masonic matters
The Rough and Perfect Ashlars
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
“Great leaders play to their strength. They don’t spend vast amounts of time
attempting to be a jack-of-all-trades. Instead, they deepen their ability to do
what they do best, until they do it as well as anyone.” John C. Maxwell
The Rough and Perfect Ashlars
Recently in the e-publication “Mehr Licht” I reproduced a short anonymous
article called Judge Kindly: It’s a reminder to not expect perfection from a man
simply because he has taken the degrees of Masonry; a Mason can be expected to
be a good man, but if perfection is expected one may a time or two be
disappointed. It points out that if one should encounter a Mason who is less
than perfect, not to condemn the entire fraternity because of the behavior of
one Mason; Masonry should not judged by a few failures, but by the average of
its successes. I like that short article called Judge Kindly; and whenever I
rehearse or deliver the 3rd section of the lecture of the 1st degree I think of
it.
The 3rd section of the 1° lecture talks about the Rough and Perfect Ashlars:
“By the Rough Ashlar we are reminded of our rude and imperfect state by nature;
by the Perfect Ashlar that state of perfection at which we hope to arrive by a
virtuous education, our own endeavors, and the Blessing of God.” Occasionally I
will meet a stranger who when I greet him by saying “hi, how are you today?” he
will answer, “Blessed, truly blessed.” I always smile and extend the right hand
of friendship, because I know exactly what he means.
The virtuous education spoken of in the lecture alludes to the education
Masons can get by studying the lessons and allegories of Freemasonry, which will
lead them to studying the lessons, allegories, and parables in the Great Light
of Masonry, (the Holy Bible); a Masonic student cannot avoid becoming a Bible
student too. The words ‘virtuous education’ also allude to the learning
available to us in our houses of worship: It has always been a truism that if
you want to meet some of the best men in a community, and you can’t find them
congregated in a Lodge all you need to do is attend a house of worship on a
Sabbath; Masons tend to congregate there too.
It is a blessing of God when we, through the lessons we learn in the Great
Light of Masonry, our houses of worship, and in Freemasonry, improve ourselves.
While it is a blessing to improve by striving toward perfection, our improvement
requires our personal endeavors to acquire the virtuous education that will help
us become the better men we wanted to become when we petitioned our Mother Lodge
for the degrees of Masonry.
You and I know that it is well nigh unto impossible to become perfect:
Nevertheless, a good man applies the lessons he learns in every area of his life
in his quest to become better than he was before his learning. Through our
endeavors and applying what we learn we will subdue our discordant passions so
that we can get closer to the perfection we seek; closer than we would be
without the virtuous education and our endeavors.
Masons are the kind of men who want to improve: The beneficiaries of a
Mason’s improvement are many: he is a beneficiary, because of his endeavors,
education, and God’s blessing, he lives a happier life; everyone he meets is a
beneficiary, because he treats everyone with kindness and brotherly love; his
loved ones, wife, or significant other, children, parents, siblings are all
beneficiaries, because he is nicer and more loving toward those he loves; he
appreciates them for who they are and the important people they are in his life.
The list of beneficiaries can go on and on, because we meet so many people every
day every year; they all benefit from a Mason striving for the perfection
mentioned in the first degree when he hears briefly about “that state of
perfection which we hope to arrive at by a virtuous education, our own
endeavors, and the blessing of God.”
back to top |
