A Brother Asks: Associating Faith to Ritual

A Brother Asks: Why do so many Freemasons inherently associate the Craft with any one specific religion?

My Response: Their Ignorance, Arrogance, and Wishful thinking are the causes.

He Continues: Would you please expand upon this?

My Response: Sure!  Freemasonic Ritual is symbolic and allegorical; not literal and factual. The organization’s Rituals are "morality plays". They're supposed to be understood and experienced as such and they are to be applied within the context of your own faith and philosophy, even when the veil that is used to convey any one specific story or obligation is that of another’s faith or philosophy. 

Brother: In other words, the veil that is put forth through these plays to convey intended values, meanings and concepts is not the veil you should see or internalize; that would be counterproductive and contrary to Freemasonic intents and ends?

Coach: Exactly!  You must learn to see through veils, no matter how you might be distracted by them, to gain what is truly being offered beneath each.  This same understanding applies to the demands placed upon some candidates within specific appendant bodies that appear to be literal and specific to one faith or another. 

Brother: Can you provide an example?

Coach: Sure.  In some appendant bodies the candidate is asked to defend a specific religion.

Brother: Yes!  I have heard of this occurring and how it excludes some members of different faiths.

Coach: But it truly doesn't do any such thing!

Brother: But how can that be?  Aren't they promising to do just that and over their own faith?

Coach: Only if they are foolish enough to take a symbolic event literally; the very thing they should have trained themselves not to do if they had done what the Blue Lodge Degrees direct them to do.

Brother: I don't understand. Would you expand upon this?

Coach: Sure.  If you are symbolically taking part within a play where the character you are playing is of a specific faith and you are asked to play that part authentically, while participating within that play, you would play that part authentically, within that play!

Brother: Okay.

Coach: Most members going through miss this!

Brother: Miss what?

Coach: These plays, and the manner to which they convey things, are symbolic and allegorical and should apply symbolically and metaphorically to the candidate’s life; not literally. Once they have taken off the mask of that character they portrayed, they are to apply the intent, reason and purpose of that specific portrayal authentically within their own lives and within the context of their own faith! 

Brother: WOW!  That's deep!

Coach: Yes!  When properly prepared, candidates listen to what Freemasonic instruction intends. They'll take what is shared “figuratively” and apply each insight gleaned and each experience conveyed toward their own life, as it fits within their own faith and philosophy; not the faith or philosophy used to convey these lessons and insights.

Brother: So, the plays we call "ritual" are vehicles that convey! 

Coach: Yes!

Brother: If I am promising to defend a specific faith within these plays, these ritual performances, am I supposed to take that concept and employ it toward my faith in the real world?

Coach: Absolutely!  And what's more, take it one step further.

Brother: How's that?

Coach: You defend those who chose to believe as you do and those who don't believe as you do.

Brother: Ah!  Defend the right to believe!

Coach: Yes!

Brother: So, I'm supposed to take the lesson presented and apply the lesson within the context of my life; and not be confined to the way the lesson was conveyed!

Coach: Exactly!  However, when you take any ritual as concrete, historical and factual, you miss the intent of what was shared.  You believe what was shared in a literal way.  You miss the entire reason for the experiences and the lessons are learned superficially.

Brother: And I would miss the intents, the lessons and the purposes!

Coach: Indeed! 

Brother: But how do so many miss this?

Coach: They are not properly prepared.

Brother: I must agree!

Coach: In reality, Ritual will be always be understood to be whatever the individual experiencing it wants it to be and within the limitations of that person’s capacity to understand it. 

Brother: And lack of proper preparation contributes to these limitations.

Coach: Yes.  And because of this limiting factor, men who have the capacity to see past the veils of dogma, both religious and philosophic, will be attacked and eventually driven off by those individuals who, through lack of preparation, insist upon experiencing and interpreting these plays literally.

Brother: Ah!  These improperly prepared members are the ones who shame and guilt those who don't live up to a literal interpretation?

