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Kingman
Masonic Lodge No. 22 212
North 4th Street |
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“A LODGE OF THE HOLY SAINTS JOHN” by Bob Weed Kingman Lodge #22
By history, custom, tradition and ritualistic requirement, Freemasonry holds in veneration the festival days of Saint John the Baptist on June 24 and Saint John The Evangelist on December 27. Any Blue Lodge that forgets either of these important Festival Days forfeits a precious link with the past and loses an opportunity for the renewal of allegiance to everything in Freemasonry symbolized by the Patron Saints.
It was common in the middle ages for craftsmen to place themselves under the protection of some saint of the church. If possible they chose for their patron one who bore a fancied relation to their trades. Examples are:
St. Peter - the fishmongers St. Crispin - the glove makers St Luke - Doctors
Eleven or more medieval trade guilds chose John the Baptist as their patron.
Even after exhaustive research by some of the best Masonic scholars, no one can say with any certainty why Freemasons adopted two Saints John. Regardless, Freemasons agree that the choice of these two ancient brethren was, indeed, wise. No other two great teachers could have been found who better exemplified through their lives and works the sublime doctrine and ageless teachings of Freemasonry. The appropriateness of the two Johns is obvious in our system of Great Moral teachings, if we consider the spiritual suggestion of their lives.
Saint John the Baptist was a stern and just man, intolerant of sham, pretense or weakness. He was a man of strength and fire, uncompromising with evil or expediency. He was courageous, humble, sincere and magnanimous. A character at once heroic and of rugged nobility, Jesus says of him :
“Among them that are born of woman, there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptizer”.
John had a popular ministry. It is generally thought that he began his ministry around the age of 27, spreading a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem. Many wondered if he was the Messiah prophesied in the ancient Hebrew teachings. We are also told that John baptized Jesus after which he stepped away and told his followers to follow Jesus. Oddly enough, according to the Bible, John and Jesus never met again.
John’s ministry and life ended when he admonished Herod and his wife, Herodias, for their sinful behavior. John was imprisoned and eventually beheaded. Saint Jerome wrote that Herod kept the head for a long time after, stabbing the tongue with a knife in a demented attempt to inflict more punishment upon John.
In addition to being the initial patron Saint of Freemasons, the Baptist was also considered to be the Patron of the following; Bird dealers, cutters, furriers, Knights Hospitaller, Knights of Malta and monastic life .
The first Grand Lodge organized in England in 1717 on the festival day of the Baptist. The United Grand Lodge of England was created in 1813 on the festival day of the Evangelist. The day of Saint John the Baptist is symbolic of a day of beginnings while the day of the Saint John the Evangelist is symbolic of endings.
In the English catechism of the early 18thCentury, the following three questions and answers were included as an explanation of why lodges were dedicated to the Holy Saints John:
1 - Why dedicated to John the Baptist?
A - In him, we have a singular instance of purity, of zeal, simplicity of manners, and an ardent wish to benefit mankind by his example. To him we are indebted for the introduction of the grand tenet of our institution, which is our glory to support: Peace on earth, good will toward men.
2 - Did John the Baptist have any equal?
A - To carry into execution this grand tenet, and to transmit to future ages so valuable a doctrine, an equal has been selected, John the Evangelist, in whom we find talents and learning alike conspicuous. Hence, it is to him we pay due allegiance as the patron of our art.
3 - In what is he considered the equal of John the Baptist?
A - He is considered to be equal to the former in this. As the personal influence of John the Baptist could not extend beyond the bounds of a private circle or so effectually defuse the benefits of the plan he had introduced, an assistant was necessary to complete the work he had begun. In John the Evangelist, therefore, we discover the same zeal as John the Baptist, and superior abilities displayed to perfect the improvement of man; copying the example of his predecessor we view him arranging and ably digesting, by his eminent talents, the great doctrine which had been issued into the world; and transmitting by his writings, for the benefit of posterity, the influence of that doctrine to which the zeal of his predecessor had given birth. As parallels in Masonry, we rank these two patrons and class them as joint promoters of our system; to their memory in conjunction with Solomon, we are taught to pay due homage and veneration. Thus we define the two great characters to whom we owe the establishment of our tenets, and the improvement of our system; while, in the ceremony of dedication, we commemorate the virtues and transmit them to latter ages, we derive from their favor, patronage and protection.
John the Baptist was simply a man who lived in one particular historical moment. Yet, his message of repentance, humility, devotion to and love of God transcends time and culture. John’s message of repentance was more than saying ‘you are sorry’. The Greek word ‘metanoia’ from which the word repentance comes literally means, to turn around. John urged his followers to turn around and move in a new direction, towards God instead of away from him. John wanted his followers to live lives that demonstrated their orientation toward God.
Our ritual speaks of a Lodge of the Holy Saints John at Jerusalem. Many brothers take this to mean a physical lodge located in Jerusalem when it only refers to the Holy Saints John as being in Jerusalem. Hundreds of years ago, Scottish Lodges were referred to as Saint Johns’ Lodges. So when a brother referred to himself as coming from a Lodge of the Holy Saints John at Jerusalem, he meant only that he came from a Scottish Lodge.
We may never know the truth about John’s historical relationship with Freemasonry. We may never find out if he was a member of our fraternity, although it is highly unlikely that he was. The truth is that it doesn’t really matter if he was a member of the ancient craft. Freemasonry honors the humble man who came to be known as Saint John the Baptist because his entire life exemplified duty to God through his faith, his religious practices and through the very living of his life.
This is stuff I have read, and hopefully absorbed from the writings of :
Carl Claudy H.L. Haywood Joseph Fort Newton Manly Hall
and a ritual that I bought on the internet dating from 1838 from an London lodge.
Bob
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© Copyright 2007. Kingman Lodge No. 22, F.&A.M.; Grand Lodge of Arizona. All rights reserved.