handstand Push-up.

Wildwood — What makes peculiar conical pits in sandy soil? Take a look at the picture on the right, a shot of the ground next to my tool shed. These are antlion traps. Antlions dig these ingenious pits, burrow and hide in the sandy soil at the bottom. and wait for ants and other insects to get stuck. Then they leap out and attack, injecting their prey with digestive enzymes. Once the internal organs dissolve, the antlion sucks out the juice and then flicks the empty carcass out of the pit. There have been so many ants on my property this year that, joking with my wife, I said we are in the real life version of the film Them! or maybe Empire of the Ants. Well, when you have that many ants, predators are going to show up and capitalize. I wasn’t patient enough to sit and wait for video, but I was able to find one on YouTube courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel (pay no attention to the hyperbolic title, it’s a pretty cool video). To read more about these fascinating insects, read this article on Wikipedia. And to learn more about nature appreciation and survival, sign up for our free Wildwood distance learning program.

Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 25th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Am 6:1a, 4-7, Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10, 1 Tm 6:11-16, Lk 16:19-31

 

Luke 16: 19-31  World English Bible

 

19  “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20  A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, 21  and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22  The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23  In Hades,§ he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. 24  He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’

 

25  “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted and you are in anguish. 26  Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’

 

27  “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house— 28  for I have five brothers—that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’

 

29  “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’

 

30  “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’

 

31  “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ ”

 

 

In today’s gospel reading, a rich man walks right past the poor, sick man Lazarus and offers no help.  Both die.  In the afterlife, Lazarus is raised into the life to come, while the rich man goes to the place of torment.  Between them lies an inseparable gulf.  What is this gulf?  Certainly, it represents the gulf between those who do and do not trust in Jesus Christ!  But this is a parable, and parables have infinite interpretations.  And I’d like to suggest that the inseparable gulf in this parable represents the gulf of materialism, and that we can apply its lesson to the modern world.

The rich man’s happy life is shattered by death.  And there is a metaphorical death, that sometimes leads actual death, striking down wealthy, well-fed, and otherwise healthy people today – meaninglessness.  Despite the fact that there are fewer people living in poverty today than there have ever been in human history, there is an ongoing epidemic of meaninglessness.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2018 that suicide is up in the United states by 25% since 1999.  A recent study in the UK found that 80% of those surveyed said their lives were meaningless. To quote behavioral scientist Clay Routledge, “We are a species that strives not just for survival, but also for significance. We want lives that matter. It is when people are not able to maintain meaning that they are most psychologically vulnerable. Empirical studies bear this out. A felt lack of meaning in one’s life has been linked to alcohol and drug abuse, depression, anxiety and — yes —suicide. And when people experience loss, stress or trauma, it is those who believe that their lives have a purpose who are best able to cope with and recover from distress.”

In the parable, the rich man begs for relief from his torment.  But what does he request?  Does he ask for understanding?  Does he repent and beg for a do-over?  Does he ask what the difference is between him and Lazarus?  No, he asks for Lazarus to bring a sip of water down to him.  But Lazarus cannot come.  There is no material thing, like a sip of water, that Lazarus can give to him that’s going to work, because materialism isn’t the answer.  Modern culture is looking for meaning in a million sips of entertainment, fashion, money, sex, and science.  But there is no meaning in these things.

Starting to understand, the rich man begs that Lazarus go to his family so that they’ll change their ways.  But he’s still holding on to his materialist worldview.  He still believes in evidence, and he thinks that if his family sees Lazarus, they’ll change direction.  But Abraham says no, they won’t.  If they see a man risen from the dead, they still won’t believe.  They won’t trust their eyes. 

This is true today.  Dyed-in-the-wool materialists do not believe there is any meaning in miracles.  Miracles are happening all around us every day, right now, and still people experiencing the affects of meaninglessness are searching for it in drugs, alcohol, medication, money, sex, and possessions.  What they don’t realize is that, just like Lazarus in the parable, the meaning they seek can be found even when they have no possessions and no money.  Even when they are at their absolute lowest, purpose and meaning are always available through faith in Jesus Christ, through whom they may be given to experience and share the true wealth of love, compassion, empathy, charity, humility, and devotion.

Obstacles and Desires: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #321

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

Training ideas and info supporting Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Wildwood outdoor skills, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit.

