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Robert G. Davis, 33° Grand Cross
Its relevance to society and to each Scottish
Rite member is central
to our Order’s success today.  One of the challenges the Scottish Rite encounters
in today’s
fast-paced world is how to overcome the perception our teachings
are no longer relevant. This challenge has two primary causes.
First, it is hard for people outside the Craft to understand
anything about Scottish Rite teachings if we, as Scottish Rite
Masons, are not out in the world actively working to solve the
problems of our community, state, and nation. As Albert Pike
stressed, Masonry is action, not apathy.
The model for success in life has little to do
with what one knows or can do for himself; but it has everything
to do with
what others see him doing for the larger good. People pay attention
to the organizations men belong to when, in their mind, those
organizations make a difference in the world.
Second, it is hard for today’s newly invested Scottish
Rite Mason to interpret the meanings of our Degrees when we present
too few of our plays and offer no easily interpretable contemporary
contexts or associations that enable him to apply these lessons
to his own life. In his own experience, the new Scottish Rite
Freemason is seldom made aware that the achievements of today
are the sum of the thoughts of yesterday; that tomorrow’s
accomplishments will be based on today’s ideas; that knowledge
has an enduring validity.
While it is natural for a Mason to think forward
to the future, it is harder for him to understand how the past
influences everything.
In the larger picture,
it is seldom where we are today that counts. It is where we have been and how
where we have been influences where we are going that has the larger impact on
our lives. The Degrees of the Rite, if understood, lay very important groundwork
for our path of life. And we are taking, as well as making, this path. There
is an important difference. It is easy to simply be on a path. If we do nothing
more than live and breathe, we will take a path which will become our life. The
problem is that this path alone may not lead us to happiness and fulfillment.
This path may be one of job and work, going through
steps and grades of a pay plan for 45 years, only to retire and
wonder if we have personally made any real
difference with our life.
It may be the path of home and family, going through
the rituals of husbanding and fathering, and wondering in our
old age if we really did set a good example.
It may be the path of faith, attending religious
services for a lifetime and wondering all along how we know that
our chosen faith speaks the truth.
It may be the path of isolation, failing to be
involved in service to others or failing to make real friends
who can bring meaning and fulfillment to
our life.
If we are fortunate, these paths may well bring
us financial reward or the security of a home, family, and a
spiritual life. But they can also
lead
to disillusionment.
That is why it is so important we also make a path for ourselves while
we are taking the usual path of others. For it is the path we make
for ourselves
that
teaches, rather than carries, us.
The Scottish Rite enables us to create such a
path. The Degrees give us the tools to become better informed,
to be more conscious of what
is really
important,
to be aware of what the past gives to us, and to realize how we can
use this information in positive and successful ways, thus facilitating
our
path to
understanding
and personal fulfillment.
In the overall scope of our work, the Scottish
Rite teaches that the answers to the great issues in life are
within us. We can accomplish
remarkable
things through deep understanding and the sharing of our wisdom
with others. When
we pass along these many valuable lessons in ways that resonate
with the contemporary men in our society, then the past meets
the present,
and the
new path––or,
rather, the old path of truth and right and understanding––is
laid for the future. The new Scottish Rite Mason can benefit immeasurably
by taking
and making such a path, just as the senior Brother is reminded
of and intuitively understands what has illuminated his own life,
his own path.
The Scottish Rite is about path-making. It is
indeed relevant work for our time—and
all time.
Note: The above article, edited for Journal presentation,
was originally presented in full in the Oklahoma Scottish Rite
Mason
(October
2004).
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Robert G. Davis
is the Secretary of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Guthrie, Oklahoma; Past Master
of two Oklahoma Lodges; Editor of the Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason; a member
of the Advisory Committee of the Masonic Information Center, and active,
both in Oklahoma and nationally, in Masonic education and renewal programs.
Contacts: P.O. Box 70, Guthrie, OK 73044; Tel. 405-282-1281; Fax 405-282-1250; gsrite@sbcglobal.net |
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