The "Da Chapter Code"
As this is my maiden address in one of our Quarterly Convocations, I think I can be excused a small preamble prior to the words which you will soon hear. I feel a little over-awed by the wealth of knowledge which has been presented over the years by my erudite predecessors in this position of Grand Lecturer. Some of them are here tonight. It is very difficult to find new topics of discussion when so much subject matter has been covered over a period of many years.
I speak of the men of the calibre of Right or Very Eminent, as the case may now be, Peter Thornton, the "Barry Jones" of Freemasonry, Terry Hodges, a lecturer and student of the Art, Bill Whitford, who presents talks in such an entertaining was as no-one else can, Mervyn Kidd, learned scholar, teacher and gentleman, My old friend Jack Heatley, who has discovered in part the subject of my little discourse this evening, Len Lacy, truly mystical in may of his presentations, Kingsley Sheehan, who will be remembered for his untiring work for the Order during his term of office, Wayne Smith, who gave many fine orations at consecrations and re-consecrations, and Fred Kohn, whose contributions are still on file today. So many others have given of their best to the position that it is a formidable task to try to keep up the standard.
And now you have me – something different altogether! I make no apologies for saying that I will be drawing on their accumulated knowledge, in part, for what I will be presenting over the next couple of years because there is so much good material contained therein.
Another good source of material is that from the members of the Order. I would be very happy to hear from any Companion who would like to present one of his own lectures in other Chapters – particularly from those in more remote Chapters. This doesn't mean that I will be neglecting my duties but a panel of assistants would be very nice to have as a back-up. One Companion has already spoken to me at our recent Grand Installation but, unfortunately, I have lost his name, for which I apologise. Please contact me again Companion.
And so to the subject of tonight's discourse.
Over the last couple of years, much has been written about a certain book – both in support of it and vehemently against it. Although fictional, many points in the book touch on subjects of interest to many Freemasons. I am speaking of the "Da Vinci Code". I am not going to mention it much at all except to say that I consider it does have certain broad parallels with Freemasonry – often vitriolic condemnation, great support from those who believe in the story and are interested in it, and a search for something lost. What was lost was found in the book – part in fiction, of course, and part in truth as your own personal beliefs dictate. Therefore, tonight's little talk is the "DA CHAPTER CODE"!
Our search takes on a different course – one of truth but, perhaps, interpreted differently in each of us. From our birth as EAs, we enter on a search through life and its mysteries as FCs. In each part of our progress in Freemasonry, we desire the knowledge of different WORDS. Some of our Masonic Orders give us the satisfaction of acknowledgment of personal attributes or life skills. I am not giving anything away when I tell you that my own name or characteristic in the Royal Order of Scotland is Carl "Activity", something which I will retain for the rest of my life, even if I am relying on a walking stick or something even more restrictive.
Each Word, as it is given to us, is intended to have a subtle and lasting effect on our thoughts and intellect; a small step towards that better understanding of the imperfect tabernacle which is ourselves.
It is fairly clear, during our everyday lives, that we gain understanding of our surroundings and fellows by the use of our native tongue. It is taken as a matter of course without any thought as to the miracle behind the process. Speech most likely began when man became conscious that he used certain interjections to express his feelings and this thus differentiates man from the animals. Speech must have begun with the vowels because these are the natural utterings of vocal sounds even in babies. It wasn't long before man learned that certain words or combinations of vowels had a beneficial or harmful effect upon him. Sir Francis Bacon said "Men suppose their reason has command over their words; still it happens that words in return exercise authority on reason.". Both the vocative and written words can be dynamic and once their force is released they are not easily controlled – as I think we all know. And, of course, sound has a very important impact on our nervous systems and can even be detrimental to us. Rap music, loud and continuous noise, loud planes – to mention but a few sounds – can all make us feel miserable if exposed to it for too long.
The works of great authors can produce varying degrees of euphoria and certainly have a power to change emotion. Chaucer wrote in Middle English, in the language which the people of that time could understand even if we might have a bit of trouble with it today. For example, in the "Prologue to the Canterbury Tales" he wrote "When that April with his showers soote, The droughte of March hath peirced to the roote, And bathed every veine in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flowr.".
I need not remind the Companions that William Shakespeare left an indelible impression on the minds of men. Indeed, in one Star Trek movie the dreaded Klingons claimed him to be one of their own and quoted him in their own, fictitious tongue. In more recent times, Winston Churchill inspired the British people to greater efforts by the power of the spoken word. And, of course, the power expressed by words and the combinations of them in our own rituals can invoke great emotional and intellectual changes in our thoughts; often purely by a simple variation in their different inflections in the presentations by any two different Brethren.