Mettle Maker #321

Self-defense: Can you defend yourself with your chosen weapon or weapons while standing and while on the ground, as well as while moving in the environment? Do some weapon command and mastery work! If you’re looking to build your base fitness and weapon mastery, choose 4 exercises and do 4 sets of 4 reps, taking your time and focusing on form. Sprints, Prisoner Get-ups, Crunch ‘n’ Punch, and Get-ups are a nice choice. if you’re looking to push yourself, choose 7 exercises and do a weapon constitutional (example on the left). Want more training tips? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

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Fitness: What is “fitness?” On the right is an 8-minute, practical fitness drill for self-defense and survival. Maybe your idea of fitness is losing 100 pounds, bench pressing your body weight, running your first 10K, or looking good with your shirt off. Regardless of your definition, if you’re looking for a free coach — somebody to help you design a fitness program and to help keep you motivated and on track — Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood. Sure, you can learn survival facts from books, like first aid info, helpful tricks, and so on. But you can’t learn from a book how to be comfortable in the woods, adaptable when things go wrong, and calm under pressure. You have to face and overcome incremental challenges in order to get ready for a big one. Start small. Spend more time outside so that things that seem big when at first (mosquitoes, ticks, heat, cold) soon become minor. In the process, little things will come up that you have to overcome — like the time my son and I got pinned down by torrential rain for four consecutive days. As you get stronger, you’ll take on and overcome even bigger challenges, like being gripped by panic when alone in a dark swamp far outside cell phone range. Want to start your journey in outdoor skills? Sign up for our free Wildwood distance learning program.

Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 18th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Am 8:4-7, Ps 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8, 1 Tm 2:1-8, Lk 16:1-13

 

Luke 16: 1-13  World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

1  He also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2  He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’

 

3  “The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4  I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5  Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’ 6  He said, ‘A hundred batos* of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7  Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors† of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

 

8  “His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light. 9  I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents. 10  He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11  If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12  If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13  No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”‡

 

Today’s readings, at first glance brothers and sisters, are very confusing.  They seem to be coming at us from many different angles and proclaiming divergent messages, some of which seem to be at odds with Jesus’ other teachings.

In the Amos reading, the prophet speaks out against rich merchants who can’t wait to get religious obligations out of the way so that they can get back to profiteering.  He rather angrily rails against rip-off artists who cheat the poor and put profits over people.  But then, in the 1 Timothy reading, we are told to pray for everyone without anger or argument, because God wills everyone to be saved.  Is anger justified or unjustified?  Let’s be clear, these are not at odds with each other.  The goal of Amos is to forcefully confront the rich in the hopes that they will repent, change their ways, and be saved.  And that is the hope for which the author of Timothy would have us pray.

With that apparent conflict resolved, let’s see what can do about the ones apparent in Luke 16.  Here Jesus tells us a story about money management.  Now, why would he do this when, in many other places, he tells us to sell everything we have, give it to the poor, and follow him?  Because his messages of total poverty are meant for his apostles, his inner circle.  But this parable is being delivered to his disciples – everyday folks who want to follow his teachings.

 And so he tells them the story of a steward (what today we’d call a business manager who works for an owner) who is accused of mismanagement, or perhaps embezzlement, probably the same behaviors Amos condemned in our first reading.  Knowing he’s about to be found out and fired, the dishonest steward starts making things right – revaluing purchases and writing down the debts he has inflated – in the hopes that he can make a few friends who’ll support him when he’s unemployed.  His master praises him for trying to make good, even if it is only for his own benefit. Then, incredibly, Jesus tells us to be like the dishonest steward.  He tells us Christians to be at least as wise with our money as the children of this world, to use it to make friends and so on.

If the master in this parable represents our Heavenly Father, and I think he does, the message here is that we cannot serve both God and our own needs.  We must align our interests, even our finances, with the will of God as best we can.  Jesus knows that worldly riches – he calls them “unrighteous mammon” – by their very nature, put us on the path to greed and avarice.  But dealing with money is part of being in the world.  And if we can’t be trusted with worldly riches, which so often lead to dishonesty, how can we hope to be trusted with the true riches of the kingdom?  Jesus leaves open the question of whether or not the master ultimately fires or retains the steward, a fascinating detail, the implication being that our fate with regard to God’s judgement also remains an open question.

So let us be careful and unconflicted in the ordering of our desires, even our desire for prosperity, in accordance with God’s will.

-----------------------------------------------------------

* 16:6 100 batos is about 395 liters or 104 U. S. gallons.

