THE MASTER MASON
AN ADDRESS TO NEW MASONS, LOOKING AT THE THREE CRAFT DEGREES
by
Raymond Hollins
Published in MQ MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2006
In the third
ceremony in Craft masonry, a brother is raised to the ‘Sublime Degree of a
Master Mason’. It is indeed a ‘Sublime’ Degree, which, as a full member of the
Craft, a Mason may study for years without exhausting it.
Any
interpretation in this article must necessarily be a hint only. Yet a hint may
stimulate a Mason to reflect upon it himself, and to study it more thoroughly in
the future.
In the First and
Second Degrees, the candidate was surrounded by the symbols of architecture,
nature and science. In the Third Degree a different order of symbolism is
found, cast in the language of the soul – it is life, tragedy and triumph. To
recognise this is the first step in interpretation.
The second step
is to recognise that the Third Degree has many meanings. It is not intended to
be a complete lesson in itself, but rather a signpost pointing out paths to
follow, a new departure in the form of an awakening of all the faculties. It is
like the unfolding of a drama, or a work of art or symphony to which one may
evermore return to find new significance and implications.
The Third Degree
is indeed a drama. It is the drama of the immortality of the soul. It sets
forth the truth that whilst man withers away to crumble and decay, there is deep
within him that something that will never perish.
So, what does
this ‘Raising’ ceremony of the Third Degree signify? To have the answer to this
question is to have found the key to open up all the meanings of the Degree.
The life of a
man is organised into a number of groups of experience. Some of these
experiences are incidental to our passage through time, from childhood, through
manhood to old age.
The most
difficult of all to deal with is that made up of the evils of life, such as hard
experiences, sin, defeat, suffering, disease, pain, loss of friends or fortune,
enmity, treachery, crime, wickedness, sorrow and death.
Herein lie our
greatest problems, our most trying ordeals and severest tests. If we can find
the wisdom to deal with these, if we can triumph over and solve these problems,
our characters will be secure, our happiness assured.
Evil, in the
form of a tragedy, is set forth in the drama of the Third Degree. Here we
witness a good and wise man, a builder, working for others, and giving others
work. This is work of the highest order, dedicated wholly to God. Through no
fault of his own, he experiences tragedy from those he would call his friends
and his fellow Masons.
Here is pure and
absolute evil – a complete picture of human anguish and sorrow. The ritual
explains how the Craft dealt with this tragedy. The first step was to impose
the supreme penalty on those who had possessed the will to destruction.
Therefore, they had to be slain, lest further tragedy would follow.
Hence we learn
the great truth that the greatest enemy man has makes war upon the good of
mankind. Our response to such heinous crimes is that no quarter can be given.
Throughout history, sound and proper justice has, and never will permit, any
compromise.
What of the
victim of the tragedy? Here is the most difficult and profoundest lesson of the
drama of the Third Degree. It is difficult to understand, and difficult to
believe without a true understanding of the implications of a spiritual life.
Because the
victim was a good man, his integrity rooted in an unvarying faith in God, that
which destroyed him in one sense, could not destroy him in another. This is
because the spirit in him rose above the reach of evil, and by virtue of that he
was raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular.
What is the
lesson to be learnt here? Let us imagine the case of a genuinely good man who
has become the victim of the most terrible tragedy, one that has been caused by
the treachery of his friends. This deceit has brought devastation upon the
foundations of his life, upon his home, his reputation, even his ability to earn
a living.
How can he be
raised above the clutch of such destruction to his circumstances? How can he
ever emerge a happier man, having endured such an ordeal? This is achieved by
the effect of his spirit rising to the level of forgiveness, or resignation, or
even self-sacrifice, by refusing to stoop to retaliation, or even to harbour
thoughts of bitterness.
In such a
spirit, the truest and most profound human happiness in the circumstances can be
found. The secret of such power is in the Third Degree, symbolised by the
tragedy of Hiram Abiff. It is the climax of the Craft ceremonies of
Freemasonry. It stirs men to serve the truth by steadfastly maintaining their
noblest aspirations even in the face of appalling adversity, out of which can
rise a more perfect tribute to our Masonic ideals.
Next in
importance, and in many ways equal in interest, is the strange and captivating
‘search for that which was lost’.
This has an
historical background. To the early Jewish people, frequently a name was
peculiarly identified with a person. It was held in reverence. Hence it was
often secret. Hence a substitute name was used in daily life. In particular
the name of God was held in extreme reverence. This holy name was never
pronounced above a whisper.
After a while it
was only spoken by the High Priest, and then only when alone in the Holy of
Holies on the Day of Atonement. It is understood that at the time of the
Babylonian captivity, the High Priest was killed before he had the opportunity
to pass the word on to his successor. Hence ‘the word’ was lost.
All this appears
in the ritual in the form of a story or fable, called an allegory. So why does
the ritual not explain fully and clearly the meaning of this symbolism? This is
one of the genuine mysteries of the Third Degree, which leaves the candidate to
find out the meaning for himself. It provides him with one of the most
important challenges in his career as a Craft Freemason.
Freemasonry’s
brotherly love began with the close ties of our forefathers – the operative
Masons. Living together, working together, planning together and protecting
each other soon made men learn to love each other.
Through their
early and simple ritual it may well be that the Five Points of Fellowship had
its origin. It would have united them in one sincere bond of fraternal
affection. We can summarise this remarkable concept as follows:
In stretching
forth the hand of friendship, and a pledge of brotherly love to render him
assistance.
It pledges us to
support a brother in all his praiseworthy undertakings, and are reminded that we
should press forward in the exercise of charity and kindness to a distressed
fellow creature, whether Freemason or not.
A brother, when
at prayer, in his devotions to Almighty God should always remember another
brother’s welfare as his own, when the petition and prayer for self intermingles
with aspirations of benevolence for a friend.
It demonstrates
that a brother’s lawful secrets when entrusted to us, we should keep as our own.
If he confides to us a secret, we are made keepers of his trust as well as his
secret. To betray a trust is not the act of a brother Freemason.
We should never
revile a brother’s character behind his back but, rather when attacked by
others, support and defend it. “Speak no ill of the dead, since they cannot
defend themselves”.
A Master Mason’s
rights and privileges are to be described in principle and in spirit rather than
in detail. Beyond all specific duties, rights and privileges, exists a region
in which all are mingled together – the whole domain of Masonry’s teachings,
ritual and symbols, history, ideals of jurisprudence, philosophy, literature –
the whole Royal Art.
It is his right
to be taught that Art, and have it in its fullness, none of it being reserved
for a privileged few. It is his to enjoy all the privileges it offers to the
spirit, the mind and heart. All that Freemasonry is, all that it means, all
that it has to give or offer, belongs to every individual Mason in the same way
and to the same extent as to all others.
However onerous
one’s duties may prove to be, or however rigidly rights may at times appear to
be regulated, such burdens sink into nothingness by comparison with this one
privilege: that Freemasonry, in all its height, breadth, length and richness,
belongs to you, to use and enjoy.
With
acknowledgement to MSANA: Tried and Proven – A Lodge System of Masonic
Instruction.
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