~ Light vs. Apathy ~
By Jay Adam Pearson
Senior Grand Warden
August 2007
Often after lodge while we are sitting around discussing the
work I get asked questions as they relate to the ritual. Now some of these
questions are thought provoking, while others cause me to wonder if perhaps
there are times we cannot see the forest for the trees. This is my point, we
need to do the work correct, and yes masonry in South Carolina is learned mouth
to ear not eye to book. One goal we need to set is to mentor not only the newly
raised master masons, but the officers as well. A mentoring program will answer
many of the questions that arise in the work. The Worshipful Master should not
simply assign one of his red books to an officer and then expect him to learn
through osmosis. How can we know what a word in the ritual is unless we are
taught the correct word? How can we communicate those words unless we look the
word up in the dictionary and learn the words? When I count my blessings my
thoughts continually go back to my mentors. I consider it an honor to be
mentored by M.W. Brother G. Ray Marsh PGM and our Grand Secretary. When I attend
Grand Lodge and lodges around our state I can still hear M.W. Brother G. Ray say
“Let us file the past year into our memory banks for reference, but let us press
on to greater heights, ever bearing in mind that we must be active in the
quarries of Freemasonry if our beloved fraternity is to continue to grow and
survive”. To my knowledge, M.W. Brother G. Ray is the first Grand Master in
South Carolina to have a theme. His theme is even more poignant for the craft
today, than when he was our Grand Master. His theme was “Accentuate the
Positive”. Perhaps we need to accentuate the positive through communicating
the work and not just reciting ritual. Many of the questions I get asked answer
themselves if we just look at the work. Here is something to ponder. If a lodge
has candles as the lesser lights, what order does the Senior Deacon light the
lesser lights in? Does he light the one in the South first or does
he light the one in the East first? I have diligently sought an
answer to this question and I can find nothing written in the work that will
give the craft direction. I have listened to arguments from those that feel the
Senior Deacon should start with the light in the East and I have listened from
those that feel the Senior Deacon should start with the light in the South.
When you have a question concerning the work in South Carolina; you need to
consult the committee on Work and Ceremonies and receive the answer. Your
committee on Work and Ceremonies has determined each lodge must look at the
custom and tradition in each lodge and govern themselves accordingly. I am a
member of Inman Lodge #201 and it is our custom for the Senior Deacon to start
with the light in the South first. When we look at the work and the lodge is not
opened the Junior Warden’s Column is standing up to signify he is in charge of
the craft. It is the duty of the Junior Warden to superintend the craft at
refreshment. Therefore the Senior Deacon lights the column in the south first,
then the West and the East last signifying the Worshipful Master is in his
station ready to open and govern his lodge. Thus the column of authority is
passed from the Junior Warden to the Worshipful Master. This is our custom and
whether the Senior Deacon starts in the South or the East it is your Lodges
decision. In the last issue of our Masonic Light I challenged you to keep your
eye on the ball. With this in mind Masonry is not about the order in which you
light the lesser lights. Masonry is about taking Gods light to a world trapped
in the labyrinth of apathy. Masonry has many truths we can apply in our daily
lives. It is in the quarry of life where we need to practice masonry, not in the
confines of our lodge room. Let each of us pull from our memory banks the
lessons and press on to greater heights. So when we leave our lodges let us take
the lessons we have learned and “Accentuate the Positive”.
Words of the Month:
Circumambulation: The word is derived from the Latin verb
“circumambulare” walking around a central point, which consists of a procession
around the altar or some other sacred object. The lodge represents the world and
the three principal officers represent the sun at its three principal positions-
at rising, at meridian, and at setting. The intellectual symbolism is that the
circumambulation and the obstructions at the various points refer to the
aspirant and his progress from darkness (ignorance) to intellectual light or
TRUTH.
Tiler: The word is derived from “tile”’ the ceramic
product used to cover a roof to protect it from the weather. Today we are seeing
tiles once again utilized to cover the roofs of houses. The worker that places
the tiles is a tiler. The tiler of a lodge “covers” the lodge from intrusion.
The tiler needs to guard against the “eavesdropper” and the “cowan”. The
eavesdropper climbs up the outside of a building or stands against the outside
and listens to the deliberations through the openings between the exterior walls
and the roof line. This opening is for ventilation and is called the eaves. Thus
he would be hearing the droppings/ deliberations drop from the eaves. The
“cowan” (a Scottish term) is a lazy mason who builds walls without mortar or
cement, thus he is unskilled.
Quote for the Month: “I long to accomplish a great and
noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they
were great and noble. The world is moved along, not by the mighty shoves of its
heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker”.
Helen Keller
Thought for the Month: Often the one thing that can
make a difference between having a day of joy and excitement and a day of gloom
and doom is motivation. Motivation is something that we must diligently seek
from within our soul. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning…” Lamentations
3:22-23.
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