213 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
213 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.VIII August, 1930 No.8
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CORN, WINE AND OIL
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by: Unknown
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The wages which our ancient brethren received for their labors in the
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building of King Solomon’s Temple are paid no more. In the lodge we
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use them as symbols, save in the dedication, constitution and
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consecration of a new lodge and in the laying of cornerstones, when
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once again the fruit of the land, the brew of the grape and the
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essence of the olive are poured to launch a new unit of brotherhood
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into the fellowship of lodges; or to begin a new structure dedicated
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to the public use.
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Corn, wine and oil have been associated together from the earliest
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times. In Deuteronomy the “nation of fierce countenance” which is to
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destroy the people “shall not leave thee either corn, wine or oil.”
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In II Chronicles we read “the children of Israel brought in abundance
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the first fruits of corn, wine and oil -.”Nehemiah tells of “a great
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chamber where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the
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frankincense and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new
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wine and the oil - “ and later “then brought all Judah the tithe of
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the corn, the new wine and the oil into the treasures.”
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There are other references in the Great Light to these particular
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forms of taxes, money and tithes for religious purposes; wealth and
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refreshment. In ancient days the grapes in the vineyard and olives
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in the grove and the grain of the field were not only wealth but the
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measure of trade; so many skins of wine, so many cruses of oil, so
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many bushels of corn were to them as are dollars and cents today.
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Thus our ancient brethren received wages in corn, wine and oil as a
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practical matter; they were paid for their labors in the coin of the
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realm.
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The oil pressed from the olive was as important to the Jews in
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Palestine as butter and other fats are among occidentals. Because it
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was so necessary, and hence so valuable, it became an important part
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of sacrificial rites. There is no point in the sacrifice which is
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only a form. To be effective it must offer before the Altar
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something of value; something the giving of which will testify to the
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love and veneration in which the sacrificer holds the Most High.
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Oil was also used not only as a food but for lighting purposes; more
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within the house than in the open air, where torches were more
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effective. Oil was also an article of the bath; mixed with perfume
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it was used in the ceremonies of anointment, and in preparation for
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ceremonial appearances. The “Precious ointment upon the head, which
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ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the
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skirts of his garment;” as the quotation has it in our entered
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Apprentice Degree, (and Nevada’s Master Mason opening and closing)
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was doubtless made of olive oil, suitably mixed with such perfumes
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and spices as myrrh, cinnamon, galbanum and frankincense. Probably
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oil was also used as a surgical dressing; nomadic peoples, subject to
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injuries, could hardly avoid knowledge of the value of soothing oil.
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With so many uses for oil, its production naturally was stimulated.
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Not only was the production of the olive grove a matter of wealth,
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but the nourishing and processing of the oil gave employment to many.
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Oil was obtained from the olive both by pressing - probably by a
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stone wheel revolving in or on a larger stone, mill or mortar - and
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also by a gentle pounding. This hand process produced a finer
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quality of oil. “And thou shalt command the children of Israel that
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they bring pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to
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burn always.” (Exodus, 27-20.)
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The corn of the Bible is not the corn we know today.
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In many, if not the majority of the uses of the word, a more
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understandable translation would be simply “grain.” The principal
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grains of the Old Testament days were barley and wheat; corn
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represents not only both of these, but all the grains which the Jews
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cultivated. Our modern corn, cultivated and cross-bred was, of
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course, unknown to the ancients, although it might be going too far
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to say they had no grain similar to the Indian maize from which our
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great corn crop has grown.
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An ear of grain has been an emblem of plenty since the mists of
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antiquity which shroud the beginnings of mythology. Ceres, goddess
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of abundance, survives today in our cereals. The Greeks call her
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Demeter, a corruption of Gemeter, our mother earth. She wore a
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garland of grain and carried ears of grain in her hand.
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The Hebrew Shibboleth means both an ear of corn and a flood of water.
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Both are symbols of abundance, plenty and wealth. American Masonic
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use of a sheaf of wheat in place of an ear of wheat - or any other
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grain such as corn - seems rather without point or authority. As for
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the substitution occasionally heard, of “water ford” for “water
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fall,” we can only blame the corrupting influence of time and the
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ignorance of those who have permitted it, since a water “Ford”
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signifies a paucity, the absence of water, while a water “Fall”
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carries out both the translation of the word and the meaning of the
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ear of corn - plenty.
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Scarcely less important to our ancient brethren than their corn and
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oil, was the wine. Vineyards were highly esteemed both as wealth and
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as a comfort - the pleasant shade of the “vine and fig tree” was a
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part of ancient hospitality. Vineyards on mountain sides or hills
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were most carefully tended and protected against washing away by
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terraces and walls, as even today one may see the hillsides of the
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Rhine. Thorn hedges kept cattle from helping themselves to the
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grapes. The vineyardist frequently lived in a watch tower or hut on
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an elevation to keep sharp look-out that neither predatory man nor
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beast took his ripening wealth.
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The feast of Booths, in the early fall, when the grapes were ripe,
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was a time of joy and happiness. “New Wine” - that is, the
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unfermented, just pressed-out juice of the grape - was drunk by all.
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Fermented wine was made by storing the juice of the grape in skins or
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bottles. Probably most of the early wine of Old Testament days was
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red, but later the white grape must have come into esteem - at least,
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it is the principal grape of production for that portion of the world
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today.
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Corn, wine and oil form important and necessary parts of the
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ceremonies of the dedication, consecration and constitution of a new
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lodge.
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Lodges were anciently dedicated to King Solomon, but as we all know,
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our modern lodges are dedicated to the Holy Sts. John. “and since
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their time there is represented in every regular and well-governed
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lodge a certain point within a circle, emborderd by two parallel
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perpendicular lines, representing those saints.”
