Brethren all: As we assemble for our Annual Feast of Saint John Observance, I’d like you to stop everything that you are doing right now. Look around the room and really absorb this moment. We are going to have a small exercise before we continue. As you look around the room at all these Freemasons, perhaps you don’t know everyone. That’s ok. Perhaps this is your first Table Lodge…also ok.
But before we continue, I would like you to really focus on something, be it a brother across from you, the smell of the food, the set up of this Table Lodge, or whatever your mind is set on. As soon as you get that, close your eyes and we are going to wait 5 seconds, and please keep them closed for a moment while I want to walk you through a brief experience, and I will prompt you to open them shortly.
Every December 27th, we are asked to assemble as Entered Apprentice Freemasons, for the purpose of fellowship, and in the most fraternal way, to observe this Feast of Saint John the Evangelist. Yet, many don’t understand what this means and why. What come you here to do? Before we discuss that, I am going to ask you, do you still hold that snapshot of the last thing your mind focused on? Or have you drifted off that quickly? Keep that image in your mind because it is important for this exercise. Sit up straight in the chair, body erect, and with your nose, take one deep breath in slowly. When you reach the apex of your inhale, hold it for 3 seconds, open your mouth and exhale slowly for double the time it took you to breathe in. Ok, that was good practice…now once more, altogether, deep breath in through the nose and hold it. (3 seconds) and open your mouth to exhale slowly, together. Now breathe normally. With that picture in your mind, continue to breath normally, and open your eyes to focus on the exact same thing.
Now I ask you, do you feel as if you are more in tune with whatever it is that you focused on? Do you feel heightened senses of seeing, or feeling? Are you more calm? Perhaps to some of you this exercise didn’t work that well…and that’s all ok, but the energy of this room has changed. What come we here to do? To improve ourselves in Masonry. How does this improve Masonry, you might ask? Let me explain:
1. In every Lodge, there exists a bond amongst the brethren, and we are advised to best work and best agree. If we can come to be of one mind, an esoteric concept referred to as “egregore” is developed. This concept grows by those who feed it, versus those who take from it…and tend to drain the egregore of its essence. The strength of the Lodge is brought about by those who come to improve themselves in Masonry, and by extension, strengthen their Brothers, because as we read in the Greatest Light of Masonry, Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
2. In every Lodge, a Mason is said to come to “subdue his passions.” How does this exercise help you do that? We all have lives to live every day and many of us in this modern day and age never take the opportunity to slow ourselves down to observe our breath, perform a mental check-in or inventory of our activities and, live generally mindless from one habit to the next, and so goes our routine. Yet Freemasonry calls you to do something different…to BE different. If we are to subdue our passions, we must spend moments in a state of mindfulness. This happens when we break the chains of technological addictions, repetitive behavior that may be a superfluous activity or a vice, and to consistently be aware of ourselves, so we behave in a more developed manner.
So many Freemasons are proud to be Freemasons, and do so very little to develop the personal and spiritual development that is an innate aspect of being a member of this great Fraternity. Think of this exercise the next time your Worshipful Master is about to open the Lodge. Are you prepared? Are you mentally present and in tune with what is about to happen? Are you aware of your connection to the egregore of your Brethren and how your disposition affects everyone? Are you the iron sharpening iron, and positively affecting the journey of your fellow Brother, growing together? To be mindful is to consider where you are, what you are doing, why are you doing it, and again, what you came here to do.
In a Table Lodge, this is a time where we are able to more freely enjoy the fellowship of our Brothers outside of the Lodge Room. It is a time to enjoy the fruits of our labors, and come together to strengthen the Fraternal bond we share. Over many years, our Lodges have come together to meet on December 27th and often, we suffer the readiness and preparedness to do so. Now, this is not to single out any one Lodge, or Brother, but to be able to look out at a room full of my Brothers and tell you all that in the spirit of Brotherly Love, going forward, we will do better, and we will continue, with increased efforts to be prepared and strengthen our bond…our egregore…in doing so, I hope you will come to value this Table Lodge and Festive Board in a new way.
So let us focus on the few important points of this evening, and in it be brief. The Entered Apprentice Freemason should know Psalms 133:1, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity!” This Psalm, in once sentence, sums up the value of that mindfulness exercise in practice. It is impossible to dwell together in unity, if we are not united. Being of one mind, and of one purpose, is the spiritual essence of egregore. Our Fraternity is a spiritual one, and so we must be mindful of our spiritual purpose when we assemble. We have all come here to observe a Feast. Do you know the meaning of the word Feast? In many religions, there are times of fasting, followed by times of Feast. To Observe a Feast means to honor a joyous occasion, often regarding a saint, or event. In the Churches of the West, this Feast is Observed on this day, and so it is also by Freemasons, to dwell together in unity, to enjoy fellowship over food and the ceremonial toasts, and to mindfully realize how good and how pleasant our Great Work truly is, when understood properly.
What have we come here to do? To erect Temples to virtue and dig dungeons for vices. This is a Tyled Masonic Meeting, and to treat it differently is to dishonor it. Tonight we Feast, my Brothers. Tonight we recommit ourselves to virtuous behavior, and to welcome in a new year full of growth, both personally and spiritually, which is the true vocation of all Freemasons worldwide. If this vocation is foreign to you, I encourage you to examine your 24” gauge differently because all Masons share one vocation symbolized by the Ashlars. Tonight we recommit ourselves to applying the tools of our Symbolic Craft to our person, in every way possible. Iron WILL sharpen Iron tonight as we fire our cannons in the name of Freemasonry, to the greater Glory of God. Tonight we commit to new behaviors that will honor our several stations before God and man, as we shine our light in the year to come. We will strive to behave honorably, respectfully, and with humility. We will stand for the flag of our country, and kneel in worship to God Almighty.
I will ask you once more, close your eyes and take one deep breath in, and as you do, pray that you strive to uphold what true Freemasonry is, and as you breath one giant breath out, thank God for another day to honor His Will, that you might achieve what you come here to do. Amen. So Mote it Be.
2025 Feast of Saint John Address
McKinley Lodge 712 (Host)
Matthew J Backus, KYCH
Secretary, Garfield Lodge 569
