A Master’s Work.

by Midnight Freemason Guest Contributor

WB Robert Jackson

I’ve heard before that our job as Masons is to make more Masons. What does that mean? How do we successfully do that job? In one light, we can think that it's just the degree work. Open the doors, get them through, either through one day classes or in the traditional method. But does simply taking a degree make a man a Mason? If you are reading this, I’m betting your answer is “no.”

So how do we do our job? Much like fatherhood, there is no real instruction manual. What is the best way to make a Mason? I would argue that making a Mason has little to do with kneeling at the altar and taking an obligation. Funneling people through the machine doesn't make Masons. Churning the machine, however, does have an impact on the Fraternity. The importance on the ritual can be diluted, and worse yet, the Masons supportive of the machine, can burn out through a serial repetition of degree work. So, if our job is to make Masons, how else can we achieve this goal?

Throughout our lives, we rarely have a comprehensive view of the full impact of our actions, either good, or bad. Everything we do has an impact on others. Whether it is holding a door open for somebody, hanging with a friend while he’s getting his first tattoo, or cutting somebody off in traffic. Your action ripples, and at least partly determines what kind of day somebody is going to have. Beyond that, their actions from that day could impact their life for years to come (cue Butterfly Effect). Note that none of these scenarios required the recipient to be a Brother.

By being men of strong moral character, applying those working tools each day, we spread a positive opinion of the Fraternity and the Craft. A courteous and helpful hand, who just happens to be wearing a Masonic ring, could do more for our Fraternity than all of the advertising campaigns combined. More importantly, however, we are able to distribute the compassion and care that our world seems to so desperately need. I would humbly submit that the best way to create Masons, is simply by living the lessons of our Craft, spreading the cement of Brotherly Love and Affection.

~REJ

Robert Edward Jackson is a Past and presiding Master of Montgomery Lodge located in Milford, MA. His Masonic lineage includes his Father (Robert Maitland), Grandfather (Maitland Garrecht), and Great Grandfather (Edward Henry Jackson), a founding member of Scarsdale Lodge #1094 in Scarsdale, NY. When not studying ritual, he's busy being a father to his three kids, a husband, Boy Scout Leader, and a network engineer to pay for it all. He can be reached at info@montgomerylodge.org .