a masonic bible
presentation
In all the rich symbolism
of Ancient Craft Masonry two symbols, or symbolic themes predominate. One is the
search for light, the other is the labor of building. The source of light is the
Holy Bible, the grand representation of the builders art is King Solomon’s
Temple.
Searching persistently and building
carefully, the candidate travels slowly toward the East. As he pursues his quest
for light and more light and still further light in Masonry, he learns by the
way to use the working tools of the stone craftsman, until, at last, he finds
himself portraying the Character of the greatest of all legendary builders, the
Master Architect of King Solomon’s Temple. Searching and Building, Light and the
Temple, -- the two dominant Masonic themes are distinct but not separate,
complimentary rather than supplementary.
The Temple in the Masonic ritual is
almost, but not quite completed; the allegory rises from a physical to a
spiritual Temple: “A house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
But the search and the labor for complete
illumination are not completed by the candidate within the Lodge. Light is
revealed, and the sacred source of all light is clearly indicated, but
regardless of any spiritual symbolism that may be hidden in our Masonic
Ceremonies, the unending search, and the labor toward perfection, once begun in
the Lodge, must continue with the initiated Mason, not only within the sanctuary
of the Masonic Temple, but also among the larger world, and for all the days of
his life.
Philosophers tell us that time is a river,
and that books are boats. Many volumes start down that stream, only to be
wrecked and lost beyond recall in its sands. Only a few, a very few, endure the
testing of time and survive to bless the ages that follow.
As Masons, we pay homage to the greatest
of all books -- the one enduring book which has travelled down that river from
the beginning of time, and which is freighted with the richest treasures that any
book has ever presented to humanity.
My Brethren here is a Book whose scene is
the sky and the dirt and all that lies between. A Book that has in it the
arch of the heavens, the curve of the earth, the ebb and flow of the sea,
sunrise and sunset, the peaks of mountains and the glint of sunlight on flowing
waters, the shadow of forests on the hills, the song of birds and the color of
flowers.
But its two great characters are God and
the Soul, and the story of their eternal life together is its one, everlasting,
romance.
It is the most human of books, telling the
old forgotten secrets of the heart. its bitter pessimism its death defying hope,
its pain, its passion, its sin, its sob of grief and its shout of
joy... telling all, without malice, in its Grand Style which can do no
wrong, while echoing the sweet-toned pathos of the pity and mercy of God.
No other book is so honest with us, so
mercilessly merciful, so austere yet so tender, piercing the heart, yet healing
the deep wounds of sin and sorrow.
My Brother, take this great and simple
Book, white with age yet new with the dew of each new morn, tested by the
sorrowful and victorious experiences of centuries, rich in memories and wet with
the tears of multitudes who walked this way before us... Lay it to heart,
love it, read it, learn what life is, what it means to be a man; aye, learn that
God hath made us for himself, and unquiet are our hearts till they rest in Him.
Make it your friend and your teacher and you will know what Sir Walter Scott
meant, when, as he lay dying, he asked Lockhart to read to him... “From what
book?’ asked Lockhart,
“...and Scott replied: There is but one Book!’
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