† 16:7 100 cors = about 2,110 liters or 600 bushels.

‡ 16:13 “Mammon” refers to riches or a false god of wealth.

Old School: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #320

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

The weekly mettle maker is a weekly blog post that contains training ideas, information, and fun facts related to Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Heritage Wildwood nature appreciation and survival training, Heritage Fitness, and (because we save the best for last), we wrap it all up with Heritage Spirit — Holy Communion service via YouTube. The mettle maker has been around for over 5 years, but we didn’t start numbering them until May of 2018!

Mettle Maker #320

Switching it up this week — instead of separate bits for each program, one long post about old school training physical training methods. Hope you like it.

The Set-up

  1. I couple of months back I posted about my stone lifting regimen. It worked great. I started getting stronger quickly. The problem was that it soaked up all my gravy. I had very little energy left for martial arts training, writing, spiritual training, home repairs, etc. So I started looking more seriously at old-school training philosophies and methods.

  2. Below you will find brief recaps of my synthesis program, plus some old school training bullet-points from the likes of Mark Hatmaker and Dan John. Notice the commonalities between all our notes: only 1 exercise per body part, perfect form is required, no training to failure, daily training (or close to it), and no pain allowed. I would sum up the old-school method as, “All gain, no pain.”

  3. Most modern workout programs I see are based on the training methods of (a) steroid-using weightlifters and (b) pro-athletes with full time dieticians, masseuses, doctors, and physical therapists. The old-schoolers had none of that — and just like them, neither do we. The sports and fitness economy was far less developed and lucrative than today. Most of the old-timers had day-jobs, and they couldn’t perform them if they were in pain. In the early days of pro football, for example, seasons were just over 60 days. All of the old greats had straight jobs at least 9 months out of the year, and many had part-time jobs during the season. Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik was the last of the “60-minute men” (guys who played every snap – offense and defense — Bednarik played Center and Linebacker). Each day after practice he showered, put on a suit, and sold concrete. Here’s a video about him. This guy was old-school tough. Period. I bet he trained with weights very little, and maybe did a little running. Read this article for more detail. Basically, weight training for football players came hand in hand with money and specialization. If you’re playing both offense and defense, and playing every snap, you can’t be a 350 lbs.

Mitch’s Program

  1. My fitness regimen is now the same every day. I train 4 to 6 days a week, almost always 5 days (M - F). Occasionally life happens and I miss a day, and once in a while I feel fantastic and I train a little on a Saturday. Sunday belongs to Christ (I present Holy Communion on YouTube in the morning and assist my Bishop at evening Mass).

  2. Each training session starts with martial arts. This ensures that I have the energy and the focus to train with sincerity. Front-loading fitness nails your CNS, kills your small motor skills, and saps your brain. This is why military drill instructors ask annoying questions and pose memory tasks during PT — because they know it’s hard.

  3. After martial arts I do MBF (“martial base fitness”) which is a low intensity, slow 4 x 4 x 4 ( 4 sets of 4 reps each of 4 exercises). I pick four exercises from a list of about 30 martial/survival calisthenics, like Wrestler’s Bridge, Shots, Rope Climb, Vaults, Push-ups, Shrimps, etc. This takes about 8 minutes.

  4. After MBF I do a (roughly) 3 x 6 x 3 (3 sets of 6 reps of 3 exercises): 1. Handstand Push-ups (against a wall), 2. Pull-ups and/or Chin-ups, and 3. Dragon Flags (partials – I have to keep one leg bent at the moment, I’m working on it). This takes about 20 minutes.

  5. I wrap up with stone lifts and/or carries. If I do just lifts, I do 3 - 6 reps. If do carries, I usually do 3 for a total of no more than 100 yards. This takes about 8 minutes.

  6. Fitness training time is about 40 minutes per day. I’m super frugal with my time, so for active recovery I do body toughening and forging post work between sets as active recovery, allowing me fold it in without adding additional time. All-in, my daily training session is 60 – 90 minutes.

  7. On top of my daily training regimen, I teach martial arts twice per week. Each class includes a constitutional — that’s 7 different calisthenics, about 25 reps of each.