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This symbol of the point within the circle is far older than King
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Solomon’s Temple. The two lines which emborder it, and which we
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consider represent the Saints, were originally representative of the
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summer and winter solstices. The Holy Sts. John have their “days” so
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closely to the summer and winter solstices - (June 24 and December 27
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are almost coincident to June 21 and December 21) that there can be
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little doubt that both lines and dates represented to our “ancient
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brethren” the highest and lowest points which the sun reached in its
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travels north and south. They are, most intimately connected with
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the time of fecundity and harvest, the festivals of the first fruits,
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the depths of winter and the beginning of the long climb of the sun
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up from the south towards the days of warmth which that climb
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promised.
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Hence corn, wine and oil - the produce of the land - are natural
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accompaniments to the dedication of a lodge which it is hoped will
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prosper, reap in abundance of the first fruits of Masonic cultivation
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and a rich harvest of ripe character from the seeds it plants.
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Corn, wine and oil poured upon the symbolic lodge at the ceremony
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which creates it, are essential to “erection” or “consecration.” All
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lodges are “erected to God and Consecrated to the services of the
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Most High.” From earliest times consecration has been accompanied by
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sacrifice, a free-will offering of something of real value to those
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who thus worship. Hence the sacrifice of corn, wine and oil - the
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wealth of the land, the strength of the tribe, the come-fort and
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well-being of the individual - at the consecration of any place of
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worship or service of God.
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Like so much else in our ceremonies, the idea today is wholly
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symbolic. The Grand Master orders his Deputy (or whatever other
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officer is customary) to pour the Corn, the Senior Grand Warden to
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pour the Wine and the Junior Grand Warden to pour the oil upon the
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“lodge” - usually a covered structure representing the original Ark
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of the Covenant. The corn is poured as an emblem of nourishment; the
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wine as an emblem of refreshment and the oil as an emblem of joy and
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happiness.
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The sacrifice we thus make is not actual, any more than Masonic work
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is physical labor. The ceremony should mean to those who take part
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in it, to those who form the new lodge, that the symbolic sacrifice
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will be made real by the donation of the necessary time, effort,
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thought and brotherly affection which will truly make the new lodge
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an effective instrument in the hands of the builders. When the Grand
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Master constitutes the new lodge, he brings it legally into
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existence. A man and a woman may be married in a civil ceremony of
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consecration. But as the joining of a man and woman in matrimony is
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by most considered as a sacrament, to be solemnized with the blessing
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of the Most High, so is the creation of a new lodge, but the
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consecration is also its spirit.
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In the laying of a corner stone the Grand Master also pours, or
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causes to be poured, the corn, wine and oil, symbolizing health,
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prosperity and peace. The fruits of the land are poured upon the
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cornerstone to signify that it will form part of a building which
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shall grow, be used for purposes of proper refreshment, and become
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useful and valuable to men. The ceremonies differ in different
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Jurisdictions - indeed, so do those of the dedication, consecration
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and constitution of a lodge - but the essential idea is the same
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everywhere. regardless of the way in which they are applied in the
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ritualistic ceremonies.
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It probably matters very little what varieties of grain, of oil and
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juice of the grape are used in these ceremonies. The symbolism will
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be the same, since the brethren assembled will not know the actual
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character of the fruits of the earth being used. The main theme is
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that “Fruits of the Earth” are being used, no matter which fruits
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they are! To be quite correct though, barley or wheat should be used
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for the corn, olive oil for the oil, and sacramental wine, such as is
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permitted by the Volstead Act (during the days of the prohibition!)
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for religious purposes for the wine. It may be noted, however, that
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“new wine” or unfermented grape juice was used by the children of
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Israel as a sacrificial wine, the ordinary grape juice in no way
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destroys the symbolism. Mineral oil, of course is oil, and is a
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“fruit of the earth” in the sense that it comes from the “clay which
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is constantly being employed for man’s use.” The oil of Biblical
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days, however, was wholly vegetable, whether it was the olive oil of
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commerce, or the oil of cedar as was used in burials.
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Corn, wine and oil were the wages paid our ancient brethren. They
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were the “Master’s Wages” of the days of King Solomon. Masons of
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this day receive no material wages for their labors; the work done in
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a lodge is paid for only in the coin of the heart. But those wages
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are no less real. They may sprout as does the grain, strengthen as
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does the wine, nourish as does the oil. How much we receive and what
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we do with our wages depends entirely on our Masonic work. A brother
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obtains from his lodge and from his Order only what he puts into it.
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Our ancient brethren were paid for their physical labors. Whether
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their wages were paid for work performed upon the mountain and in the
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quarries, or whether they received corn, wine and oil because they
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labored in the fields or vineyards, it was true then, and it is true
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now, that only “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” To
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receive the equivalent of corn, wine and oil, a brother must labor.
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He must till the fields of his own heart or build the temple of his
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own “house not made with hands. “He must labor to his neighbor or
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carry stones for his brother’s temple.
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If he stands, waits, watches and wonders he will not be able to
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ascend into the Middle Chamber where our ancient brethren received
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their wages. If he works for the joy of working, does his part in
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his lodge work, takes his place among the laborers of Freemasonry, he
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will receive corn, wine and oil in measures pressed down and running
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over, and know a Fraternal Joy as substantial in fact as it is
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ethereal in quality; as real in his heart as it is intangible to the
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profane of the world.
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For all of us then corn, then wine and then oil are symbols of
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sacrifice, of the fruits of labor, of wages earned. For all of us,
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“SO MOTE IT BE!”
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