Growing Good Tomatoes

       When spring arrives each year I appreciate the warming weather, the brighter days, and the increasing hours of daylight; but most of all I appreciate the start of the new growing season. Farmers and gardeners are out early tilling and turning the soil, adding needed nutrients and breaking the clods for a good growing field. Care has already been taken to plan where each thing will grow so as to increase the potential of the garden or field. Spring rains have provided the needed water to start the plants on the way maturity. The sun continues to give warmth and , before you know it, it is time to sow the seeds, bulbs, plants, and grasses for this new year. I can already taste the ear of corn, the asparagus, the beets, the onions, and the lettuce before they are well settled.

      It is with a watering mouth and great anticipation that I await the first fruit to arrive on the tomato plants. I check every day to see the green turn yellow and then that wonderful color of red that tells you the taste will jump all over your mouth with flavor. Put it on a salad, with bacon and lettuce for a sandwich, or just eat it plain, it is a treat that continues until the very last tomato has vanished for the year. It was work but the waiting and the anticipation was well worth it. We'll do it again next year and can hardly wait for the time to come to start. Let's move our crops around a bit to help the soil do its best next year, too. We'll add a bit of nutrient to help, rain and sunshine and be back in business again.

      Growing good tomatoes takes a bit of time, good planning, soil preparation, water, sunshine, and a loving gardener; fortunately, so it is with good Freemasons, too. We start each new year with a new gardener, elected for his proven skills to date. Others are elected to help him perform management functions and the new gardener chooses a few fellows he know works well in the garden and will help him achieve his plan. Teams are formed, duties are accepted, and actions to bring the new gardener's plan to fruition are commenced.

      As in growing good tomatoes it is first necessary to assure that the ground is prepared to accept the new plants and support them until they blossom and provide fruit. We Freemasons do this by insuring that we know our rituals, have the education system fully in action and prepared for the new candidates, and they all know who will do what and when they will do it. This means that the teachers have learned how to teach and the mentors know how to mentor. From the day the new candidate is put into the fresh ground of the Lodge, he must be carefully planted firmly in the masonic soil of ritual. He must be watered with brotherly love often and without lapse. He must be fed the nutrients of the prepared educational program. He must be given constant and tender care by his mentor.

      All of this is quite necessary and still the effort may fail. The most important qualification has not yet been considered. It is the nature of the plant, itself. There are very many varieties of tomatoes, each with special qualities that make them a bit different from each other. They don't even all turn red when they are mature. Each has been cultivated for growth and those special qualities. Each of us must make the choice among all the varieties as to which ones best serve our purpose. Of course, we know what our purpose is: Take good men and make them better. For that reason we can not necessarily choose our good friends, our church friends, our golfing friends, our sporting friends, nor our relatives unless they meet the qualification of being a good man who is capable of being made better. We must look closely at their actions as they do what they normally do. If we select the best qualified men, plant them in the fertile soil of our ritual, water them with brotherly love, feed them on the best education possible, and tenderly care for them every step of the way, we will grow us some good tomatoes.

     

Dressed to Impress?

      Why do so many men today believe it is in their best interest and comfort to wear jeans and sweatshirts to Lodge?  What of overalls and flip-flops?  Is our comfortable society of high drop-out rates and socially accepted drug use in any way a contributor?  It truly seems like it is better to slough off and find excuses rather than  actually putting forth any effort.  This, of course, is my opinion and observation, but I will bet that I am not alone in my concern.

      Gentlemen, I want to talk with you about this.  I personally believe that the person you are is dictated by the actions you perform as a person.  Those who believe in wearing a tuxedo to Lodge are not just being neat and tidy but also making a statement about how they personally feel about what they are doing.  A tuxedo belongs in a place of importance and bluejeans and sweatshirts belong in a comfortable place of leisure and non-importance.  Today men seem to be in a comfort and sloppy mode; a days growth of beard, cut off jeans, a T shirt and a sport coat will take you everywhere.