  8. You can review my training log here.

 Mark Hatmaker’s Old School Fitness Training Rules        

Mark Hatmaker (see picture on the left, taken last summer, shredded at age 56!) is my martial arts coach, and one of the most incredible humans alive today.  Although he’s largely known as “The Human Encyclopedia of Wrestling Holds” he is also a terrifying boxer, a paragon of fitness, virtuoso guitarist, certified sailing captain, certified free driver, demolition derby driver, skydiver, bareback horseman, adopted member of the Comanche Nation (he taught himself the language), six-gun spinner, historian, philosopher, and scholar who reads 6 hours per day.  He’s a true old-schooler living and walking around in the modern day. Learn more about him and his methods by (a) listening to his podcast, (b) by signing up for his free weekly email by clicking the link at the bottom of the front page of his website. , or (c) by checking out his Amazon author page.  

Here are Mark Hatmaker’s Three Old-School Training Rules

1: LOW VOLUME. 1 exercise per body part per day and no more than 3 sets of 6-8 reps.

2: INTENSITY. Form must be perfect.  Don't train to failure.

3: FREQUENCY. 3 days on and 1 day off

 

Dan John's Easy Strength Rules

Dan John holds the American record in Throws Pentathlon (discus, javelin, shot, hammer and weight) which he set in 2003 at age 42.  He credits his track and field success to reducing his lift volume  On Feb 12th of this year — at age 61! — he set the unofficial senior American record in Clean and Jerk. He is a former Fulbright scholar who holds masters degrees in both History and Religious Studies and currently teaches religious studies at Columbia College in Missouri. He is also a senior lecturer at St. Mary's University, London. Learn more about the incredible Dan John at his website and get coaching advice at Dan John University. He also has a cool YouTube channel. And by the way, his dog’s name is Sirius Black.

Here are Dan John’s Easy Strength Rules

1. Do the same program every single day

2. Pick just 5 exercises: Posterior Chain (Deadlift, etc), Press, Pull, Explosion (Snatch, Kettle Bell Swing, etc), Anterior Chain (Ab Wheel, Dragon Flag, etc.) NOTE: My program aligns with his very nicely: Posterior Chain = Stone Lift, Press = Handstand Push-up, Pull = Pull-up or Chin-up, and Anterior chain = Dragon Flag. I skip the Explosion exercise — too much volume.

3. Keep reps minimal (2 x 5 for posterior chain and  push/pull exercises, one set of 20 - 50 for the explosive moves, and a single set of 5 for the anterior chain)

4. Never plan or worry about the weight or the load. Always stay within yourself and go heavy "naturally."

5. Don't eat chalk, scream, or pound on walls. Simply do each lift without any emotion or excitement and strive for perfect technique. 

Champ Thomas. A. C. “Champ” Thomas was a depression-era “fight all comers” carnival boxer and bareknuckle brawler.  In the fitness section, he advocates calisthenics only, no weights, very little running (1 mile of 200 yard sprint/walk intervals), and not much of anything else besides (guess what?) boxing. If you want to be good at something, do the something not the other thing. Here’s a link to his book, “How to be an Ass-Whipping Boxer"

 

Martin Dubovic, "The Top 3 Reasons I Switched To Calisthenics After Years Of Lifting Weights."  Not truly an old-schooler, but lots great scientific backup and great personal evidence for the efficacy of calisthenics, which are the original old school training method (dating back to ancient Greece).

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Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 11th, 2022 – Archdeacon Mitch

Readings: Ex 32:7-11, 13-14, Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19, 1 Tm 1:12-17, Lk 15:1-32

 

Luke 14:25-33 World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

1  Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to him to hear him. 2  The Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.”

3  He told them this parable: 4  “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? 5  When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6  When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7  I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.

8  “Or what woman, if she had ten drachma* coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn’t light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it? 9  When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost!’ 10  Even so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.”

11  He said, “A certain man had two sons. 12  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of your property.’ So he divided his livelihood between them. 13  Not many days after, the younger son gathered all of this together and traveled into a far country. There he wasted his property with riotous living. 14  When he had spent all of it, there arose a severe famine in that country, and he began to be in need. 15  He went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16  He wanted to fill his belly with the pods that the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. 17  But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough to spare, and I’m dying with hunger! 18  I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19  I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants.” ’

20  “He arose and came to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, and ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21  The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22  “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23  Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat and celebrate; 24  for this, my son, was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.’ Then they began to celebrate.

