True Masonic Light

Worshipful Master, Right Worshipfuls, Very Worshipfuls, Worshipfuls, Brethren All:  I bring you the most heartfelt fraternal greetings of our Grand Master, The Most Worshipful Edward G. Gilbert.  Brother Secretary, I ask that this copy of the Grand Master’s Address, which he gave on St. John’s Day, June 27^th, 2009 in the Daniel D. Tompkins Memorial Chapel, be spread upon the minutes of our present Communication.

Just last week, I mentioned that there was a new book out which has Masonry at its very center.  I remember before it came out, when so many Brothers were worried that it might be less than factual.  Now I am hearing from some that they are worried that it is too factual.  At the same time, many members of our Craft have noted in sadness that so many of our privacies, our secrets, can be found on the worldwide web.

In a widely-used dictionary, the noun “secret” is defined as “something that is kept hidden or concealed”.  Yet, if one reads a bit further, it is also defined as “a mystery” and as something “known only to the initiated, or the few”.  It is these definitions that hold more significance for our traditions.  While I have seen some words and rituals described for the general public, I must say that I am not worried at all about their publication.

Now I am not saying that they should be published.  On the contrary, I find their revelation to be a clear violation of our explicit intimacy, as well as a disregard of the respect that we pledge to each other.  But having said that, I am left to consider a more specific question -- Does it matter that someone, a non-Mason, has learned to form certain words with their mouth, or imitate certain manipulations with their bodies?

Advancing technology is a great force in our culture; it is both positive and negative.  We can now locate Masonic reference books in an instant that might have been difficult to track down in an earlier time.  However, that ability is extended to the uninitiated as well.  But so what?  We can also easily obtain good copies of military awards such as the Purple Heart, the Silver Star, or even the Distinguished Service Cross, right over the internet with just a credit card.  Does that mean we have earned them by our actions and deeds?   That honor cannot be found by any lightning-fast meta-search engine.  That privilege is beyond any technological advances and any amount of money.

Current events have gone from a world where news was reported simply as it happened, to a world where the story is now analyzed and pre-digested for us.  We are no longer given just the facts.  We are also given an acceptable interpretation of those facts.  Of course the term “acceptable” may depend on your social, economic or political viewpoint.  But, don’t worry; the current consumer media caters to every flavor imaginable.  Unfortunately, today’s youngest generations are already well-prepared for the pre-digested world.  They usually claim to either “love” or “hate” things, with very little shades of gray in between, and very little thought given to the sudden change reflected in switching between the two.  It is against the backdrop of pre-conceived, pre-judged information and knee jerk polarity that this new novel, and this new wave of Masonic information, takes the stage.  Quite frankly, the timing could not be better.

A great number of people have already read the book, and holiday gift-giving will ensure that many more will.  And, certainly, our technological stream of information has already become a flood.  In this condition, a great number of non-Masons will be exposed to aspects of our Craft.  Yes, there will be a small, vocal minority that will write and talk about how they know the secrets of Masonry.  Then, satisfied that they know all there is to know, they will quickly lose interest, in favor of the next shiny object that distracts them.  A small number of men will see beyond the veneer.  They will recognize that words and signs are just the surface reflection of a deeper and richer world.  These men are the rough ashlars of our more glorious future.

But, for most, they will believe that they know all there is to know about our Fraternity.  How sad that they will be so incorrect in that assumption.  They will not have experienced the true brotherly love that is so abundant on nights like tonight.  They will not have known the joy of extending a hand to a brother in need, a caring phone call placed to a Masonic widow, or the honor of participating in a Lodge of Remembrance.  Certainly, they will never have felt the depth of our Craft that we experience at a Degree conferral; as each of us reaffirms our solemn vows again, right alongside our newest members who are doing so for the first time.

When confronted with someone who makes the claim to know “all about Masonry”, I suggest you consider the source.  Have they walked the path that countless honored Brothers have before us, and that we now strive to walk ourselves?  The path that we know requires so much work, and yet yields so much enrichment and satisfaction?  The great anthropologist Margaret Mead is often quoted as saying: “I learned the value of hard work, by working hard.”  As Masons, we know that there is no shortcut on that path.

When our current culture so wrongly equates the availability of information with true knowledge, it is easy to understand why so many believe that there must be a shortcut to Masonry.  Thankfully, we are uniquely qualified to shed the light necessary to illuminate the road to real Masonic knowledge.  The next time someone erroneously tells you that they know your Masonic secrets, smile politely and tell them that you are more than happy to tell them the true secret of Masonry.  Then speak about how closely knit your Lodge is, the great times that you have celebrated together, and the hard times that you were glad to have your Brothers to lean upon.  Tell them that there are special ways that you greet your Brothers, but that to encapsulate them into mere words or gestures would not do justice to what it means to truly be a Brother.  Tell them that you are more than happy to show them real Masonry, if they would only ask.  Because that is what real Masons really do.

My Brothers, next week marks one of the most unilaterally celebrated holidays of our country; Thanksgiving Day.  Popularly mythologized as having first started at Plymouth Plantation in 1621, the first documented one was actually some 66 years earlier in 1565 in Saint Augustine, Florida.  Regardless of its origins, this autumnal harvest festival has evolved into a day when we all pause at some point to give thanks for the many gifts bestowed upon us and upon our loved ones.  Worshipful Master, I thank you for the courtesies extended to myself, our Grand Sword Bearer, and the Brothers in attendance.   As this is my second, and therefore, my last Thanksgiving as your District Deputy Grand Master, I want you to know that I will be giving special thanks for the honor and privilege of holding that title in such an august and unique District, and such a special Brotherhood, as ours.  May your day find you equally thankful for the special blessings that shower your life.