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Index SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.IV October, 1926 No.10
AN ERRING BROTHER
by: Unknown
Next to the word Mother, no word in our language has more meaning and
music in it than the word Brother. It is from above, and it reaches to the
deep places of the heart. It is religion on its human side; and in it lies
the hope of humanity. The highest dream of the prophets is of a time when
men shall be Brothers.
When used Masonically, the word Brother has a depth and tenderness all
its own, unique and is beautiful beyond words. It tells of a tie, mystical
but mighty, which Masonry spins and weaves between man and man, which no
one can define and few can resist. In time of sorrow it is a tether of
sympathy and a link of loyalty.
Of course, like all other words, it is common enough, and may be glibly
used without regard to its real meaning. Like the word God, it may be a
coin worn smooth, or a flower faded. But when its meaning is actually and
fully felt, no other word is needed among us, except on occasions of high
Masonic Ceremony, when we add the word Worshipful, or some other term of
title or rank.
No other word has a finer import or a more ample echo, expressive of
the highest relationship in which dignity and devotion unite. If we are
really Brothers, all the rest may go by the board, save for sake of
ceremony. If we are not truly Brothers, all titles are empty and of no
avail. For that reason, to omit the word Brother when speaking Masonically
is not only a lack of courtesy, but shows a want of fineness of feeling.
What does the word Brother mean, Masonically? It means the adoption of
a man into an inner circle of friendship, by a moral and spiritual tie as
close and binding as the tie of common birth and blood between two
brothers in a family. Nothing else, nothing less; and this implies a
different attitude the one to the other - related not distant, united not
opposed, natural and unrestrained - wherein are revealed what the old
writers used to call "The Happy and Beneficial Effects of our Ancient
and Honorable Institution."
Since this is so, surely we ought to exercise as much caution and
judgment in bringing a new member into the Lodge as we do in inviting an
outsider into the family circle. Carelessness here is the cause of most of
our Masonic ills, frictions and griefs. Unless we are assured beyond all
reasonable doubt that a man is a brotherly man to whom Masonry will
appeal, and who will justify our choice, we ought not to propose his name
or admit him to our fellowship.
Still, no man is perfect; and the Lodge is a moral workshop in which
the rough Ashlar is to be polished for use and beauty. If the Lodge had
been too exacting, none of us would have gained admission. At best we must
live together in the Lodge, as elsewhere, by Faith, Hope and Charity; else
Masonry will be a failure. The Brotherly Life may be difficult, but it is
none the less needful. Our faith in another way may be repelled, or even
shattered - what then?
Nothing in life is sadder than the pitiful moral breakdowns of good
men, their blunders and brutalities. Who knows his own heart, or what he
might do under terrible trial or temptation? Often enough qualities appear
or emerge of which neither man himself or his friends were aware, and
there is a moral wreck. Some "Defect of Will or Taint of Blood,"
some hidden yellow streak, some dark sin shows itself, and there is
disaster. A man highly respected and deeply loved goes down suddenly like
a tree in a storm, and we discover under the smooth bark that the inside
was rotten. What shall we do? Of course, in cases of awful crime the way
is plain, but we have in mind the erring Brother who does injury to
himself, his Brother or the Lodge. An old Stoic teacher gave a good rule,
showing us that much depends on the handle with which we take hold of the
matter. If we say, "My Brother has INJURED me," it will mean one
thing. If we say, "My BROTHER has injured Me," it will mean
another; and that is what the Brotherly Life means, if it means anything.
Every Master of a Lodge knows how often he is asked to arraign a
Brother, try him and expel him from the Fraternity. It is easy to be angry
and equally easy to be unjust. If he is a wise Master, he will make haste
slowly. There is need of tact, patience; and, above all sympathy - since
all good men are a little weak and a little strong, a little good and a
little bad; and anyone may lose his way, befogged by passion or bewitched
by evil. It is a joy to record that Masons, for the most part, are both
gentle and wise in dealing with a Brother who has stumbled along the way.
Masonic charity is not a myth; it is one of the finest things on earth.
What shall we do? If we see a Brother going wrong in Masonry, or in
anything else - "Spoiling his Work," as the old Masons used to
say - well, we must take him aside and talk to him gently, man to man,
Brother to Brother; and show him the right way. He may be ignorant, weak
or even ugly of spirit - driven by some blind devil as all of us are apt
to be - and if so our tact and Brotherly kindness may be tested and tried;
but more often than otherwise we can win him back to sanity.
Have you heard a tale about a Brother, a suggestion of a doubt, an
innuendo about his character, some hearsay story not to his credit? If so,
did you stand up for him, ask for proof, or invite suspension of judgment
until the facts could be heard; remembering that it is your duty as a
Mason to defend a Brother in his absence? Such things are seldom said in
his presence. It is not fair to tell him what is being said and learn his
side of the tale? If we fail in our duty in such matters we fail of being
a true Brother.
When we have learned the truth and have to face the worst, what then?
Long ago we knew an old Mason, long since gone to the Great Lodge, who was
chided by a Brother for continuing to trust a man they both knew was
taking advantage of the kindness shown him. The old man replied:
"Yes, but you never know; I may touch the right chord in is heart
yet. He is not wholly bad, and some day, perhaps when I'm dead and gone,
he will hear the music and remember." And he did!
Hear the music? Ah, if we would hear it we must listen and wait, after
we have touched "the right chord." And if the right chord is
"In Us" something in him will respond, if he be not utterly dead
of soul! If he does respond, then you will have gained a friend who will
stick closer than a Brother. If he does not respond - and, alas, sometimes
they do not - then we must admit, with a heart bowed down, that we have
done our best, and failed. Some inherent failing, some blind spot, has led
him astray, dividing him from us by a gulf we cannot bridge.
So a Mason should treat his Brother who goes astray; not with
bitterness, nor yet with good-natured easiness, nor with worldly
indifference, nor with philosophic coldness; but with pity, patience and
loving-kindness. A moral collapse is a sickness, loss, dishonor in the
immortal part of man. It is the darkest disaster, worse than death, adding
misery to guilt. We must deal faithfully but tenderly, firmly but
patiently with such tragedies.
It is facts such as these which show us what charity, in a far deeper
sense than monitory gifts, really means. It is as delicate as it is
difficult in that we are all men of like passions and temptations. We all
have that within us which, by a twist of perversion, might lead to awful
ends. Perhaps we have done acts, which, in proportion to the provocation,
are less excusable than those of a Brother who grieves us by his sin.
"Judge not lest ye yourselves be judged." Truly it was a wise
saying, not less true today than when the old Greek uttered it long ago,
"Know Thyself." Because we do not know ourselves, it behooves us
to put ourselves under the spell of all the influences God is using for
the making of men, among which the Spirit of Masonry is one of the
gentlest, wisest and most benign. If we let it have its way with us it
will build us up in virtue, honor and charity; softening what is hard and
strengthening what is weak.
If an erring Brother must be condemned, he must also be deeply pitied.
God pities him; Christ died for him; Heaven waits to welcome him back with
joy. He has done himself a far deeper injury than he has done anyone else.
In pity, prayer and pain let our hearts beat in harmony with all the
powers God is using for his recovery. "There remaineth Faith, Hope
and Charity; but the greatest of these is Charity." |