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Lodge of Perfection Degree Descriptions The Degree description below is reprinted with the permission of the Scottish Rite Journal. Fifth Degree Perfect Master
Photo: Oil painting by Bro. Robert H. White, 32° The
symbolic reenactment of the funeral of Hiram the Builder forms the theme of the
Fifth Degree. We are told of the legend that each year, on the anniversary of
his burial, a worker was selected to represent the Grand Master Hiram, was
briefly entombed and then brought forth, and was expected to live his life
thereafter by the very highest standards of excellence of behavior. The
crossed pillars on the Fifth Degree apron represent Jachin and Boaz, which
Biblical literature informs us Hiram named and set up on the porch of the
Temple. In addition to their traditional Masonic meanings, they here represent
Hiram himself. Resting upon them is a cube,
symbol of the finite universe. But here the cube also represents the Temple of
Solomon. Among its many meanings, the Temple is considered as a model or
representation of the universe, of life, and of the spiritual life each man must
build.
Thus, the
pillars represent Hiram, and the cube represents the work of God (the universe)
and the work of Hiram (the Temple). Surrounding the cube are three circles in orange, blue, and red. The circle is,
of course, one of the oldest symbols of God, and these three represent His
Wisdom, Power, and Beneficence. They surround, enclose, and protect His
creation and the creations of His creatures. The green
border, lining, and flap of the apron, as well as the green cordon, represent
spring or rebirth—the coming again of life after the death of winter. The
compasses are open on a quadrant to 60° to represent the other ancient symbol of
God, the equilateral triangle. Again the ceremony of the
Degree centers around death, not as a negative or destroying force, but as the
door through which we must pass to have eternal life. Thus, while the border
of the apron of the Fourth Degree is black (representing sorrow, mourning, and
death), this border represents moving past death into new life, rebirth, and
joy.
The Degree
also reinforces the ancient Masonic obligation to see our Brethren decently
interred. It may be difficult for us, today, to understand the importance our
Brethren of the last century placed on decent Masonic interment. But in Pike’s
day, the bodies of impoverished citizens were given the most callous and ghastly
shallow burial in potter’s fields, which were often despoiled by thieves or
unearthed by animals. In contemporary America, our duty to the dead consists
more in seeing their unfinished work completed and their memories preserved. This is a
good place to discuss the idea of Death, as presented in the Scottish Rite.
Brethren sometimes remark that there is a great deal of death imagery in the
Degrees, and they are correct. But the death imagery in the Rite is almost
always an affirmation of life. It serves
two functions. At one level, there is a deep fear of death in most people—an
unreasonable fear, in the light of the teachings of religion, but a fear
nonetheless. That fear prevents many people from truly living. Using the same
techniques of confrontation to be found in a modern clinic for the treatment of
phobia, the Rite presents the image of death so that the fear can be overcome. More
importantly, the Masonic Degrees carry on the tradition of the ancient mysteries
that new, richer, and expanded life can come only from death of some sort. Thus
in the three Blue Lodge Degrees, we have the death of the ego represented by the
entrance of the Entered Apprentice into the Lodge (for one cannot be a Brother
if he selfishly places himself first in all things). We have the death of the
ego-intellect in the Fellow Craft Degree (for one cannot experience intuition
and insight if one is bound to their pre-conceived ideas and opinions). And in
the Master Mason Degree, we have the death of the sense of apartness and
individuality which keeps us from experiencing spiritual unity with our Brothers
and with the Deity. Later, in
the 14°, Pike identifies the lessons of the 5° as “Honesty, Sincerity, and good
Faith.” There are two central points the candidate should understand from the
Fifth Degree. The first in honesty. But, for the Scottish Rite Mason, honesty
is more than simply telling the truth. Honesty means that we do not mislead by
innuendo nor slant information, truthful in itself, in such a way that people
draw false conclusions. Honesty involves fulfilling commitments and doing what
we have said we will do. It means looking out for the interests of the other
person, not just for “Number 1.” And Pike also reminds us
in this Degree of the great importance of work and of doing that work well.
As its second point, the Degree teaches it is honorable to leave behind us tasks
well and truly accomplished, just as it is shameful to leave nothing. We owe a
debt to posterity; it is only in that way we can repay the debt we owe to our
predecessors. And we owe a debt to others, to place their interests at
least on a level with our own. The The Scottish Rite Journal - February 1996
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Upcoming Events Stated Meeting 2ND TUESDAY MONTHLY 6:15 Dinner 7:00 Stated Meeting E-mailor call 323-5234 to RSVP dinner.
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The Scottish Rite Creed The cause of human progress our cause, the enfranchisement of human thought is our supreme wish, the freedom of human conscience is our mission, and the guarantee of equal rights to all people everywhere, the end of our contention.
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Jim Tresner