Kneel on your naked knees
Media
Part of The Cabletow
- Title
- Kneel on your naked knees
- Language
- English
- Source
- The Cabletow Volume XXXIX (Issue No. 3) September 1963
- Year
- 1963
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- Kneel On Your Naked Knees By JOSEPH T. HOWARD 'pHOSE solemn words, "Kneel on your naked knees,” given to us by the Senior Warden at the moment before we take upon ourselves the obligation of the Sublime Degree of Freemasonry, carry much more than the instructions for getting us in "due form" before the Altar. Let us point out first, that the knees arc among the most useful and useable body parts that we possess. I have a friend who has two artifitial lower limbs. The mechanical "knees lock in place when he stands up. This makes his gait very laborious, if not quite awkward. Climbing stairs is a difficult chore and ascend ing a steep hill an impossibility. We take our knees for granted until their use is impaired. When I w’as a small boy I was struck by an automobile and had a stiff left knee for about six months. I still remember what a thrill it was to get that knee to bending again. It should, I believe, give us no uncommon stimulus to bend our knees to go to the relief of a distressed worthy brother. Too few of us climb the stairs to his sick room or to the plac c of his problems in order to extend a practical de monstration of our brotherly iove and friendship. Our stiff unbend ing limbs inform our brethren that we no longer care about them. I.et us remember that one of the five points of fellowship is "knee to knee" which may be to teach us that unless we bend the knee we can not make the fellowship contact complete. Let us next note the naked condi tion of our knees. They are exposed. As such they remind us again that, "we brought nothing into the world and can surely take nothing out of it.” This is not merely a hack phrase of the hyper-religious. It is a simple statement of fact that even the irreligious must admit. But much more than that, for those of us whose faith is in God, it clearly symbolizes our unadorned condition in the presence of our Maker. This puts us in the proper frame of mind to be good Masons since we are taught that outward appearance (especially before the GAU) is of no account. Unless we are already "Masons-committed” in our hearts, kneeling on our naked knees will not make us any more so. Our knees being naked simply reminds us further of outproper place in the universe and be fore God. I would like to suggest further that kneeling is a posture of power, penitence and compassion. It is said that in some occupations a common working position is on 94 The Cabletow the knees. An old stone mason when asked why lie worked from this apparently awkward position replied, "I can get more power into the blow o( my hammer!” Even as our an cient operative brethren found power to strike the blows necessary to divest stone of their superfluities, in a kneeling position, so we as specula tive Masons may find the power to divest our lives <>1 the extraneous elements which keep it from fitting into the plans ol the Master Builder, down on our knees. A beautiful scene in Masonic history is portrayed when King Solomon kneels beside the grave of Hiram Abiff for the purpose of prayer. The prayer it'■elf is deeply moving and inspiring but I am more impressed by what King Solomon says when he has finished his prayer. He says, “My mind is now dear!” Power to clear away doubts, fetus and uncertainties comes while we tire in the kneeling posture. We too, like King Solomon of old, can rise with clear minds to do whatever we know that we must. No Mason can claim that he is belter than another. We work “on the level.” We (tin not, like the Pharisee of old, (laint to be better than others. We must each admit our weaknesses, shortcomings and failures, lor as w< are taught in the (heat Light in Masonry, “Pride gocth before a fall.” If we fall on our knees before we fall flat on out laces in failure, we as penitent per sons arc much more likely to behave as we ought both in and out of the Lodge. Kneeling as a posture of pcnilancc is a constant reminder to our mind and conscience that “no man ought to think more highly of himself than he ought to think.” It may be a piece of outmoded melodramatics to sec the impassioned lover on his knees before his beloved at that crucial moment of asking for the hand of his lady fair. On the other hand, who can say that such a posture failed to convey clearly the meaning of the act? We kneel on our knees in a expression of our love to God. There is also a bowing down of spirit in compassion when we extend our love to the brethren, our filial feelings for one another. Kneeling on our knees should ever put us in remembrance of faith, hope and love. Of these three the latter is by far the greatest. It suffers long, it is kind, is not puffed up not does it think evil of anyone. These truths among others are brought home to us clearly during a portion of the Fellowcraft work. As we kneel on our knees for any cause we should be reminded of these lessons on love. May it ever be, then, that Brotherly Love will continue as we symbolically continue to “Kneel on our Naked Knees.” AAA race and the other race, being inferior and therefore they must be placed in an inferior position. Let us discard all those things, and unite as ono people throughout this land, until we shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal. -ABRAHAM LINCOLN September 1963 95