      I just don't believe in it.  A man who dresses for Lodge, instead of coming as he is, is a man who cares about what is going to happen at Lodge and the part he will play in it.  He is there to respect the traditions of years and years of Masonry and to pass along those traditions to the newest members.  He plans to be a giver of light and improve the quality of the men around him.  He shows it best by how he dresses and how he acts.  He is the example to follow and he is careful to maintain that image.

      We are seeing this phenomenon outside the Lodge doors, too.  Churches are filled with the faithful wearing shorts and every other type of clothing.  Businesses are having dress-down days to try to appease the worker.  Everywhere we turn a slackness is replacing care and dignity.

      How can we stop this invasion of the sloppy into our lives?  We can start by enforcing the dress regulations of our Lodges.  If our Lodge does not have dress regulations, we can institute them.  Improvements are seldom easy yet we must remember that most old things last seemingly forever and most new things fall apart quickly.  Warranties are short these days because most producers know the value of their products.  They believe in preprogrammed failure. This shows up in  dress and deportment, too.

      To make men better we must give them better information and provide a better atmosphere.  We must provide the example that we expect them to follow.  We must start with ourselves.  We must always do what we believe no matter if anyone else follows or not.  If we dress the part and do the work we will get the job done.

Being Rich is Difficult

My brothers, how many times have we asked ourselves how we  or heard friends express the desire for a closer relationship with God?  How about just to be a better man?  How many alters must we kneel before and how many truths must we find in the rituals until the answer breaks through our hard hearts and we begin to relax our necks and listen to the yearnings of our hearts?  A story might give us some enlightenment.  (Dark letter emphasis is mine.)

"A certain ruler asked him (Jesus), "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone." (My emphasis) "You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not commit murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; you shall love your her and mother.' "  He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth  When Jesus heard this, he said to him, " There is still one thing lacking; sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me."   But when he heard this he became very sad; for he was very rich.  Jesus looked at him and said. "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.  Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  (Luke 18: 18-25, The New Revised Standard Version of the Oxford Annotated Bible)

So,  how many times have we read this Bible passage or how many times have we heard the story?  It is not easy for rich men to learn, either.  We hear this and instantly begin blanking it out as we know that it is not about us.  We are not rich.  It should be easier for us to get into heaven, right?  Sorry to tell you this but each one of us is rich beyond belief and those riches may well keep us from an companionship with God and all of our fellow citizens.  Ah, you will soon think, I do not have money, cars, homes, vacations, boats, motor homes, or airplanes.  How can I be considered rich?

As we have discovered through these series of articles, we are talking about two different things.  Material riches does not interest God in the least.  He does not understand why those who have material riches do not share them with their fellow man so all can be more comfortable, have a place to stay, food and water, and heat; the material things that we need to just exist on this earth.  He gives us so very much there should be enough to go around.  What God considers riches is loving and being loved and caring and being cared for.  He stated it very clearly when He said that we should love him with all our hearts and that we should love our brothers as ourselves.

When we Freemasons say that we "Take good men and make them better" this is what is meant.  We attempt to help each individual look deeply inside himself and discover material things are not riches.  They are not even a way of keeping tract.  They are just things that enable us to keep going until we reach our goals of walking with God.  We need to share those things with our brothers so make the trip a bit easier for everyone.  The sharing of those things helps a great deal toward moving our minds and steps in the direction to companionship with God.  Now we need to take the steps that will move us toward our goal.

We must learn to love. God.  Each other.  How do your children attempt to learn what is good for them to do?  They copy what you do.  In the same way we must learn to copy what God does and learn to be like Him.  After a while of learning about God and His way, we can learn to trust Him and believe what He says without arguing and trying to prove Him wrong.  But this alone is not enough.  We must also learn to love others.

Every relationship is a relationship of love.  There is not just a single type of love but a vast array of love to fit every occasion.  They will all be important.  Try to sit down for a few moments and consider what would be your list of importance of love relationships.  Something like;  God, family, community, state, nation, other nations, and all living things.  Now for the fun part.  Try to decide why you chose the list in the order you did.  Are you sure it is right.  Make changes.  Work at it until you are satisfied.  Check it from time to time to see if your priorities have changed.