25  “Now his elder son was in the field. As he came near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26  He called one of the servants to him and asked what was going on. 27  He said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and healthy.’ 28  But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and begged him. 29  But he answered his father, ‘Behold, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed a commandment of yours, but you never gave me a goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30  But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’

31  “He said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32  But it was appropriate to celebrate and be glad, for this, your brother, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found.’ ”

 

Brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel reading, the obvious messages sing out to us from the story of the prodigal son.  We see that Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, warning them not to be like the older son who resents the repentant, younger son.  And he is also giving the Pharisees another message that he hopes they will appreciate, perhaps even more fully after his death and resurrection, which is that it’s never too late to change direction and return to our Father in Heaven.

And we also easily see that Jesus was also speaking directly to everyone surrounding him at that time, just as he is speaking to each of us right now, and to everyone who ever reads this amazing parable, urging us not be afraid of our Heavenly Father’s anger.  But rather, when we come to ourselves and realize we have transgressed, we should go to him with a contrite heart and with true repentance just as the prodigal son did, and beg for forgiveness.

All of this is obvious.  But what’s less obvious is that Jesus is telling us to be wasteful with our possessions and our love.  In the parable, the younger son is wasteful with his inheritance, and father’s response to his son’s sincere repentance is to be wasteful in kind – with love, food, and material gifts. Jesus wants us to freely forgive, to welcome home all those who, with truly remorseful hearts, return home after having been lost to sin and disobedience in the lands of godlessness.  Prodigal actually means “wasteful” and “extravagant.”  So let us all be prodigal fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, cousins and neighbors, who give away our love, attention and forbearance without strings, to all who sincerely repent.

And we’ll be wise to remember that it was very hard for the prodigal son to admit his errors and go home.  He was so low, so crushed by the guilt of his missteps, that he was deemed unworthy even to eat the food given to pigs.  It is very hard for people to repent their ways, for some people, almost impossible.  It’s helpful to be mindful of the huge gulf that lies between shamefulness and recklessness.

Let us have patience and hope – for those who are still wandering, as well as for ourselves when we stumble – that our Father in heaven will celebrate and rejoice because we have been “dead and will come to life again.”

Terrifying Words: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #319

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

The weekly mettle maker is a weekly blog post that contains training ideas, information, and fun facts related to Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Heritage Wildwood nature appreciation and survival training, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit (YouTube church). It’s been around for over 5 years — although we didn’t start numbering them until May of 2018!

Mettle Maker #318

Self-defense: Every martial art, ancient and modern, has certain movements that it seeks to habituate by means of repetition and memorization. Some of the terms for these movements are forms, patterns, kata, tul, pumsae, hyung, drills, flow drills, and sinawali. I’m sure there are plenty more terms in various martial arts and languages. As I was just typing that last sentence, I recalled reading a martial arts book in which the author called his techniques tricks.. For the rest of this article I’ll just use the term forms. Here’s my problem with forms how they are (mostly) taught and performed nowadays: they are sanitized, polite, tame, lukewarm, and profoundly safe. That’s a problem. The purposes of forms, as they were originally intended, was to get human beings ready for battle — correcting outlook and mindset, toughening the spirit, practicing warrior demeanor, cultivating a terrifying aspect so as to intimidate our adversary, and so forth. Practicing a form shouldn’t be merely physical. It should be a mental and spiritual exercise as well. When you practice your forms, be sure to practice your mindset and to also your threatening, aggressive aspect. This is why, at Heritage Self-Defense, we refer to our forms as “mettlecraft drills.” Want more training tips? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

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Fitness: Sick of the person you see in the mirror? Would you like a coach — somebody to help you design a fitness program and to help keep you motivated and on track? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

Wildwood. Have you ever spent a night alone in the woods? The first time you do this, you will quite probably experience a certain amount of fear, perhaps even terror. But terror is the sister of awe, and you may find that former gives way to the latter as the night progresses. How do you feel as the light gradually fades?  What happens to your sensibilities as the day gives way to dusk, and the dusk to night?  Are your ears more sensitive, your nerves more jumpy, your mood altered?  Sense how much life is around you -- insects, plants, creatures of all kinds -- and really get in touch with it.  Breathe it in, tasting the wind like a snake and feeling the pulse of the Earth under your feet.  Do you feel insignificant and small, or do you feel larger than life, brave and capable?  How do you feel when the moon rises and turns your nighttime world into day?  How about when the sun rises in the morning? What to learn more? Read Chapter 30 from the Wildwood Workbook, or sign up for our free Wildwood distance learning program.

Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 4th, 2022

Readings: Wis 9:13-18b, Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17, Phmn 9-10, 12-17, Lk 14:25-33

 

Luke 14:25-33 World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

25 Now great multitudes were going with him. He turned and said to them, 26  “If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard† his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. 27  Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross and come after me, can’t be my disciple. 28  For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29  Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, 30  saying, ‘This man began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31  Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy and asks for conditions of peace. 33  So therefore, whoever of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has, he can’t be my disciple.

 

† or, hate

 

Sometimes, when Jesus sets the bar as high as he does in today’s gospel reading, we tend to prevaricate and think ourselves around into a kind of relaxed complacence.  You know what I mean.  We say to ourselves, “Well, this is all metaphorical.  Jesus doesn’t want to destroy civilization by turning everyone into penniless, family-hating homeless people.  Somebody’s gotta have a job or there won’t be any food, goods, art, music, or medicine.”  And so we politely put these hard – one might even say terrifying – words of Jesus into a pretty little box and file them away where they can’t scare us anymore.

But listen everybody, that is wrong, wrong, wrong.  We cannot do that.  Jesus is very clear on this point.  He wants us to do the math.  He wants us to add up the costs associated with turning away from his instructions. As we are constructing ourselves and building out our lives, Jesus wants us to make the same sorts of calculations that a builder makes when calculating the costs of building a structure.  As we are trying to figure what we are going to fight for, protect and defend, he wants us to make the same evaluations a king, president, or prime minister makes when considering war.  Jesus wants us to take this very seriously indeed.

How seriously?  So seriously that he says we should despise even our own lives, pick up our own crosses, and follow him, or else we can’t be his disciples. 

Pick up our own cross? 

Pick up our own cross. 

Weigh that in your mind.  Do the math.  Fortunately, our government doesn’t publicly execute criminals in the most humiliating and painful manner ever conceived.  Fortunately we no longer make criminals carry the instrument of their own execution to the killing ground, then nail them up so that passersby can jeer at them and watch them slowly die.  Fortunately we’ve never seen such a thing.  But when Jesus was speaking the words in today’s reading, everyone in earshot had witnessed the horrors of crucifixion.  They knew exactly what he was asking.  And so should we.

See here.  There are so many demands on our time.  Family members demand their share of our time and attention.  Our bosses make additional demands on our time and are always rearranging our priorities.  Plus we face financial demands – paying bills, taxes, loans, and all of that.  Sometimes we can’t even make ends meet.  Our bodies make demands — for sleep, food, intimacy, entertainment, recreation, and all of that.  And we face moral demands.  Our political parties want us to toe the party line even when we disagree with elements of the platform.  Our governments sometimes ask us to choose one of two reprehensible candidates.  In the face of all these demands and compromises, day in and day out, we wonder:

Who am I?  What am I doing?  What’s the point of all this?

Jesus has the answer and is the answer.  When we value him most highly – mind, body, and soul; when we make him the landmark toward which we relentlessly march – as unwaveringly as possible – we have a mission, a direction, a role model, a king, and a purpose.  Everything falls in line behind and beneath Jesus.

Can turning away from a domineering, demanding, needy family member feel like “hate?”  Sure it can.  Can the stresses, setbacks, and sufferings of life can seem like dying a slow death?  Of course.  Can giving up the rat race, no longer trying to “keep up with the Jones’” and shrugging off the tyranny of material possessions feel like living the life of a wandering disciple?  You bet. But do it we must.

If we do not, we will be as incomplete as the unfinished tower and we will lose the war against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

Dragons, Moths, and Flaming Fire: Holy Communion and Mettle Maker #318

What’s the “weekly mettle maker?”

The weekly mettle maker is a weekly blog post that contains training ideas, information, and fun facts related to Heritage Arts’ programs — Heritage Self-Defense, Heritage Wildwood nature appreciation and survival training, Heritage Fitness, and Heritage Spirit (YouTube church). It’s been around for over 5 years — although we didn’t start numbering them until May of 2018!

Mettle Maker #318

Self-defense: Above you will find some pics from Rough ‘n’ Tumble Boot Camp 2022. What a weekend! Hatmaker’s Plains Indian knife material was the most challenging and controversial. The phrase is over-used, but in this case it is perfectly true and apt, so I have to use it: it is paradigm-shattering. It invalidated a ton of my work in this area. Want to learn it? Come out the club here in Richmond VA or sign up for our free distance learning program here.

