Episode 95. 18:53 Working Tools Series: The Badge of a Mason

As important as the square and compass are to us as Masons, they are not our primary symbols. This week we take a closer look at what is an outward and visible symbol of an inward and spiritual grace.

Back by popular demand, we delve into the writings of John L. Cooper III and examine the symbolic work it takes for each of us to contribute to a stable and useful society…on an all-new Minnesota Masonic Histories & Mysteries. 

Transcript

0:00

Freemasons are easily identified in the public mind with a square and compass with a letter G in the center. Not only does it appear on many of our buildings. But Masons wear it proudly on coats and jackets, as well as on rings. Even films such as National Treasure make use of the Square encompass as a brand. Identifying us in the public eye is Freemasons. Freemasons, however, have many such symbols, and nowhere in our ritual is there a statement that the Square encompass is our primary symbol. Indeed. It is not our primary, primary symbol, regardless of its widespread public use. The primary badge identifying a mason is the white lambskin apron. At the very beginning of his Masonic journey, we tell an entered apprentice. The lambskin apron is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a mason. Many masons wear name badges. Badges that identify them as members of a particular lodge or as holders of a particular office. In Masonry, these badges proclaim to others that we are a part of something larger than ourselves and or that we have been entrusted with something more important than just a simple membership. But such badges have little to do with the true badge of a Mason, The true badge we are told is also an emblem, an emblem of innocence. When presented with the Lambskin Apron, we are told for the first time that it has an inner, as well as an outer meaning like the name badge. The Lambskin apron identifies us to the world at large as masons, but it carries a meaning far deeper than that of a mere badge, and that is the meaning of the term emblem. An emblem goes beyond a badge and enters into the world of symbolism. The white lambskin apron is therefore both a badge for others to know us as masons and a symbol of something much deeper, something that turns our thoughts inward rather than outward. It reminds us that we are engaged in a great enterprise, which has far more meaning to each of us as individuals than it can ever have for the world at large. The Lambskin Apron is an outward and visible symbol of an inward and spiritual grace. the use of such symbols to turn our thoughts toward God. and to our own spiritual values is very old. Carvings in stone in Egypt show a solar disc with hands extended in blessing. The purpose was to show what the Egyptians perceived as the source of all life. The sun was also the source of continual good things to men and women on earth, but this emblem was much more than just a reminder of the solar energy that makes all life possible. It was a symbol of God. One of the first representations of a monotheistic God in history In a similar fashion, the Lambskin Apron is a symbol of the blessings of God that we seek in our work As Masons, shortly after an entered apprentice is presented with his very own white lambskin apron. He has taught an important lesson about Masonic progress toward perfection. Later in the evening, he is told that two important symbols for a mason taken from our stone mason. Ancestors are the rough ashler and the perfect ashler. An ashler is a rectangular block of And stone. Stone Masons use rectangular blocks of stone in building a wall because of the stability that they lend to the finished structure. each row of rectangular blocks of stone is placed so that each stone overlaps the one below it. Keeping the blocks tightly fitted against one another. The rough ashler is the beginning of the process of building the wall. The perfect ashler is the end product. A stone made so smooth on all sides that the cement uniting the blocks will adhere uniformly to the surfaces and provide a lasting bond. the perfect Ashler is not an emblem of absolute perfection in some abstract sense, but is as perfect as the stone mason can make it for the purposes intended. The perfect Ashler is a symbol of making our lives fit into that spiritual building, which Masons are building lives that are useful for creating a stable and lasting structure for the benefit of humanity. Both the white lambskin apron and the perfect ashler are often misunderstood by those who do not truly understand freemasonry. Neither the apron nor the ashler implies that a mason will become a perfect man, free of all defects and untouched by sin. The concept of perfection amongst masons is not a theological concept. Freemason Ry makes no statement about religion and makes no promise that by wearing the lambskin apron or shaping his life into a perfect ashler, he will thereby gain admission into heaven. Those concepts are the province of religion and not freemasonry. We use these symbols instead as a way of explaining that our lives here on earth must be truly useful to God and to our fellow humans if they are to have value in this earthly life. if we allow our white lambskin apron to become soiled and dirty because of the way in which we live our lives. Others will notice if we leave our rough hue in ashler in that state for a lifetime, our work will be of little value in building a stable and useful society. these symbols of freemasonry encourage us to take a look at what we are doing with our lives and to work to improve our contribution to the building of that house. Not made with hands eternal in the heavens. Freemasonry teaches by symbol and by allegory as important as the square encompass are to us as masons. They're not our primary symbols. The white lambskin apron is, it teaches us that the world will notice what we do with our lives, and that our efforts to preserve sullied, this primary emblem of a mason are also tied to the usefulness of what we do as masons. it's only at the end of our life that we will truly understand why we were told that it is more honorable than the star or garter or any distinction that can be conferred. If worthily worn, it is most certainly an emblem of innocence and the badge of a mason, but it is more. Above all our symbols. It is the only one that we continually wear with honor to the fraternity as well as pleasure to ourselves.