Lest anyone think that I am being critical, let me begin by admitting my faults. Early in my Masonic career I wondered why no one tried to "Make Me Better". It seemed that no cared if I learned anything more than what was needed to pass my examinations. Other than giving me some pat answers or responding to my questions by saying the answer is "in the ritual", no one tried to educate me. This confused me. I wondered if I was I the only one who saw some deeper meaning in Masonry.
My first response to this was to feel unwanted and alone. Why weren't they helping me learn? Had I failed some unspoken Masonic test, I wondered? Did I seem unworthy of their help? Was I being ignored as part of some ritual hazing that all new Masons had to go through to prove their dedication and worthiness?
My second response was to feel cheated and angry. Had I mistakenly joined a Lodge where no one knew how to, or cared to, improve themselves? Were these men as good as it got?
I could go on listing my petty resentments but you get the point. Obviously I was not that good of a man yet. But I hung in there.
My first great teacher was not an old PM but a newcomer who petitioned my Lodge. When his petition was read in Lodge I recognized his name, although we had never met. I decided that I did not want him to feel as unwanted and ignored as I had felt when I joined. So I sought him out, introduced myself and told him I had heard his petition read in Lodge. I asked him about himself, his work, and why he wanted to be a Mason.
Another time I invited him to my home and we talked in my kitchen while I made lunch. I explained that after his initiation the Lodge would assign him a mentor to teach him the examination but that I would be happy to answer any questions that I could. I showed him my Masonic books and said that when he was ready I would be happy to loan them to him. We became friends.
This man taught me that I had it all wrong. "Making Good Men Better" is not the responsibility of any Lodge or Grand Lodge. It is not something that my Brother Masons owe to me, it is something that I owe them. There is a secret truth, a secret meaning in this phrase. Today I believe that "Making Good Men Better" is the obligation that I owe to Masonry. Viewed in this way it becomes the secret key that unlocks many of the mysteries and much of Truth and Beauty.
When I became a Mason I was lazy and waited for someone else to do the work for me. But all that changed because I began to care about the experience of one stranger who petitioned my Lodge. And that has made all the difference.
My first response to this was to feel unwanted and alone. Why weren't they helping me learn? Had I failed some unspoken Masonic test, I wondered? Did I seem unworthy of their help? Was I being ignored as part of some ritual hazing that all new Masons had to go through to prove their dedication and worthiness?
My second response was to feel cheated and angry. Had I mistakenly joined a Lodge where no one knew how to, or cared to, improve themselves? Were these men as good as it got?
I could go on listing my petty resentments but you get the point. Obviously I was not that good of a man yet. But I hung in there.
My first great teacher was not an old PM but a newcomer who petitioned my Lodge. When his petition was read in Lodge I recognized his name, although we had never met. I decided that I did not want him to feel as unwanted and ignored as I had felt when I joined. So I sought him out, introduced myself and told him I had heard his petition read in Lodge. I asked him about himself, his work, and why he wanted to be a Mason.
Another time I invited him to my home and we talked in my kitchen while I made lunch. I explained that after his initiation the Lodge would assign him a mentor to teach him the examination but that I would be happy to answer any questions that I could. I showed him my Masonic books and said that when he was ready I would be happy to loan them to him. We became friends.
This man taught me that I had it all wrong. "Making Good Men Better" is not the responsibility of any Lodge or Grand Lodge. It is not something that my Brother Masons owe to me, it is something that I owe them. There is a secret truth, a secret meaning in this phrase. Today I believe that "Making Good Men Better" is the obligation that I owe to Masonry. Viewed in this way it becomes the secret key that unlocks many of the mysteries and much of Truth and Beauty.
When I became a Mason I was lazy and waited for someone else to do the work for me. But all that changed because I began to care about the experience of one stranger who petitioned my Lodge. And that has made all the difference.
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