The 11th Degree of the Scottish Rite SJ system teaches us:
“Life is a school. The world is neither prison nor penitentiary, nor a palace of ease, nor an amphitheatre for games and spectacles; but a place of instruction, and discipline. Life is given for moral and spiritual training; and the entire course of the great school of life is an education for virtue, happiness, and a future existence.”
As Freemasons, if we want to learn the lessons of the school that is life, so as to not be doomed to repeat it, how can we best learn?
How can the tools of Masonry assist us?
How can our fellow Masons help us?
The 11th Degree goes on to teach us:
“In Egypt, among our old Masters, where Masonry was more cultivated than vanity, no one could gain admittance to the sacred asylum of the tomb until he had passed under the most solemn judgement. A grave tribunal sat in judgement upon all, even the kings. They said to the dead. ‘Whoever thou art, give account to thy country of they actions! What hast thou done with thy time and life? The law interrogates thee, thy country hears thee, Truth sits in judgement on thee!’ Princes came there to be judged, escorted only by their virtues and their vices.”
If we, when our inevitable demise overtakes us, must face such a tribunal, what virtues will save us? Will we have subdued our passions to an extent that our vices do not condemn us?
Will we be able to prove that we learned the lessons our life was to teach?
Was Freemasonry of gentle assistance to us as we moved through the highs and lows, the trials and triumphs of life?
Yesterday was our first Live Open Thread. To be honest, I thought it was awesome! The discussions were not easy, but they were discussions that needed to happen if we are to work together in harmony as Masons.
As is tradition, we will again hold a brief gathering over zoom on Sunday evening for those with a paid subscription to Emeth. Login information will be sent via email at 5:00 PM Sunday, the gathering will begin at 7:30 PM.
I think one of the first important lessons we learn in Freemasonry is from Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
It doesn't say that SOME that asketh receiveth. Basically, we have not because we ask not and because we are not open to receiving that which we receive. This ties into being willing to give fair consideration to wise council whispered in our ear.
The second important lesson I think we learn is in Matthew 7:6 "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
This is taught in "Fs, tt, as y wr tn in dkns, s sh y kp th wld wtht, in ftr, as rlts t t scs o My unt it sh obt tm as lfy a y wr tn abt t do." We have to wait until asked and then evaluate if the receiver is willing to receive. This relates to guarding both the West gate and to who we associate with outside the west gate.
In short we become like those we choose to associate with.
Shortly after I joined masonry, I fell into some financial trouble. Nothing much, but there were days when I couldn't even afford the bus fare to to to work. I would use my vacation or sick time instead, especially those last few days before payday. Things eventually worked themselves out, but a few of my lodge brothers would slip me a few bucks once in a while when things were bad. To them, it was a trivial amount of money, but to me, that extra bit of cash was everything, and I have never forgotten their generosity.
So, when it came time for me to be able to assist others if needed, I did. I did it gladly, and without worry of being paid back. If I am able to help a brother in need, I would. All of us go through the trials of life, and we should spend our time looking out for each other. Not just monetarily, but emotionally as well.
This ties into lodge size. A huge lodge with more than 100 members is counter productive. I haven't met over half of the members in my lodge, and I probably never will. They aren't there helping their fellow brothers, and we don't have any way of helping them. I don't know them, and they don't know me.
Lodges shouldn't be more than (arbitrary number ahead) twenty five or so members. All of them should be expected to attend lodge. All of them should know each other, and help each other. They should socialize together, both in and out of lodge.
The school of life can be a hard teacher. When I first came to Masonry, I had been in law enforcement for 20 plus years and had become pretty callous. I found that there were still good men in my community, which was, for me, very important. As I continue to grow in Masonry, and learn more about how the working tools bring balance and wisdom to my life, my walk has been a little easier. When we would go dark in the summer it would be a little more difficult. There is nothing better than being surrounded by good men and to receive or share, from time to time, wise counsel. This past year has been challenging and after being quite anxious at first, I’m thankful that technology exists that has allowed for us to continue to meet and interact.
Years ago I attended a bazaar full of gypsies and tinkers and the like. It was just a fun touristy thing to do and I spent a week of my earnings at the various tents. One of those was a palm reader. She told me I had an "old soul" and said it like it was a compliment. But in every philosophy of the afterlifeand reincarnation i am familiar with, being sent back for a retry is proof that you didn't lead a good enough life to reach heaven.
If I'm an old soul, then I must be a really slow learner in this school of life because I keep having to repeat the class. Unlike a real school in which I can retain some information from the previous fail, my memory is wiped if I don't graduate. It would be nice to have some wisdom from a previous go so I don't have to start fresh each time. How many times have I made the same dumb mistakes because I had no memory, experience, or guidance?
Ultimately, the biggest rejection I have to Christian and all other western theology is if God has a plan, and that plan is to make me sinful by nature, with no innate abiity to sense that plan, and faced with multiple conflicting scriptures, then God is cruel and not worth worship. It is better for me to think of God as a thoughtless mindless natural force for which logic, reason, and objective evidence are my guides to understanding its role in the universe than to think a cosmic being has purposefully made me blind, deaf, anaphic and anosmic about its divine plan.
I think that throughout his rituals and writings Brother Pike tries to remind us about what is most important in life. Not money, not possessions, but it is the impact we have on others that will be remembered, and that our life will be judged by.
