Page 22
February 1999
The AC Phoenix
A Look at the Master Mason
continued from page 2
Lodge Officers, Worshipper Masters
and District Deputies. The bible said
after supper he laid aside his gar
ment, girded himself with a towel and
washed his disciples feet. I can hear
Peter when he got to him saying oh
no not me Lord It is I who should be
washing your feet. Then he gave the
commission to everyone who profess
es to be a Christian, “if you don’t let
me do this you will have no part in
me”. In other words if you wish to be
the master you must first be the ser
vant. You didn’t come here; you did
n’t get elected; you didn’t get appoint
ed to be served, but you did get
appointed to serve. The last apron
was not an apron at all. When John
was on the isle of Patmos and the
angel showed him a number. John
said it was a number that if he had a
calculator he couldn’t count. If he
had a computer it would run out of
computing. He said it was a number
that no man can number. And when
the angel asked the question who are
they? John, with his finite mind said
thou knowest Lord. These are they
who have come out of the great tribu
lation; these are the so called
Christians that took communion next
to the their neighbor that they had
something against. These are the
lodge members that didn’t pay their
dues on time. These are they who
come out of the great tribulation and
have had their robes washed and
dipped in the blood of the lamb. God
didn’t send a warring prince, but he
sent a Prince of Peace. To symbolize
that prince masons wear lambskin
aprons, blue for friendship, white for
innocence and purity. Now it is time
for the scripture.
For the last two nights we have
been finding Jesus in the church, in
the lodge hall. In the 133 psalms he
was the blessing that brought us Ufe
forevermore. In the 7th chapter of
Amos he was the plum line that
showed us how to walk; how to act
upright before God and the people.
You see society does not gage free
masons by its best. But it gages us
by the brother that didn’t quite make
a mason, but he’s a member of the
lodge. He’s the one that gets a drink
or two and I am a 33rd degree mason
I am a Shriner. You see all masons
are members but all members are not
masons. Its just like in the church,
there are lots of members in the
church, but all members are not
going to make it into the kingdom.
We find in the 12th chapter of
Ecclesiastes and when you find Jesus
in it, you can read ahead or read
along with me, (Just stand up and
say amen. I’ve found it) - “Remember
Now thou creator in the days of thou
youth while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw near, when thou
shall say, I have no pleasure in
them”. If you haven’t caught on by
now, this is an old man’s chapter.
This is Solomon probably in his sixti
eth year, the year that he died. A
man that had 700 wives and 300 con
cubines. He don’t know the name of
the first and last ten, therefore he’s
not going to know which one of them
gave him the fatal blow. He is talk
ing to his son saying son don’t wait
until you get as old as I am but
remember now thou creator while you
are young; while you have the active
use of your limbs; when your mind is
still sharp and you are not subject to
so many temptations, because when
the evil days come - to an old man the
yoimg ladies are gonna look good; to
an old lady the young men are going
to look good. Those are your foolish
days because a new battery is not
going to make an old motor run any
better. This is a down to earth ser
mon, there is a pie in the sky but
right now its main course time.
While the sun, or the light, or the
moon, or the stars, be not darkened,
nor the clouds return after the rain.
That’s when your eyes need glasses
and they start closing up on you and
everything starts to go dim to you.
Ugly people look good. Pretty folks
look ugly and you can’t distinguish
between the two. And the tears don’t
come to your eyes like they use to, to
wash out the dredges and the little
grits of sand that gets into them.
And it says in the days when the
keepers of the house shall tremble
(that’s your legs brothers - arthritis,
neuritis, bursitis, and all the other
'ritis' brothers). You’ll be like Moses
in the 31st chapter where he says
“I’m 120 years old and my going out
and coming in are getting slow.
Strong men shall bow themselves -
that is your back, af er a while you
bend over and you can’t straighten up
like you use to and your grinders
cease (your teeth) because they are
few unless you go out and buy some
like me! And those that look out the
windows be darkened, that’s the eyes
again. And the doors shall be shut up
in the streets (nobody wants you
when you are old and gray). It takes
a dedicated person to fool with an old
man or a woman. It says and the
sound of the grinding is low, and he
shall rise up at the voice for the bird,
and all the daughters of music shall
be brought low. Now that’s leading
up to something. Also when they
shall be afraid of that which is high,
that’s upstairs and the almond tree
shall flourish. The grasshopper shall
be a burden and desire shall fail.
Why, because man goeth to his long
home and mourners go about the
streets. Long home is waiting for all
of us and it is called the grave and I
don’t care what kind of reputation
you lead they are going to talk about
you whether good or bad you are
going to leave behind a life that some
body remembers. So it is best that
you have a good life, leave behind a
good reputation then he goes on to
say “Or ever the silver cord be loosed
- that’s when your veins clog up on
you and the golden bowl be broken
(the brain) and the wheel broken at
the cistern. You have somebody in
your family who can’t control their
water. You have to use diapers. This
is an old man’s chapter letting us
know what awaits us. Then he says
then shall the dust return to the
earth as it was and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it. Y’all
know the funeral ceremony — We
commend his spirit to the God who
gave it and then he goes on to say
vanity of vanities saith the preacher
that is why you need to listen to the
preacher all is vanity and moreover
because the preacher was wise. He
was the wisest man on earth at that
time. He still taught the people
knowledge. Yea he gave good heed
and sought out and set in order many
proverbs. Read Proverbs sometime,
you’ll say is this the same man that
married 700 women, had 300 on the
side and died at the age of sixty. 'The
preacher sought to find out accept
able words and that which was writ
ten was upright, even words of truth.
The Words of the wise are as goads,
that’s those things you put into a
building to temporarily hold it togeth
er until you can come along with nails
fastened by the masters of assem
blies. Worshipper masters can you
all relate to that. You are a master of
an assembly. Preacher you are a
master of an assembly. And he says
which are given from one shepherds
and further, by these, my son, be
admonished of making many books,
there is no end; and much study is a
weariness of the flesh. They say if
you want to keep a secret, put in a
book cause us don’t read. Let us hear
the conclusion of the whole matter.
No part, but the whole matter. It
says fear God and keep his command
ments, for this is the whole duty of
man. For God shall bring every work
into judgment, and every secret
thing, (you see you are going to find
out masons didn’t have no secrets)
whether it be good, or whether it be
evil. No body stood up but I going to
give you a few hints, “I am the good
shepherd I know my sheep and they
know my voice”; you don’t know the
good shepherd; he didn’t say a shep
herd or some shepherds, he says the
one shepherd, for we are his sheep
because David said, “the Lord is my
shepherd and I shall not want”. You
see this Jesus gave up his life for his
sheep. And a good shepherd always
puts himself in danger before his
sheep are slaughtered. This shep
herd was bom in a stable. This shep
herd lived like any other man until he
got 30 years old. This shepherd had
three years of ministry. At the con
clusion of his 33rd year they marched
him up Calvary Hill, but before they
did that they took him from judge
ment hall to judgement hall. Well,
let’s use a little imagination. Brother
Paul, the first one was the Sanhedrin,
so we’ll call him Jubilo, the second
one was Herod’s court, so we’ll call
him Jubilar and when they got to
Pilot, we’ll call him Jubillar. Are y’all
with me? Now in the church the very
continued on page 24
Happy Birthday
Robert Galloway
"He's from a strong family tree
this month he turnecJ fifty three"
THE HEABT”
From Your 4am Walking Partners