It is the taking of the Obligations that makes a Man a Mason. Before them he is bound with a cable tow, after it is removed for he is a Brother. This implies that our Obligations are the most important aspect of the process of making a Mason.
The obligations you make basically outline your responsibilities to your brothers, number one being a man of your word. A man without honor or integrity isn’t a man.
It’s our obligation(s) that separate us from social and service clubs. They give an expectation of behavior toward one another and the penalty for violating it. With each degree, more is expected and the “rules” increase. The obligation(s) teach us to live in harmony with the brothers, from giving a brother due warning from approaching danger to not entering into a relationship with a member of a brothers family. All aspects of the obligation(s) are important to our fraternity. I’ve seen initiates shudder and straighten right up when presented with the penalty of their first obligation and one man you never returned. I’ve often wondered if, every now and again, the obligation of the degree that a Stated Meeting is opened on shoulder be read aloud as a reminder to all of us of our solemn obligation taken at the altar.
"I... most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear..." If there is ever any doubt in your mind that you have entered into a new way of living, this Obligation, when further studied, word for word, should convince you. The first lesson we learn is trust. Trust in your Brethren, trust in yourself. Be trustworthy. Through our Obligations, we take upon ourselves to become examples to the rest of the world, to put the thought in the minds of non-Masons, "I want to be just like him!"
Our obligations do set us apart from many others groups, especially these days. Our obligations are the oaths we swear before God that we will keep. Taking an oath before God has a more solemn meaning and infers a more serious punishment for violation than our Brothers could impose on us. Not many other organizations are concerned with an oath being made on the Bible or before God.
Much of society has gone away or made "So help me God" a personal option at the end of their oaths.
Before I begin, In my opinion an oath isn’t just an obligation, it is an expression of our personal will. When we kneel before an altar, invoke our God and in the presence our brethren, we swear an oath we are expressing our will to be transformed, to become better.
Our oaths can be extraordinarily powerful, or they can be words mumbled and forgotten. There are two things that I think are crucial to the oaths being powerfully etched on the heart and soul of a Mason. First, and most important, the willingness and desire of the candidate to be transformed by the oath. Second, and almost as important, the establishment of sacred space in which the oath is taken.
We, all of us, know we are flawed men, stumbling through life trying to find our way to a better self. For Freemasons that desire led you to kneel before our altar to take our very simple oaths. While there is nothing specifically mystical about the words of our oaths, they call on us to be better in specific ways and to subordinate some of our behaviors to the laws of the order. For many of us, these oaths are some of the first, if not the first, time we have dedicated our lives to something bigger, something better. That act can reverberate through our entire being, and begin the process of taming our egos. Simply promising, of your own free will, to respect another man, to defend him, to comfort him, and to aid him in life, will set you apart in a world that glorifies the aggressive expression of motivated self-interest. That shift in personal perspective is huge.
The space in which we take that oath is crucial, in spiritual and psychological aspects. In our day to day lives we compromise our ethics, morals and personal goals all the time. It’s the nature of life, and even a man who seeks to do right will, of necessity, finds his hope to do the right thing attacked on all sides, most of the time. Taking an oath, in a mundane environment would associate that oath with the rules of ordinary life. By establishing a sacred or liminal space, a space apart from everyday life, we establish a new space with different rules. This sacred space can give us the space within ourselves to ‘stand-alone’ in the company of other good men. In spiritual and psychological terms, it establishes an internal space, a fortress if you will, that we can make our stand in life. Creating sacred space is completely under our control in the degree, and easily done. The steps are simple. First, always speak of the degrees in a solemn way, with reverence. Second, execute the degrees with precision and fervor. Finally, us the tools or ritual to create a sensory environment of solemnity, low light with candles, formal dress, appropriate music, lines delivered with meaning and understanding.
If these elements are present, our oaths will live in us as a constant companion, whispering in our ears and tugging at our hearts to do the right thing. They will urge us toward a better life, like a constant gentle force applied over years changing the course of our lives.
