|
| The Substitute, The Lost Word,
and The Quest For The True Word
February 6, 2004
Landrum Lodge No. 48 F. & A.M.
Lucas Adams
.............................................................................
"In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and the darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.1
So we are told, each time we are brought to light in a lodge of Masons, from apprentice to Master. We are given a glimpse which at first seems to be formless and void; without real meaning, and without consequence. To witness a set of steps, and hand signs, which to the uninitiated would seem to be vaccuous, and indicative of a secret club for boys, wouldn't be far off of the mark-- initially. It is only through trial and error, and searching in earnest that we might obtain an appreciation for the simple, yet puzzling modes of recognition given us in lodge. We are given a clue upon being led to the outer porch of K-S's temple, when we are shown the black and white checkered pavement. To some, the black might indicate complacency,and therefore ignorance, for inaction is a sin of omission, while the white symbolizes potential knowledge- potential, because not all who are given the opportunity, seek it,and prefer the ease of complacency. The journey from West to East according to ancient Gnostic thought, and applying to our Masonic quest is rendered by Pike:
...that the supreme Being is the centre of Light whose
rays or emanations pervade the universe; for that is
the light for which all Masonic journeys are a
search;"...and later "...that Light and Darkness, chief
enemies from the beginning of time, dispute with each
other the empire of the world; which we symbolize by the
candidate wandering in darkness and being brought to light;..."2
All of the great Masonic thinkers have provided evidence that there must MUST be a true and deeper meaning for the progressive science we call Masonry. All of us should remember the progressive grips, the progressive positions of the furniture of the lodge, the progressive disemination of light,and of course the elation and the subsequent disappointment upon being given the Substitute for the secret word of a Master Mason. If we are to learn from the three degrees of the Craft experience, we as travellers must take upon ourselves the task of searching out the true word; from knuckle to knuckle, from below to above, from darkness to light, and from complacency to quest.
The search for the Word is what brings us into the Blue lodge in the first place. The desire for knowledge, friendship, business connections, or even to satisfy our
curiosity of the unknown are all acceptable,and commendable reasons to affiliate, for at the root of our motivation stands the foundation of our advancement through the
mysteries. That foundation is a desire for light of some sort. Some have misunderstood the idea of the Word, mistaking it for a magical talisman, capable of turning base metal into gold, or even transforming clay into man, which I will address shortly. Others have grasped the essence of our ritual and have understood the deeper, more insightful alchemy of the soul. Upon that foundation we inscribe the wishes we have for ourselves, our families and the world. That foundation is what we step upon to first raise ourselves above the plane of the earth, in that initial grasp for the noble and heavenly. It has been stated in an old catechism, "I have passed from the square
to the compasses"3-- This is our goal in Masonry, as illustrated in that greatest Masonic symbol which is the foundation of our Craft, whether operative or speculative; that great foundation upon which we stand is the Mason's Word.
As early as 1695, it is noted by John Aubrey, who penned A Natural History Of Wiltshire, that the Free Masons "are known to one another by certain signs and watch words"4 It is understood that this reference to the 'Mason's Word', indicates a simple sign of recognition. As we as Masons have all been instructed in the several degrees, as well as in periods of instruction between such degrees, the craft Masons of the Middle Ages used grips and words to communicate their worthiness to perform as Masters,Fellows, and Apprentices. It was necessary to identify oneself properly, being that the Craft grades were seperated by skill, and only those capable of a Masters work should receive a master's wage. The modes of identification were also quite helpful to the architects and overseers on architectural projects, in that they had confidence in the abilities of the Craftsmen, , and were sure of their workers abilities to perform the required tasks of the day. The possession of the Master's Word, as evidence of the ability to perform labor proper, should be the general interpretation of it's usage, for in Lodge, until a man has obtained the substitute, as given him in a certain manner, he is unprepared to travel in earnest, in search of the True word.
The more important evolution of the concept of the Mason's Word, becomes the dual ideas of a 'Lost Word', and a 'True Word'. Coil, in his Masonic Encyclopedia makes note of the distinction between the two terms, which symbolize the concepts of death and life, respectively.5 When the Word is lost, and the key to such Word is either lost or misunderstood, as is in my opinion, the 'faint tracery of the letter G', the column of Wisdom, and the column of Strength, conspire to create a new word; a substitute word; a word which must suffice until the search for light can be accomplished. The loss of that word, only known to the three by three, signifies a loss of understanding and a reign of ignorance which must remain until the word is recovered, the Wise King, all-the-while knowing that the word cannot be recovered, for it is "Lost, Forever Lost". It is at this point, the King is forced to find, disinter, and rebury the lost link in the broken chain of union. The temple will be completed, albeit imperfectly. In other degrees, a word is rediscovered, but the True Word of the Craft degrees remains lost, only to be sought. The perfect temple, after the loss of the Master Hiram, turns internal, as the Garden of Eden becomes internal at the advent of the Christ.
