An educational program recently given by our Lodge Education Officer.
To Freemasons, there are few things more sacred than ritual, the proper execution of which reminds each individual of the work that he is about to undertake, the work that he has promised to undertake, or the work he is still to do. The ritual is what we propagate, the teachings contained in it have been defined not only by each man, but by the Fraternity itself over years upon years of labor. It is without argument, that the ritual is the cornerstone by which our Fraternity rests upon.
The care and feeding of our ritual is a sacred duty. We are not maintaining it for us, but for the next generation of men that are to follow. We are maintaining it for our sons, grandsons, nephews, and their descendants. Should any of them choose to follow in our footsteps, they deserve to have consistent ritual and meaning behind it to assist them in their own travels, as it has assisted us in ours. As Masons, we must keep both the exoteric and esoteric knowledge codified in our Little Blue Books in our minds and understand it to the best of our individual abilities.
We should be reminded though, that ritual is not meant to be only memorized and recited back. There is meaning behind the individual words, the steps, the movements are not to be left in Lodge, discarded upon our exit, but carried forth in our actions as a reminder of our obligations to ourselves. They serve aide in our application of the working tools that we are charged to use in our everyday lives to perfect not only ourselves, but the world. The meaning, the why behind the ritual must not be allowed to fall by the wayside. It must not become hollowed out and lost to our descendants. We must not allow the Fraternity to practice Cargo Cult Freemasonry.
For those Brethren that are unaware of the term “Cargo Cult”, the author first heard it in an essay by the Nobel Laureate Dr. Richard Feynmann, to describe the practice of “science”. In the 1960s and beyond, he began to notice that “science” was being performed in only the most perfunctory aspects. For a physicist as Dr. Feynmann, who gave his first lecture to Albert Einstein, later participated in The Manhattan Project and rubbed shoulders with Niels Bohr and Dr. Oppenheimer, this troubled him greatly, as it cheapened his passion and threaten to turn it into something almost, but not quite like science.
In proper context, a “Cargo Cult” is a religious phenomenon that occurred in Melanasia post World War Two. One these islands, the U.S. Military set up bases and air strips for resupply as they island hopped through the Pacific. The islanders took note of this activity and once the U.S. withdrew, the islanders began to create new mythologies based on the activities, going as far as to construct their own versions of air strips, control towers, radio huts and holding mock drills complete in uniforms. They did so in order to try to bring back the planes and the men.
How do both of these stories pertain to Masonry? In both cases, either with the cargo cult scientists or the actual cargo cults, neither understood the deeper meanings behind the process. They performed the “ritual” without understanding the “why”. The meanings of both took on something different, but the processes and the results are not the same as the original rituals.
It is this “why” that we must seek to understand. The road to “why” is not easy, it is not simple, and most importantly it is not short. Yet, this understanding is what we must seek to ensure that our rituals remain intact, not just in the movements and words, but in the understanding of the meaning.
It should be stated that men come to Freemasonry for all reasons. The values that are taught: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth are constants across all Lodges. Within those core tenets, there is space for men who wish for brotherhood, men who want to obviate suffering all kinds, and finally men who search for the truth. The one common thread that unites them all, is the ritual. Every Mason has experienced it during their initiation and trials and as a Brotherhood, we experience it every time we enter a Lodge. The symbols and their meanings, the esoteric truth that is buried in the pages of our little blue books carry the wisdom of our ancestors.
Most Worshipful Brother Rick Schau’s motto this year: “Embrace our heritage, preserve our traditions”, calls us to action. As a Brotherhood, our traditions are worth preserving, they have value not only to us, but to the world, as we do in fact, make good men better.
