Page 13 - MFM Jan Feb 2024

BY MERIT ALONE: THE BASIS OF
MASONIC ADVANCEMENT
The approaching end of a Masonic year always directs
the minds of brethren to consider the expected changes
in leadership that take place in a lodge. The question of
“moving up through the chairs” is well-known to us all;
every lodge informs its brethren of the requirements
to become Master, and occasionally, jovial reference
are made to how and when a brother will fulfi ll those
requirements. However, what we do not often ask
ourselves is what Masonry itself teaches us about the
qualities and expectations of those who are elected
to hold offi ce in a lodge. Here we are not talking only
about the code of any one grand lodge, but about what
Freemasonry has taught-for at least 300 years-about the
nature of being advanced through the offi ces of a lodge.
The acceptance of a so-called “progressive line”, where
a brother simply moves up each year to the next position
because he occupied the previous on, has become so
commonplace throughout the Craft that one would
assume that it is the prescribed method of operation.
One even hears brothers say things such as “we use the
progressive line”, as if it is a working tool of the fraternity.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The use of
this practice as a general principle, while it may seem
sensible, or even “fair” to some, has arguably done more
harm than good to the Craft, because as is so common in
human nature, the focus is placed on the expected
human nature, the focus is placed on the expected
outcome rather than everything else that
outcome rather than everything else that
is expected from the brother in order to
is expected from the brother in order to
achieve it.
Lodges become assembly lines,
with men moving through the
chairs without understanding the
signifi cance of any of the offi ces they
occupy, merely focusing on becoming
Master of the lodge, without ever having
Master of the lodge, without ever having
understood what responsibilities fall upon
understood what responsibilities fall upon
such an offi ce, and how to carry them out.
such an offi ce, and how to carry them out.
Before the reader prepares to argue with such an
Before the reader prepares to argue with such an
assessment, please understand that it also paraphrases
William Preston’s comment on the same subject, from
250 years ago. The issue has been with us from the
beginning.
What becomes lost in a lodge that constructs as conveyor
belt towards the Oriental Chair is the question of merit.
Montana Freemason
Andrew U. Hammer
Deputy Grand Lecturer & Grand Historian
Grand Lodge District of Columbia
Has each offi cer done what he needs to do to merit
being elected to the next position in the lodge? It may
surprise some brothers to learn that this question is not
open-ended, but rather at the very core of speculative
Freemasonry. It is explicitly stated in the Constitutions of
Free-Masons, more commonly referred to as Anderson’s
Constitutions, published in 1723. In the Charges of
a Free-Mason, Section IV addresses the manner of
advancement, and is unambiguous:
All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real
Worth and personal Merit only; that so the Lords may
be well served, the Brethren not put to shame, nor the
Royal Craft espied: Therefore n0 Master or Warden is
chosen by Seniority, but for his Merit. It is impossible
to describe these things in Writing, and every Brother
must attend in his Place, and learn them in a Way
peculiar to this Fraternity.
There is no room for interpretation here. Seniority, or
one’s present place in the line, means nothing in the
matter of advancement. Merit is the only place in the
historical writings of the Craft where this principle is
stated. The primacy of merit is abundantly expressed;
space simply does not permit a comprehensive account
to be given here.
Naturally, when one puts forth the idea that
Naturally, when one puts forth the idea that
lodges should always conform to this
lodges should always conform to this
standard of selection, there will be others
standard of selection, there will be others
who say, well, what about the brother
who say, well, what about the brother
who is jumped over, or held back?
Fortunately, Masonry comes to the
rescue again, and gives us instructions
on exactly how to deal with that. We
would not have such instructions unless
the situation was expected to occur.
the situation was expected to occur. And
each of us hears those instructions every
each of us hears those instructions every
year, at the installation ceremony in every
year, at the installation ceremony in every
lodge.
lodge.
The following familiar words, from the Charge to the
Brethren, date back to the 18th century:
Such is the nature of our Constitution that as some
must of necessity, rule and teach, so others must
submit and obey. Humility, in both, is an essential
duty. The offi cers who are appointed to govern your
Page 13 Jan/Feb 2024 Volume 100 No.1