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Fitness: Instead of more volume and the wear-and-tear on your body that go with it, give some serious thought to doing fewer, slower reps of more challenging exercises. Right now, as part of my stone-lifting regimen, I’m in pursuit of my first Dragon Flag, and I’m working towards my goal of 3 x 8 perfect Pull-ups — nice, slow, dead-hang ones mind you, not those ridiculous kipping ones. After that, a Muscle-up. I know I talk about calisthenics a lot. But that’s because calisthenics are to fitness as wrenches are to auto repair. You can do it without them, but it’s way harder. Want help designing a fitness program that suits your needs? Sign up for our free distance learning program.

The Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis (huge, about the size of my hand)

Wildwood. Keep your eyes open and pay attention to the real world — put the damn phone down! — and you’ll notice “nature” every moment you are awake. Edible plants spring up in asphalt fissures, Goosefoot loves sidewalk cracks and all the chinks in city stones, at night black bear and coyotes prowl suburban yards, and so on. Nature is everywhere. Here’s a picture of an Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis, that I spotted on a building a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful, insn’t he? Or she. I’m not good at sexing moths.



Want to learn more about outdoor skills and how to appreciate the natural world? Sign up for our free Wildwood distance learning program.

22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 28th, 2022

Readings: Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Ps 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11, Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a, Lk 14:1, 7-14

 

Luke 14:1, 7-14 World English Bible Catholic Edition

 

When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him. 7 

 

He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, 8  “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, 9  and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. 10  But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

12  He also said to the one who had invited him, “When you make a dinner or a supper, don’t call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your kinsmen, nor rich neighbors, or perhaps they might also return the favor, and pay you back. 13  But when you make a feast, ask the poor, the maimed, the lame, or the blind; 14  and you will be blessed, because they don’t have the resources to repay you. For you will be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous.”

 

Brothers and sisters it's very hard to be humble when all day long, almost every message you receive from the culture, from the television, the internet, and social media says you should sing your own praises.  “If you don't toot your own horn there will be no music.”  “Do your own thing.”  “Be your own person.”  “Live your best life” (as if there was more than one) and “Be your authentic self” (as if your authentic self wasn’t a very childish self, desiring delicious food, fancy toys, and a life without homework, chores, and responsibilities). 

The Book of Sirach says, “water quenches a flaming fire.”  I wonder though, why would you want to quench the flame of your pride?  I mean, it's fun isn't it?  It’s great to enjoy the first seat at the table, am I right?  It’s fun to flaunt your trophies and certificates.  It's perfectly natural to show off the things you bought with your hard-earned cash.  You earned them, right?  You worked hard for them didn't you?

Or did you?

Isn’t it possible that you have them because others care deeply about you and taught you the skills and techniques you used to earn that trophy, award, or money?  Isn’t it possible that you owe a debt of gratitude to others, maybe even some who have passed on, like your deceased parents or grandparents, or to a beloved mentor, coach, teacher, or bishop?  Or maybe you owe your success to something you learned from a book whose author is long dead.  Perhaps you owe something to the college where you earned your degree.  Or to your family and friends, the ones who supported you physically and/or emotionally while you were struggling.  There may even be some people you’ve forgotten that you owe because, when they gave you hard criticism, you preferred to part ways, only to realize later that they were right and you were wrong. 

If you think hard about who deserves the credit for your successes, and if you take the time to cut up the pie of credit and serve it up, you may well find only a very small sliver left for yourself.  And maybe that last, tiny serving is attributable to good fortune.  It’s almost as if one might say, “to God alone be the glory.”

You might also ask yourself these sorts of questions when you are not doing well, or when those around you are failing.  How much of your failure are you blaming on others?  How many of the failures that surround you are attributable to your poor leadership or your poor example? Things at first blush or not always what they seem.

When you are feeling down, often this is because you’ve subconsciously realized that you are at fault for something.  The good news is that, as we read in Sirach, “alms atone for sins.”  Bake a cake for the family next door, or casserole for the elderly widow down the block.  Visit a sick relative or friend.  Volunteer your time for a charity.  Don't just write a check or click a box on the internet.  Physically do something, that’s better.  Clean out your attic and donate the goods to a charity.  Go through your kitchen, pull out the best, most expensive and yummy stuff, and donate it to the food drive (not the old, expired stuff like you usually do).  Physical demonstrations of sacrifice and almsgiving are uplifting because they are real.  Think about it this way.  Maybe the person you are helping had something to do with your success.  God’s ways are a mystery.

You never know.