|
The Consecration of the Nuthall Temple Chapter
21st May 1955
The Aims and Objects of the Institution
There are several good reasons why men seek to become masons, among which are curiosity which the Craft rightly places high as a reason for seeking admission.
The enquiring mind is open to the good impressions which the Craft can make upon it, and in masonry a man can still find ample scope for his curiosity, whether it be concerning the history of the Craft; the truths contained in the allegory; the symbolism or the ritual.
Within man is an urge to better himself, a call to be spiritual while his nature is not yet physical; to be heavenly while his nature is yet earthly; to be a creature of eternity while yet living in time, and in masonry a man can still find much to satisfy this call.
Then secondly, there is friendship. A man may have perceived the happy spirit of friendship when brethren meet, and long for such friendship. What word is more sublime than friendship?
It is the golden thread which joins the hearts of all the world. A man cannot be a true mason unless he possesses the quality of friendship, and of all the associations and avenues where friendship is to be found, there is none where it is so constantly and strongly urged, and where a man can be so sure of finding true friends as in masonry.
Our assemblies are permeated by an abiding and an indefinable character of intimacy which is to be found nowhere else in the world. Another reason is admiration of some quality or qualities of character in someone known to be a mason, and if a man will absorb and practice in his own life the truth taught by masonry, he will find that his character has become such as to have a beneficial influence upon others.
Character is distinct from reputation. The former is what a person is, the latter what he is supposed to be. Character is within a man; reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations and wrongdoings, reputations by slanders and libels.
Character perishes where there is a voluntary transgression, reputation is destroyed by a single or even unfounded accusation or aspersion. Character is the moral quality, the principles and motives which control a man's life, his strength of mind and even his individuality. The true character is formed by the acquisition of knowledge, with the intent of radiating it to others, and in recognizing in every man a brother who has need of every other man's goodwill and assistance. Masonry provides that knowledge openly in its beautiful ritual and veiled in its allegory and symbolism.
A Mason is told during his initiation that there are several degrees in masonry, and he soon learns that he must obtain the second and third degrees before he becomes a Master Mason. He may then think that that degree will conclude his masonic education, but he ultimately finds that is not so. Before, however, considering his position at the end of the third degree, it will be well to consider what masonry has already offered to him.
Masonry offers a pattern for life. Its aim is the universal brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. If the newly made Master Mason has been observant and thoughtful, he will have found that masonry is not only inherently good but that it has powerful influences for the reformation of character, that prerequisite for the development of brotherhood and for the regeneration of the spirit, that prerequisite for the elevation of the creature to his Creator.
The allegory illustrated by symbols is entwined about the building of King Solomon's Temple, and furnishes a mental vision to help man in the building of himself as a spiritual temple. Allegory is a story; a legend; a myth containing profound fundamental truths which have to be searched for and discovered by meditation and reflection. When after much searching and meditation an eternal principle dawns upon the soul, a divine calms ensues, and joy unspeakable gladdens the heart. He who has realized such a principle, ceases to wander and remains poised and self-possessed.
Symbolism is mute allegory and is an old and well tried method of teaching. It will more readily convey a lesson to the mind than verbal instruction. In addition to the truths contained in the allegory and symbolism, there are the truths contained in the beautiful wording of the ritual, particularly in the explanations of the working tools. Commencing with the twenty four inch gauge representing the twenty four hours of the day, part of which is to be spent in prayer to Almighty God, and concluding with the compasses which remind us of His unerring and impartial justice, who having defined for our instruction the limits of good and evil, will reward or punish according as we have obeyed or disregarded His Divine Commands.
The Masonic career commences in a state of darkness and helpless Indigence, and it is not until after a candidate has affirmed his belief in God, and has taken a solemn Obligation to keep inviolate the secrets of masonry that light is given to him. He is then instructed by a regular gradation and by reiteration in all of the virtues and excellencies of character. His expressed belief in God at the outset is welcomed and relying on that sure foundation, he is encouraged to follow his leader.
The Volume of the Sacred Law is the first great light he sees, and is strongly recommended to study and practice in his daily life the divine precepts contained therein. The lesson of the North East corner carries with it the power to imprint on the mind noble impulses which should be a constant reminder of the spiritual temple he is expected to raise on the foundation laid during his initiation, a spiritual temple as perfect in all its parts as he can possibly make it and thereby honourable to the builder. This also serves to remind him of that distinguishing characteristic of every mason's heart, charity, not only towards his brethren but to all men by extending to them the hand of friendship.
The Charge after Initiation forcefully interates the practice of every moral and social virtue, and if rightly understood cannot fail to make a deep impression on his mind, and to give rise to a higher and nobler conception of life, particularly as regards his duty to himself and his fellow-man.
The Second Degree directs his attention to the beauties of nature and science, and counsels him to extend his researches thereto. The first law of nature is self-preservation, it is deeply rooted in everyone. If we are not each and all possessed of the ability to do some good why should this law be, for it is not good to preserve that which has in it no possibility for good or which is wholly evil. Therefore, based on this deduction, no single soul is without the spirit of good, and from the teachings so far encountered he will learn to foster and promote all the good within him, so that it is ever assuming a greater proportion of his character, and thereby smothering the rampant weeds of evil and despair, and enabling him to live a brighter and more beautiful life.