As it is understood by the mystical Hebraic school of Kabalah, the True word is incomprehensible. The very existence of a solitary word for the Deity would be a mere
symbol of the essence of God, and to believe otherwise would be blasphemous. This problem was corrected, when a word was chosen by the patriarchs to be the symbol of
deity; a symbol so infused with truth of Deity that the very pronunciation of it would affect the physical. Mystics, though considered heretical, have sought to use the power of the Word for personal, or communal benefit, as illustrated in the story of the Golem of Prague, a Kabalistic allegory created by the14th century Chasidic community of Prague. God, according to the Jewish Mystics, and often elaborated upon by High Grade Masonry, cannot by nature be understood or defined, therefore, a concrete
moniker that would seek to define God would be unnecessary and impossible. The Kabalists, instead of defining Him, sought to investigate His aspects, as reflected in nature. The physical aspects, the mental aspects, and the spiritual aspects of Man are used in their system to elucidate the actions, rather than the person of Deity. As we are
said to be created in the image of God, so we gain an appreciation for the structure of Deity, and look to Him, although indirectly for an inkling of the Word.
The lodge in which we sit tonight is termed a Blue Lodge: blue for the canopy of heaven, the very idea of which should lead an initiate to look up in search of that lost
word,and by doing so we might catch a glimpse ofourselves, for the color itself is emblematical of truth, and right, and brotherhood, and royalty, all springing from the very color of the heavens, wherein that great Light, which was the great golden emblem of Deity to the ancients, resides,shining on us by day with warmth and wisdom, and reflecting against the cold Moon by night, to assist us in our times of darkness.. If the Deity be, as I believe, the primal energy from which the universe was crafted, then it serves us well to seek warmth in it's rays.
It is crucial that we as Masons, persevere in the search for light, and life, although we know as humans, it's attainment is not possible here on Earth, but "there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and the tender branch thereof will not cease", so we have hope, whether the Word is within our grasp or not, the quest for that most holy grail might lead us into a life of introspection, and a yearning for understanding. At the end of the Master's prayer, we implore Deity to "save us with an everlasting salvation," in which we admit that the attainment of the Word is not possible in ourselves.
The best man can do, as illustrated in the allegory of the three degrees, is to seek truth for the sake of righteousness. When he seeks advancement for selfish reasons, the law of reciprocity comes into effect, in that he who seeks selfish ends, must fight for them in an arena of selfishness. When a man earnestly seeks wisdom, that he might know himself, and therefore the Deity better, he is drawn unselfishly toward the heavens. The search for the "Word" is an act of faith, in that the seeker must have confidence that the "Word", to some degree, can be received or achieved. Being an act of faith, it demands fruit, for as St. James states in his letter to the diasporan tribes, "...faith by itself, not accompanied by action, is dead." He also comments on wisdom: " Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." Later, it is said that, "...the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." All of these things, Masonic ideals. In the Apology of Socrates, Socrates companion, Chaerephon visits the famous Oracle at Delphi, inquiring as to whether Socrates was truly the wisest man in Athens. The reply
and subsequent actions are legendary:
"Chaerephon...went to Delphi and boldly asked the oracle to tell him whether...there was anyone wiser than...(Socrates), and the Pythian prophetess answered that there was no man wiser."
Socrates, dismayed and confused as to the reasoning of the Delphic god, began a quest in search of a man wiser than he, but found only men who were adept at their crafts,
but were lacking in the wisdom they claimed. The ancient sage eventually came to the conclusion that having the answers was not wisdom, but having the constitution to
admit ignorance and the willingness to SEEK the proper questions was true wisdom, and the key to the "Word". He finally states, upon his epiphany:
"...the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing."
So in the lessons of Masonry, we learn that the Mason's Word is not an answer, but the key to the proper questions. The key that sparks the possibility in our minds of
something greater than ourselves. A key that strips God of his image as a Man, and makes us to realize the expansiveness of our universe, and Him who crafted it. This word we receive by infusion from Deity itself, is our password to work as Masters on the sacred temple commissioned by the Word, that temple, "...not made with hands, eternal in the heavens",that light may be cast on a world of darkness. As in the beginning, God speaks his creative Word, or the Fiat Lux, into the ears of men who will hear, and his voice moves over the dark waters of the soul, stirring and awakening the traveler within him to seek the Word, however that man might have the ability to
comprehend it. We are reminded in the Christian scriptures of that creative voice, once again. Perhaps by study, patience, a bit of faith and perhaps a quiet place, we might once again hear the creative voice; that source of light and life, unsettling the waters of ignorance and complacency within us, for:
In The beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. |
|
|