YOU HERE
Seymour E. Chambers, (2) WHAT COME ByMPSR.W.Grand Historian MWPHGLMD
TO DO?
BUILDERS AND WRECKERS I watched them tearing a building down, a gang of men in a busy town. With a ho, heave, ho and a lusty yell they swung a beam and a side wall fell. I asked the foreman, “Are these men skilled? Like the men you’d hire if you had to build?” He laughed as he replied, “No, indeed just common labor is all I need. I can easily wreck in a day or two what builders have taken years to do.” I asked myself as I went away which of these roles have I tried to play? Am I a builder who works with care, measuring life by rule and square? Or am I a wrecker who walks the town Content with the labor of tearing down? -Charles Franklin Benvegar
A
s Masons, we have of our own free will and accord, chosen to associate ourselves with one another. There was something about either the craft or a craftsman that sparked our interest in joining this brotherhood. Each of us made the decision to ask for a petition, seek admission, and knock on the door of the lodge to receive the rites, light and benefits of this ancient and honorable institution. Subjecting ourselves to the investigation by the lodge, paying fees, and going through the rituals of the three degrees should have impressed upon one, the seriousness of the nature of our work. More importantly, the very fact that a person whom you pronounced that you wanted to call a brother, was kind enough to place his name on your petition, and in so doing said to his Brothers that you were worth the time and effort to join us in our labors. The act of providing one with a petition is the highest compliment a Mason can give to the uninitiated, and it is the first step in the journey of brotherhood. I wish to draw from the 1st Degree for this lecture. A part of the strict trial and due examination, we are asked two very important questions. Of which the second states“what come you here to do?” Again, I wish to propose this question to each of you this evening. What come you here to do? For in answering that question honestly, and without any hesitation, mental reservation, or secret evasion, we will be able to imagine not only the length of your cable tower, but the depth and breadth of your character among men and Masons.
“The other most difficult thing for a man is to improve himself. We all have flaws.” My Brothers, the work we do here is not only important, it is sacred in many respects. The work I speak of is not about paying bills, purchasing tickets, or buying patron ads. The work of self-improvement, the work of building a community, and the work of building the truest sense of Brotherhood are tasks that one must have the heart and mind engaged in his labor. What come you here to do? Was it to satisfy a curiosity? Was it to be able to wear a ring, a hat or boast to those that may listen, that you are now somebody? These ephemeral emotions will not sustain you for the labors ahead. They will at best, become conflicting notions of disappointment if what you sought was for display, and not for dedication.
34 The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland - THE LIGHT - June 2023