The obligations you make basically outline your responsibilities to your brothers, number one being a man of your word. A man without honor or integrity isn’t a man.
It’s our obligation(s) that separate us from social and service clubs. They give an expectation of behavior toward one another and the penalty for violating it. With each degree, more is expected and the “rules” increase. The obligation(s) teach us to live in harmony with the brothers, from giving a brother due warning from approaching danger to not entering into a relationship with a member of a brothers family. All aspects of the obligation(s) are important to our fraternity. I’ve seen initiates shudder and straighten right up when presented with the penalty of their first obligation and one man you never returned. I’ve often wondered if, every now and again, the obligation of the degree that a Stated Meeting is opened on shoulder be read aloud as a reminder to all of us of our solemn obligation taken at the altar.
"I... most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear..." If there is ever any doubt in your mind that you have entered into a new way of living, this Obligation, when further studied, word for word, should convince you. The first lesson we learn is trust. Trust in your Brethren, trust in yourself. Be trustworthy. Through our Obligations, we take upon ourselves to become examples to the rest of the world, to put the thought in the minds of non-Masons, "I want to be just like him!"
Our obligations do set us apart from many others groups, especially these days. Our obligations are the oaths we swear before God that we will keep. Taking an oath before God has a more solemn meaning and infers a more serious punishment for violation than our Brothers could impose on us. Not many other organizations are concerned with an oath being made on the Bible or before God.
Much of society has gone away or made "So help me God" a personal option at the end of their oaths.
Before I begin, In my opinion an oath isn’t just an obligation, it is an expression of our personal will. When we kneel before an altar, invoke our God and in the presence our brethren, we swear an oath we are expressing our will to be transformed, to become better.
Our oaths can be extraordinarily powerful, or they can be words mumbled and forgotten. There are two things that I think are crucial to the oaths being powerfully etched on the heart and soul of a Mason. First, and most important, the willingness and desire of the candidate to be transformed by the oath. Second, and almost as important, the establishment of sacred space in which the oath is taken.
We, all of us, know we are flawed men, stumbling through life trying to find our way to a better self. For Freemasons that desire led you to kneel before our altar to take our very simple oaths. While there is nothing specifically mystical about the words of our oaths, they call on us to be better in specific ways and to subordinate some of our behaviors to the laws of the order. For many of us, these oaths are some of the first, if not the first, time we have dedicated our lives to something bigger, something better. That act can reverberate through our entire being, and begin the process of taming our egos. Simply promising, of your own free will, to respect another man, to defend him, to comfort him, and to aid him in life, will set you apart in a world that glorifies the aggressive expression of motivated self-interest. That shift in personal perspective is huge.
The space in which we take that oath is crucial, in spiritual and psychological aspects. In our day to day lives we compromise our ethics, morals and personal goals all the time. It’s the nature of life, and even a man who seeks to do right will, of necessity, finds his hope to do the right thing attacked on all sides, most of the time. Taking an oath, in a mundane environment would associate that oath with the rules of ordinary life. By establishing a sacred or liminal space, a space apart from everyday life, we establish a new space with different rules. This sacred space can give us the space within ourselves to ‘stand-alone’ in the company of other good men. In spiritual and psychological terms, it establishes an internal space, a fortress if you will, that we can make our stand in life. Creating sacred space is completely under our control in the degree, and easily done. The steps are simple. First, always speak of the degrees in a solemn way, with reverence. Second, execute the degrees with precision and fervor. Finally, us the tools or ritual to create a sensory environment of solemnity, low light with candles, formal dress, appropriate music, lines delivered with meaning and understanding.
If these elements are present, our oaths will live in us as a constant companion, whispering in our ears and tugging at our hearts to do the right thing. They will urge us toward a better life, like a constant gentle force applied over years changing the course of our lives.