THE
MASTER MASON
When Masonry was operative, the Fellow of
the Craft laboured long and earnestly to fit himself to produce his Master's piece, by
which he would be enabled to prove himself fit to receive the Mason word, that he might go
where he would, prove himself a Master and receive a Master's wages. Now
that Masonry is speculative only, many who apply and receive the degrees think that
the mere possession of the secret word makes them fit to receive a Master's wages,
forgetting that it was not the word, but the fitness to receive it, which
qualified their ancient operative brethren for the Master's wages. But the
speculative Mason can no more receive a Master's wages today than in days of old,
unless he be truly a Master. Writing "Master Mason"
after one's name does not make one such in the speculative sense. Having one's
name inscribed upon the by-laws of a Lodge does not make one truly a Master
Mason. Being a Master Mason is wholly a matter of the heart and mind; unless
the one be humble, the other eager to learn and willing to study, a man may never truly be
a Master Mason, even though he take every degree in every Rite and wear a jewel pin for
every title he assumes.
In ancient days a Master's wages were paid
in coin of the realm. They are no less so paid today, but the realm is of the
Inner man, not the world of society. The wages received by a Master Mason who has
fitted himself to earn them are paid in that which money cannot purchase. Not
by favouritism or influence or high estate can any man win a Master's wages. If he
receives them, it is because of what he is, what he thinks, and how he
thinks it. From the time a Fellowcraft goes alone to the Altar to make
his petition to the Supreme Being, he stands alone or falls. When he is
raised to the Sublime Degree, his brethren and his lodge have done all they can for him;
if he is ever to receive a Master's wages, it will he because of what he does for
himself. A Master's wages are paid in the knowledge of the human heart; its
dependence upon love and friendship, its eagerness to give for the love of giving, its
humble hope of receiving for the simple human joy of being beloved. They are
paid in knowledge which girds a man in armor through which misfortune, hard times, ill
luck, cannot pierce. They are paid in the security which comes from certain
knowledge of millions of brethren sworn to your aid and support.
Make no mistake about this my brother;
though you may never need to make an appeal, though no man spreads his call for
help throughout the whole Masonic world, no matter where that call echoes, there will be
some who hear and heed. A Master's wages are paid in friends of the
heart; friends who make life rich with its fairest treasures. The
sentimentalist, sings of the friend of his youth. It is true that
friendship deepens with time; a common past is the foundation on which many a friendship
is based. Freemasonry supplies such a past.
Men linked in this manner can think, symbolically, of their friendship beginning thousands
of years ago. The friends made in Freemasonry are of tested steel; there are
none better. A Master's wages are paid in the knowledge of closeness to and
communion with the Great Architect of the Universe. In the practice of
Freemasonry a Master Mason draws close to God. The All Seeing Eye to him is a
friendly one. No man spends time in a lodge without having his faith
strengthened; in days when mental confusion, doubt, debate and argument undermine beliefs
less solidly founded. The firm foundation for simple beliefs which comes from
Freemasonry is surely not the least of the coins in which a Master receives his
wages. And a Master's wages are paid in strength to endure, in courage to
proceed, in hope of the future and in joy in the present. These are wages
worth working for. These are coins besides which those of minted gold show
themselves to be the dross they are. For these are the wages given to
character.
Freemasonry gives us wages according to our
labor; and if we work faithfully, we may be sure, as in the parable, we shall receive each
man his penny. Freemasonry, like any other institution, pays in a sliding
scale according to the worth of the labour given. The Apprentice receives less
than the Fellow of the Craft, and he less than a Master. See to it, my
brother, that you are a Master in fact as well as in name. Then shall you
learn the real meaning of the Word by which some day you will travel in a far, far
country, where there is neither gold nor silver, and where, indeed, the only coins which
can be used are those you here fit yourself to receive, a Master's wages.