You are truly rich with time, love, and purpose.  What else is needed.  If we take the time away from materialism and apply it to our loving relationships with God and others, how can we lose?  It is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven because material things can be so entertaining that we are blinded to what is really important.  The choice and the work must be made and accomplished by each individual person but the trip does not have to be lonely.  Support is available at the Lodge of your choice.  Good brothers are there to help you to see your opportunities and to support your choices.

Put your trust in God and you will fear no danger as you follow your conductor about the task of becoming the better you.

This article appeared in The Missouri Freemason magazine in 2012.

The Northeast Corner of the Lodge

      When you were first made a Freemason, you were invested with your clothes and. in due time, returned to the Northeast Corner of the Lodge for further instruction.  Why there?  If the Worshipful Master was going to give you further instruction, why not in front of him?  Actually, you stood in a very special place being on the very first step in Freemasonry.  It was really your first chance to have a look at the Lodge, your brothers, and how everything was arranged.  You were now much more comfortable and a little more at ease.  You were like a sponge, ready to absorb any information given you and your senses were all open and ready to receive knowledge.

   Although you did not yet understand it, you were there to lay the cornerstone of your own building, your house not made with hands that would be eternal in the heavens.  It has long been the custom of Freemasons to lay building cornerstones.  A cornerstone is a cube (three-dimensional square) that is placed on the exact corner of a new building that establishes the true horizontal and vertical alignment for walls and floors.  Before a stone is passed as acceptable for use as a cornerstone, it must prove to have perfectly square sides as measured by the square.  All other stones put in place must be in plumb and level with the cornerstone.  This being true, the building will be built strong and will last a long time.

      The cornerstone is placed in the Northeast Corner of the new building.  This is a tradition that has been passed down from antiquity.  In the early times it was learned by observation that the sun rose in the east and set in the west making a trek across the sky by way of the south.  In this manner it was concluded that light came from the east went away in the west and traveled by the south.  The north was a place of darkness.  Over the years this was make to represent the growth of knowledge.  New ideas came from the east (as given to us by God) and progress was made by advancing toward the west via the south.  The cornerstone of a building is placed in the northeast corner of a building where a side faces north and a side faces east (the other sides will face internally to the building and will not be seen.) 

      You, as a new Freemason, were placed in the Northeast Corner of the Lodge so that you faced East and your back faced toward North.  This was to inform you that you were coming from the darkness of the world to the light of knowledge in the East. 

This article first appeared in The Missouri Freemason magazine in 2010. 

Masonic Education

      There are as many types of education as there are things to do.  Basically, we need to learn to do everything.  In the beginning we cannot feed ourselves, clean ourselves, or make any decision about how we want to do things because we cannot yet even think.  We have no vocabulary, no experience, and no ability to reason.  Over the next few years we will solve this problem by utilizing teachers to show us the ways and means to do everything we need to do.  We will be at their mercy because we will not have anything to compare or educational experience with and will have no real idea if what we are being taught is correct.  Sometimes it will be wrong because the teacher is wrong and sometimes it will be wrong because the best knowledge of the time is wrong.  It will hit us at some instant in time that everything we know is second hand and that we have been accepting it on trust.  It may be a very rude awakening.

      As we sit quite alone, awaiting the instructions of the Stewards, we may find ourselves in almost exactly the same situation.  Our only advantage at this time is the education and experience we have gained so far in our life.  We are still totally unaware of what will happen next and are not really sure if we are making a correct decision.  We only have the trust we put into the people who have made this journey possible.  We have taken their word for truth.  As we are led forward and told to knock three times, our world is once again totally blank and we are going on faith.

      After initiation into the Entered Apprentice Degree we are always very happy because it is over and we have come through it unscathed.  If, at that moment, we are asked to recite everything we have been taught so far, we would have a difficult time telling much of what has happened because it was all new, very different, and coming swiftly to all our senses.  We know that we know something but we really don’t know exactly what.  Now is the time that the Masonic Educational Programs must kick in and begin filling the huge gaps that exist in all initiates minds.  Left alone the new member will acquire what knowledge is available wherever it may be found and there is no guarantee of the correctness of the information.  Programs must already be in place that will lead the new member on the correct path or he will flounder.