Coach: Yes.  They actually believe that members must defend the faith that was acted out within ritual rather than seeking the intended message, lessons and purposes of the ritual and eventually leading them to defending all those who choose to believe.

Brother: I've see this done countless times!

Coach: As have I!  This is one of the reasons that both the Apprentice and Fellow Work are so crucial to Masonic development.  It prepares both the heart and mind to comprehend things, even when veiled several times over.  The Work is also what prepares a spirit to soar.

Brother: So, back to the original question...

Coach: They do not want to know better, they believe they do know better and they want it to be the way they want it to be, even when they know it will coerce unknowing others into doing things that are disrespectful.

Brother: Hence your original response: Their Ignorance, Arrogance, and Wishful thinking are the causes.

Coach: Yep.

F&S,

Brother John S Nagy

Cracking Ritual

“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground? Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” 
– Obadiah 1:3-4 (AKJV)

How subtle Ritual truly is.  Its soft embrace cleverly disguises many nuances unseen by those who seek them not.  Returning its embrace often brings forth Light hidden by the Shadows of Ignorance.  Seek it and you shall Find wonders.

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Sometimes it’s the little things that go unnoticed, until they begin to irritate you.  This occurred recently when I was tickled in a most annoying way by the phrase, “cleft of the rocks”.  I didn’t know why it kept fluttering under my nose, but it was clear that it was not going away on its own. 

After numerous unwanted assaults, I finally took a mindful notice of it and grabbed hold.  As I did, I was reminded that I was a Mason and I Work on Rocks.  This hard reminder compelled me to look up the word, “cleft[1]” to obtain a more solid understanding. I’m glad I did!

Upon its examination, I connected further to subtle Allusions within Ritual. There was the obvious connection to the Ruffians that were found hiding in the cleft of the rocks.  There was another one to the hollows where our heels find solace as we progress from candidate to Master but no more once there!  There was also the not so common connection to the now obsolete meaning of the word, “cowan”, that meant at one time “hollow, gap, crevice, indent or hole”.

The matter continued to roll around within my mind as I found more associated Allusions and connections.    When I laid each of them out upon my working slab, I had a profound insight.  These Allusions point to Unfinished Work! 

Masons are told that specific Work must be Completed to Achieve Mastery.  That Work is clearly pointed toward by Ritual (but is not the Ritual itself.)  Even the Third Degree Allegory directs us back to Completing that Work.  This Allegory also warns us about making any effort to dismiss any of Work.  Ritual also tells us through Allusion that, when our Work remains unfinished, our Word’s Value is ripped from us, our Desires become fodder for beasts and fowl and our very Being is Torn in Two differing Directions; Allusions and Warnings that few Brothers glean initially.   

But do all Brothers heed such warnings?  Many don’t.  Ritual tells us how to recognize them though. Their very looks betray them!  How?  Let’s review this!

It tells us that we can Recognize Cowanistic Brothers[2] by their unfinished Work. 

1) The cowans of their feet are only used as resting places for heals that have yet to walk the path. 

2) You’ll always see gaps in their Work. 

It is not their concern though.  They remain complacent to Progress no further and to receive less for unfinished Work.

It also tells us that Ruffian Brothers are quite a different matter. 

1) They desperately want what they have yet to earn. 

2) They feel entitled to more and attempt to dishonestly receive it but are unwilling to legitimately Work for it. 

3) Their Ashlars are wholly divided.  Their entire being is “Severed in Twain!”  Recognize them by their arrogance but more so by the cleft in their Ashlars, where you shall find their true selves hiding.

It’s truly amazing the insights you can glean when you take a crack at probing what irritates you.  Sometimes you get to view new holes.  Every time though, you get whole new views!

Points to Perpend:

1. What have you yet to Pursue?
2. How does this Affect you and others?
3. What can you Do about this?

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[1] Cleft (noun) – a fissure, rift, break or split; a deep division between two parts of the body.

[2] Brothers who remain complacent with their unsquared Ashlars and untempered Cement.