I think that is true. No one remembers that Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill were broke. They do remember the tremendous contributions those men made in the world. It is, I believe, the same for us. Our sphere of influence might not be nearly as large as those men, but we will be judged by how we positively impacted the lives of our children, our friends, the community around us, no matter if that community is large or small.
When it comes time for us to cross the River Styx, these positive impacts on others will form the coin we will need to pay the Ferryman, and its value will determine what we face next.
Freemasonry gives us a philosophy which we can use to improve ourselves. It also gives us a vehicle through which we can do true work that will improve the lives of those around us. In that way, it can assist us in living lives of actual value.
Pike also frequently tries to remind us that the man who is desperate to fulfill the basic needs of life can not devote himself to this real work of the spirit, so that it becomes our responsibility to do what we can to relieve our Brothers, and others in our society, so that they too can work on that which is truly important in this life.
I think one of the first important lessons we learn in Freemasonry is from Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
It doesn't say that SOME that asketh receiveth. Basically, we have not because we ask not and because we are not open to receiving that which we receive. This ties into being willing to give fair consideration to wise council whispered in our ear.
The second important lesson I think we learn is in Matthew 7:6 "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."
This is taught in "Fs, tt, as y wr tn in dkns, s sh y kp th wld wtht, in ftr, as rlts t t scs o My unt it sh obt tm as lfy a y wr tn abt t do." We have to wait until asked and then evaluate if the receiver is willing to receive. This relates to guarding both the West gate and to who we associate with outside the west gate.
In short we become like those we choose to associate with.
Shortly after I joined masonry, I fell into some financial trouble. Nothing much, but there were days when I couldn't even afford the bus fare to to to work. I would use my vacation or sick time instead, especially those last few days before payday. Things eventually worked themselves out, but a few of my lodge brothers would slip me a few bucks once in a while when things were bad. To them, it was a trivial amount of money, but to me, that extra bit of cash was everything, and I have never forgotten their generosity.
So, when it came time for me to be able to assist others if needed, I did. I did it gladly, and without worry of being paid back. If I am able to help a brother in need, I would. All of us go through the trials of life, and we should spend our time looking out for each other. Not just monetarily, but emotionally as well.
This ties into lodge size. A huge lodge with more than 100 members is counter productive. I haven't met over half of the members in my lodge, and I probably never will. They aren't there helping their fellow brothers, and we don't have any way of helping them. I don't know them, and they don't know me.
Lodges shouldn't be more than (arbitrary number ahead) twenty five or so members. All of them should be expected to attend lodge. All of them should know each other, and help each other. They should socialize together, both in and out of lodge.
The school of life can be a hard teacher. When I first came to Masonry, I had been in law enforcement for 20 plus years and had become pretty callous. I found that there were still good men in my community, which was, for me, very important. As I continue to grow in Masonry, and learn more about how the working tools bring balance and wisdom to my life, my walk has been a little easier. When we would go dark in the summer it would be a little more difficult. There is nothing better than being surrounded by good men and to receive or share, from time to time, wise counsel. This past year has been challenging and after being quite anxious at first, I’m thankful that technology exists that has allowed for us to continue to meet and interact.
Years ago I attended a bazaar full of gypsies and tinkers and the like. It was just a fun touristy thing to do and I spent a week of my earnings at the various tents. One of those was a palm reader. She told me I had an "old soul" and said it like it was a compliment. But in every philosophy of the afterlifeand reincarnation i am familiar with, being sent back for a retry is proof that you didn't lead a good enough life to reach heaven.
If I'm an old soul, then I must be a really slow learner in this school of life because I keep having to repeat the class. Unlike a real school in which I can retain some information from the previous fail, my memory is wiped if I don't graduate. It would be nice to have some wisdom from a previous go so I don't have to start fresh each time. How many times have I made the same dumb mistakes because I had no memory, experience, or guidance?
Ultimately, the biggest rejection I have to Christian and all other western theology is if God has a plan, and that plan is to make me sinful by nature, with no innate abiity to sense that plan, and faced with multiple conflicting scriptures, then God is cruel and not worth worship. It is better for me to think of God as a thoughtless mindless natural force for which logic, reason, and objective evidence are my guides to understanding its role in the universe than to think a cosmic being has purposefully made me blind, deaf, anaphic and anosmic about its divine plan.
I think that throughout his rituals and writings Brother Pike tries to remind us about what is most important in life. Not money, not possessions, but it is the impact we have on others that will be remembered, and that our life will be judged by.
I think that is true. No one remembers that Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill were broke. They do remember the tremendous contributions those men made in the world. It is, I believe, the same for us. Our sphere of influence might not be nearly as large as those men, but we will be judged by how we positively impacted the lives of our children, our friends, the community around us, no matter if that community is large or small.
When it comes time for us to cross the River Styx, these positive impacts on others will form the coin we will need to pay the Ferryman, and its value will determine what we face next.
Freemasonry gives us a philosophy which we can use to improve ourselves. It also gives us a vehicle through which we can do true work that will improve the lives of those around us. In that way, it can assist us in living lives of actual value.
Pike also frequently tries to remind us that the man who is desperate to fulfill the basic needs of life can not devote himself to this real work of the spirit, so that it becomes our responsibility to do what we can to relieve our Brothers, and others in our society, so that they too can work on that which is truly important in this life.