      This is the exact point where we as Freemasons will either make it or break it with the new member.  We will create a dynamic, energetic member who will fill a needed space in our Lodge or we will create the seldom seen member that does not help in any way.  It is our choice which one we will chose to act out.  We all need more light and that never changes.  The new member exists in so much darkness that, without help, he will seek other light.  He is in an untenable and very uncomfortable position.  We must relieve this stress in a preplanned method that will give the new member security and comfort while answering all his questions and the questions that he cannot even know exist

The most effective way to begin this educational program is by providing the new member with a mentor.  This is a highly motivated Freemason who is able to explain the Masonic experience and provide guidance throw the many paths.  A lasting relationship will most probably be created and the new member never needs to feel alone or on the outside of things.

An educational team needs to be in existence in every Lodge to determine the educational process that the Lodge feels is required for every individual and to assist each one to become the very best Master Mason possible.  They must train the mentors to be effective teachers.  This is one of several things that every lodge can do to make itself more dynamic and sustain proper growth.  It is the way we can insure that we take good men and make them better!

This article first appeared in The Missouri Freemason Magazine in 2010.

The Whole Man

      After having looked closely at the three degrees of Freemasonry, it is now possible to begin to raise the building of the Whole Man as a unity.  We have long held the concept of the three stages of a man’s life - youth, manhood and old age - and can now add to that the understanding gained from the first, second, and third degrees.  In youth we grow in knowledge of our world and learn to understand it and react to it.  In manhood we obtain experience in self-control in interpersonal relationships and work.  In old age we gain the wisdom to judge and advise while leading by sound example.  Therein is exemplified the “just and perfect Freemason” that you started to become way back at your beginning through the first degree.

      The Whole Man is not a perfect man.  He is a Man in Work who is striving to become the Perfect Man.  He is an Aware Man who is attempting to subdue his passions and improve himself in Freemasonry.  He is aware of his feelings and knows himself to be a thinking man. He uses his rational mind to circumscribe his emotions, keeping them within due bounds.  He also uses his emotional self to undo the limits of his rational mind that might prevent him from achieving creativity and inspiration.  He is also the Spiritual Man who recognizes that everything he does must be done to praise of the Great Architect of the Universe and reflect His perfect love.
      The road of the Whole Man is difficult because it requires constant self evaluation and long-term mental commitment.  Great decisions of tremendous import need to be made.  Some of these include:  will I dedicate more time to work or family?; will I take a partner or will I travel alone?; how many children will I have?; which religious path will I travel?; will I live in the city or country?  Each of these (and many others) is life changing events and need be made with the full attention of the Whole Man.  As these questions are faced and decisions made, the next lower level of decisions will appear and this will continue down to the everyday events that seem almost harmless by contrast.  The Whole Man knows that they are definitely not harmless and the little decisions may alter the path of larger decisions.  Each decision, no matter how small it seem, has a direct bearing on the life of the Whole Man and each must be made accordingly.

      After a hard day at work the thought might leap into your head to stop on the way home for a cold beer.  That seems to be a fairly safe decision to make and the reward seems certainly welcome.  The Whole Man will have to take a second to evaluate this before making a decision.  A good question to ask is, “Does this decision conflict with any commitments that I have or any vows I have make?”  The Whole Man will know the answer to the question instantly because he is accustomed to listening to his inner self and being truthful with himself.  Another example might be found on the golf course during a weekly foursome.  You find yourself separated from your fellows and see that your ball has a bad lie.  No one but you will ever know if you move your ball to a better lie. The Whole Man finds this to be an easy decision.  Integrity is personally important.  It helps you decide who you are.  The Whole Man always strives to be comfortable with himself even if it may cost him a stroke on his scorecard and a loss to a friend.

      The Whole Man is yet but a mortal man and still makes mistakes.  Some will be made knowingly and some not.  The difference here is that the Whole Man knows what he is doing and will readily pay the penalty for any transgression.  The Whole Man knows that there is really “no free lunch” and that every choice has a cost.  He is willing to pay what he owes.  He will consciously make the decision whether to work late and try for that promotion or go home early and attend his daughter’s ball game.  He will decide whether to talk with his coworker about misleading a customer in a sales promotion or remaining silent.  He will decide to fully participate in jury duty or attempt to be relieved of duty.  He will decide whether to leave his name and address on the windshield of the car he barely scraped in the parking lot.