The reason why I mention the advent of speech and its development is to bring you to the "Da Chapter Code". In the Bible, we are told that with FAITH we will move mountains. The same principle is veiled for in faith we have confidence; real confidence which comes from knowledge. The knowledge of which I speak is a real confidence in knowing that the WORD is almost (hopefully) within our grasp. It is a spiritual advancement in which you must maintain a tolerant, sympathetic and open mind free from all dogmatism and bigotry.
The WORD is also called the LOGOS! It mostly refers to an entire thought - rather than an individual term or unit of speech – which comes from, or expresses an idea of, the CREATOR or his power. Genesis 1:3 states "And God said Let There Be Light; and there was light.". Psalm 33:6 states "By the WORD of the Lord were the Heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.". The WORD is also depicted in His thoughts through his messengers – Angels and others – as to His requirements. We glimpse here a sense of the POWER of the WORD of GOD. The idea is further projected in the Book of Deuteronomy 8:3 which tells us "He may make thee known that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord." and there are numerous other references to the WORD of GOD in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, references which are of great importance to Christian Masons often appear. Arguably the most important of these is John 1:1-2 which tells us "In the beginning was the WORD and the WORD was with GOD and the WORD was GOD. The same was in the beginning with GOD.". These, of course, refer to the Christian Avatar who is so important to those Christian Masons but also allude, in my mind, to the origins of the Creation and the power expressed in this stupendous event.
It is interesting to note that cultures and civilisations quite remote from each other expressed similar ideas regarding the creative power of spoken words. Memphis was the ancient capital of Egypt and was the site of a powerful priesthood serving the god Ptah, I have a liking for Ptah because he was the very ancient patron god of artisans and craftsmen which gives him something of an affinity with Freemasons being something, in my mind, of a parallel figure with Tubal Cain or Hiram Abif, both of whom were, themselves, artisans.
It is said that Ptah communicated information to the artificers and artisans for the design of architecture and industrial arts. The priests contemplated this over many centuries and decided that he must be the designer of the universe, a master workman and would therefore be declared as the Supreme Being with all things beginning in his mind. And so they declared that it took Ptah's spoken word to materialise his thoughts and bring them into existence and that these could possibly be spoken by the priesthood. The Babylonians and Sumerians each declared similar attributes for their gods - those of the power of creation of the spoken word through Marduk and Enlil. The Hebrew Kabala contains a book known as the Sepher Yezirah which means the Book Of Creation. It states, in one part, that via numbers "And from nothingness did he make something in all forms of speech and created every thing.". Ancient Greek schools of philosophy declare similar beliefs – the power of the WORD or LOGOS from GOD.
And so back to the "Da Chapter Code". We must come to terms with a variety of mystical and philosophical truths in our search to try to comprehend the nature and essence of the LOST WORD and this can only be achieved by a subjective awareness of our own interpretation of this very involved subject. I believe that the teachings of this august degree are based on a higher plane and penetrate the deepest recesses of the heart, arousing our inmost emotion, inducing in the member reverence and awe. It is beyond dispute that the degree of the Holy Royal Arch is of ancient origin because certain of its proceedings have been practised for centuries by Eastern and other peoples.
The Royal Arch degree has for its main quest the NAME of the DIVINE BEING in all His mystic solemnity, ineffable majesty, omnipotence and incomprehensible eternity of existence. If we were to visit any one of the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal or any magnificent cathedral and analyse it – reducing it to its basics – we would eventually have a pile of rocks and mortar without any semblance of the from we have come to know. The same applies to great works of art. In the same way, these can be reduced to a square of canvas, some coloured powders and some varnish – nothing very attractive or interesting to look at! The ideas behind the edifice or painting are the reason that it is beautiful and not so much the small parts composing it. A Masonic writer once said of the HRA degree "The perspicacious mind will not fail to perceive an allegory of the spiritual process which has been going on within the candidate himself. It is he, as it is every human soul, that has been in Babylonian bondage, in captivity to the Babel confusion of mundane existence, the tyranny of material interests and the chaos of his own disordered nature.".
"The Word", expressing the Essence of Deity, is known as "The Ineffable Word" because the deity itself is inexpressible by man and therefore "The Word" is improper for man to utter. The Tetragrammaton, which is a Greek word meaning a four letter word, is part of and defines the very Essence of God. We, as Royal Arch Freemasons, pass through the intricate windings of this mortal life in the hope of obtaining some small understanding of it.
Carl Stemp PGSN - Grand Lecturer - Quarterly Convocation – July 20th, 2005
