What Makes You A Mason? 12/5/07

My Obligation.

A man kneels at the Altar and recites some words. When he is finished we call him "Brother" - From that point on we consider him a Mason. Of course, at a later point, he is told that he is "not yet a Mason" but for all practical purposes the Obligation is what makes him a Mason and a member of the oldest and greatest fraternal organization in the world.

In that Obligation the new Mason has just promised many things. He promised to keep the "secrets" (whatever they are) and never to divulge them to anyone. He promises to stand up for his Brother Masons when their character is attacked and to assist them when they fall on troubled times. He promises to support his Lodge and to deal justly with it and with its members and their family. He promises to honor and respect God, his brethren and his country and not to forget his obligation to them and to his family. There are other things which a man promises when he becomes a Mason but basically you can get the idea from what I have written.

He promises to do this under penalties. The penalties are creative and varied and they are there to prove a point. That point is the "recollection of a sharp instrument" and should wound a man in his heart should he ever reveal any of the secrets of Freemasonry, unlawfully. To my knowledge they have never been literally applied to anyone in all of our long history.

In Masonry we make much of the avowed purpose of taking "good men and making them better." I don't know that I was (or am ) a "good" person - but I try. I don't always make it or live up to Eusebius' prayer on the left hand column but I strive to do so. My point is that Masonry works to improve us. And if we really "listen" to our obligations and get past all of the promises to keep "secrets" and we can then learn some real rules to base our lives on. There are a lot of guides for us to use in dealing with our fellow man. There are many lessons to be learned from the lectures from the several degrees but the only thing that "Makes us Masons" is our Obligations. Working to follow them makes us "better"

My friend and Brother Tim Bonney put it this way on his blog.

You are not a Mason because you know Masonic ritual. You are not a Mason because you've read Masonic philosophy. You aren't even a Mason because you have received the degrees of Freemasonry. You aren't a Mason just because you are charitable. You are only a Mason if you keep your obligations!

Tim keeps his obligations. He is one of the finest Masons I know.

I know there are many qualities that a man has when he joins the Masons which he had from growing up in our country but if you go beyond those and look at the deeper meanings behind the obligations and what you promise to do you have found some pretty good rules that go beyond the usual.

Following (or trying to follow) those rules and striving to make our lives better is what "makes us a Mason" and it must be done in the context of association with others. You can't really be a Mason if you sit at home alone. It is the ceaseless action and interaction that wears off the rough edges and makes us fit to be stones in the Temple of God which is the Lodge.

I belong to two "lists" where people discuss Masonry. Sometimes it gets a little heated and everybody seems to have an opinion (about everything) - I of course have no opinions (yeah right!) so mostly I just lurk. But the discussions are interesting and some of the Brothers seem to "know" all there is to know about Masonry. (I find that peculiar as I know I don't know half of what I want to know, (should know) I just know that if I review the obligations I have taken (and there are many) and lift out the rules for dealing with others I will be doing something that is eminently correct, And I will be a Brother. That is worth a lot. Hugs,