Life & Death
I originally presented this in December 2020 at one of the last lodge meetings of Spring-Field Hanby Lodge No.767 on the eve of our Merger with Lansdowne Lodge No.711. My intent was to provide some comfort to those few brother’s who still believed in 767 and who still made the effort to come out and actively participate. It saddens me that few brothers actually got to hear it, for that was the very reason for the merger in the first place, poor participation among the membership and not enough active participation to carry the lodge on into the foreseeable future.
Life & Death
As Freemasons we speak of our belief in internal life. Yet, the Memento Mori (remember death) is a theme ever present in the Masonic ecosystem. I want to examine this contrast
In my opinion It’s a disconnect easily rectified.
When we as Freemasons speak of eternal life we are speak of the immaterial part of us as humans, that non-corporeal, the spiritual piece, in western terminology our soul. It is stated as such right there in our Funeral Service “This evergreen is emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. It is a symbol of that part within us which shall continue to exist beyond Physical death”
And the practice of memento mori is referring to the death of the material, the physical piece, the body.
Life has its ebb & flow, ups & Downs, it’s Good Times of plenty and it’s times of strife and famine.
The Stoics and the Ascetics (all though the Ascetics took it to the extreme) believed that practicing of doing without would prepare one to deal with those lean times.
Now one can’t really practice death, but one can examine it, contemplate on it. That’s were the practice Memento Mori comes into play. When you think of your own death don’t fixate on the how, but try to focus on what life will be like when you are gone. Will life stop? Will your loved ones seize to exist? Will society as we know it ground to halt? No, absolutely not...life will continue, humanity and society will continue to grow and evolve. Life will find a way.
Think about it, think about the circle of life, the plants, animals, humans. The physical part the body returns to the earth and is recycled to proved material for the future. And in the transfer of the DNA from parent to off spring a piece survives and more importantly in the lessons, passed on from one being to the next, a piece survives.
If one believes there is more to being human then the physical shell of the body. What truly makes us “WHAT” we are is not our physical aspects. But what is inside. Our spiritual part, that divine spark, our Soul. And that our soul will continue on. Be it on another plane or dimension (I.e. heaven) or as a part of something greater like the Tao, then there is not much to worry about.
I am personally of the opinion that the same, applies to all human endeavors nothing last forever in its original form. Empires rise and fall, philosophies grow and fall in popularity and in practice the same as with religions, business and Organization are started they grow and become successful, they fail or they evolve and adapt.
Which brings me to PA lodge No. 767. Yes going forward 767 will not exist in its current state. But Albert Thatcher Hanby lodge 767, has not existed in its original state for some time nor has be Springfield lodge No. 779. Both lodges were born out of; broke off from Prospect lodge and became their own thing. With their own members and developed their own traditions and culture, relocated to their own meeting locations. Then in 1992 they merged. Members of both lodges no doubt had the same anxieties then that we face now.
But if we remember that freemasonry will not seize to exist just because Springfield-Hanby Lodge No. 767 will seize to exist in name only. That the ideals, the spirit, the soul of 767 and those of Freemasonry in general will continue on in its membership and those they mentor for the future preservation of Freemasonry.
As 767 in its current form is absorbed by Lansdowne Lodge No. 711, I implore each of you don’t let this be the death nail in your personal Masonic journey. If Lansdowne meeting schedule or location is difficult for you. Then find another lodge you can visit at a more convenient place & time, and make it out to Lansdowne when you can. Continue your Masonic education! Read!, listen to podcasts, talk to other brothers, about topics deeper then that of life’s superfluities. And please,please take the time to contemplate and apply your own logic to these topics and to life’s truth and draw your own conclusions.
To that regard I believe if you think on our upcoming merge you will be comforted by the realization, and knowledge, that it’s only a death in the physical sense. what makes a lodge a lodge; is its members and the the spirit of its members will live on
Like Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) says .. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”