      The Whole Man is aware that education is an ongoing opportunity to continually receive more light.  He will seek opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge about almost anything.  One of the greatest opportunities that he will ever have is to provide time and direction to new Freemasons and aid them along in their newly established path toward light.  He will take joy in participating in lodge work and be a leader in Masonic education.  He will know his talents and lend them willingly in aiding a distressed brother.  The whole man is in love with his God, his world, his family, and his friends.

      The love of the Whole Man extends to times of pain and trial.  He finds strength within himself to show mercy as well as seek justice.  He understands that in most situations, given the right motivations, he, too, might decide to break the law.  He is very careful in judgment as he understands how difficult it is to have enough knowledge to judge impartially and rationally. 

      The Whole Man is a work of art.  He is what a man who learns the difference between good and evil can chose to go in the way of right and love.  Becoming a Whole Man is very difficult to achieve on this Earth and takes a lifetime of thought and effort.  Every successful decision that is made toward that goal is a vote for the ability of mankind to return to the close relationship with God that He originally intended.

This article first appeared in the Missouri Freemason Magazine in 2011.

The Third Degree

      We have discussed, the First Degree is all about physical and the world outside us and the Second Degree is about mental/emotional and the world inside of us.  Now we must look deeply into the Third Degree and the spiritual world into which we are conceived.  You have been at the altar twice now and each time more is asked of you.  This time what is asked of you is all of you.  You must now be totally committed to and willing to place your whole self at the service of creating the best man you can possibly be in this lifetime.

            
      As you have done in the past, you will need some quiet time to think about your “being” and what you are to attain.  By now it easier for you to sit quietly in your chair, feet on the floor, hands resting in your lap or on the chair arms, your back comfortably straight, and to let your breathing settle into the slow rhythm you know so well.  The things that are outside of you leave you and the things that are inside of you come easily to mind and feelings.  Now you need to take a long search of your “self” and locate your soul; the home of your spirituality, and the connectivity to your Supreme Being. 

      You know that your heart is the home of your emotions and that your head is the home of your mind but where is your soul?  Every one of us has a soul and that part of us is always connected to our spirituality and to our God at the other end.  We have all put off for so very long in our life any attempt to find our soul and to become on good working terms with it.  Your soul can be very small, indeed, as you have ignored it or thought it unimportant.  Now you must correct that.  It is there, lurking behind something, peeking around the corner at you because of all the times you have told it to be quiet or to go away.  Now you must become friends before you can learn to trust one another. 

      That small voice is there, quietly waiting for you to show some attention.  It is there to help you make correct decisions for yourself and to push you onto the paths that you need to travel. It will help you with determination to persevere and strength to overcome.  The more work you do together, the stronger will your relationship be and the faster will you advance.  It is a positive spiral instead of the negative spiral that you have been using.

      Aristotle kindly gave us the notion that “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  This is easily seen by us when we try to stop smoking or drinking, or any other addictive habit.  Each habit has taken up quite a bit of your life and when you stop there is a vacuum in that space.  You begin to fill it with other things like chewing gum or eating.  Soon you find that you have lost one habit only to take on another.  The vacuum of space and time created by quitting your habit was filled with a new habit.  As you leave the old habits of materialism, unsubdued emotions and tunnel rationality behind, you will need something better to occupy that time or the vacuum will be filled with other things you do not want.  Fill it by relating with your soul.  Make new habits, the ones that are good for you and fulfill your life, using your soul as your help and guide.  Eat what you need to eat, drink what you need to drink, study what you need to study, act as you need to act, and love with all your heart your God and your neighbor.

      Naturally, when you think that you are done and at the end, nature has a way of stepping in, out of nowhere, and teaching you that there is still more to learn and/or more cleaning to do.   As you gain more you get even more but the obligation also becomes greater.   You will also become more responsible and secure and have a greater respect for yourself; each step of the way removing the vices and superfluities, creating that home not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

This article first appeared in the Missouri Freemason Magazine in 2011.