The Third Degree teaches the respect due to merit and ability, to pay respect where respect is due, which in turn commands respect from other to oneself. But mainly the lesson of the Third Degree is self-study. Of all the things wonderful, the most wonderful of all is man. The adage of the old Greek sage was "Man know thyself." This study embraces in its wide circumference, death and the immortality of the soul; how man should so frame his conduct through life that he may be ready to meet his Creator whenever the Giver of Life may choose to call.
Having passed through the three craft degrees, and after having given thought to the interpretation thereof, a brother will realize that they represent his birth, education and development, death and re-birth. But what is a brother's position at the end of the third degree? He has expressed a belief in God, the Bible has been open in the Lodge throughout, mainly for the purpose of the obligations and he has been told to regard it as the unerring standard of truth and justice. He has received instruction and guidance for the formation of his character. He has descended into a figurative grave and been raised therefrom to a reunion with the former companions of his toils, but then he is informed that the genuine secrets of a Master Mason were lost, not the secrets of the third degree. Such then is his position at the end of the third degree. In the building of his spiritual temple, he has laid a true foundation, and has erected thereon a superstructure in the form of a good and noble character, but he still lacks the wherewithal to complete the building, namely the copestone, the genuine secrets, that implicit trust in reverence for the Name and Nature of the Supreme Being.
Having knocked off all the superfluous knobs and excrescences from his character, and having overcome his passions and evil tendencies, a brother will find that temptations cease from him, and as he becomes free from such temptations he will find an urge to get nearer to his Creator, and by thoughtful prayer he will find his Creator comes very near to him. In fact, the beautiful degree of the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch will help him, for the aim of the degree is the Nearness and Presence and Glory of the Supreme Being and the Power of His Holy Name, and when a brother has arrived at that stage in his masonic journey, when his every word and every act are spoken and undertaken with one thought, of the glorification of the name of his Creator, he will have found the copestone for his spiritual temple.
The legend of the Holy Royal Arch is based on the finding, while clearing away the rubble for the re-building of the Temple, the Volume of the Sacred Law containing God's revealed Will and Word. Although there is no historical evidence of the legend, it may quite possibly be based on the recorded finding of the Book of the Law or that of the Gospel of St. John. But whether fact or fiction, is not vital, the legend portrays miraculous finding of the wonderful knowledge and wisdom of God. The WORD or LOGOS is another name for the wisdom of the MOST High. In the Old Testament, the WORD is the wisdom of God personified which is conceived for executing His Divine Will.
The prominent features of this degree are the VAULTED SHRINE which bears a relation to the Crypt of our cathedrals and churches. Of old, the Crypt was a place used for sepulchre, and was usually situated immediately below the most sacred part of the building. The word Crypt is derived from the Greek and means "a hidden place", and it is within the hidden or secret place, the centre of man's soul, where is to be found the knowledge and wisdom of God.
The HEBREW CHARACTERS on the Altar were probably capable of greater explanation and import to the Ancients than is known to us, but we are told in the Mystical Lecture that they are of exceeding importance and that each has a reference to the Deity or some Divine attribute, and that the whole may be read Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
In our present ritual, the TRIPLE TAU is stated to allude to the Grand Triune Deity. The Tau was a recognized mystic symbol of deep significance from perhaps the earliest period, and in this degree the essence of which is the Trinity, we have three Taus in union. Four Taus in union form the Cross of Jerusalem which is a Christian Symbol, but the Triple Tau which is not a cross, in all probability originated in a period anterior to the Christian era.
Lastly, the SACRED NAME. The ancient nations had many Gods, known by as many names, but there was and is only one true God, the God who revealed Himself to the Hebrew nation, and whom they knew as Jehovah, and by that name He is known to Royal Arch Masons who also know Him by the omnific mason word J...B...N, which is a formula in Old Chaldean for the God of the Sky, the Earth and the Watery Deep. He is the great I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, who was and is and is to come, the Almighty. He is from everlasting to everlasting, the Creator of all that is good, the Supreme Governor of the Universe. That Universe which includes not only our Earth, our Solar System, but all the Solar Systems that are known to us, and the countless thousands that are unknown in that endlessness, that boundlessness we call sky, that infinite space which has no beginning, no centre and no end, which is as infinite as the infinite Supreme Being.
Infinite in His Divine Intelligence and Wisdom; infinite in His Divine Will and Strength; and infinite in His Divine Harmony and Beauty, the product of Wisdom and Strength the perfect law. His nature is goodness and mercy, and since He is good our First obligation is to be good too.
The worst penalty of sin is separation from Him, the great blessing of forgiveness is communion with Him. Those who really come to Him go no more from Him. They know Him; they serve Him and they live in His happiness for ever. They have discovered Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, THE WORD.
But will they then have come to the end of the quest? Whether the transition from this life to the next will be the end, we do not know. Whilst this life continues, the urge will be to seek continually for perfection towards that being whom our Creator intended us to be, and that word perfection, Companions, as many of you here already know, is the last word in the plan of pure ancient masonry. The old Psalmist wrote, "I have seen an end of all perfection but Thy commandment is exceeding broad. O how I love Thy law, it is my meditation all the days of my life. I understand more than the ancients because I keep Thy precepts. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."
Pure ancient masonry has stood the inescapable and never-failing test of time and it cannot be disputed that it flourishes more abundantly with its increasing age, one evidence of which is that all life begins and ends HERE.
|
