Chaplain...But Why?

Today I really had a lot of things on my mind. It is Father’s Day, and I spent my day at the Lodge scanning our records for digital and historical archives. It was a pretty good day I spent it with the “Fathers” of my Lodge.

But it allowed me to really think about some things. Oddly enough, it was really sparked from the actions of my Deputy Grand Master. When has asked me to be the Grand Chaplain on Saturday at an event I was attending.

Now I have always said it was my favorite office, and it is. But I am not sure I have ever written about why. Let me fix that real quick. Get ready, this may be a bit long with a fair number of points. So, grab your favorite beverage and let’s take a journey.

I grew up in a very, very, very Evangelical background. I mean as a kid, I attended the local Methodist church. BTW, I loved that the Methodist church would take a portion of the main service and bring the kids up and have their own thing. I always thought that was cool. Sometimes I was at the Church of Christ, while the local Nazarene. But ended up a part of the Pentecostal movement.

I have often made the joke that in the 80s, Jesus was not the Son of God, it was Jimmy Swaggert. Or the difference between my church and the snake handlers was that we did not handle snakes. The funny thing is, not super far off.

At one point in my life, I felt called to the ministry. Yep, I wanted to be a Youth Pastor. Go figure, right? But, as most kids do, I became angry with life, the church, and blamed God. I saw what I had read, what was being taught, and what was being done in the name of God to those outside the church and those within. Why do I want to be like that? I mean, if that’s what it's all about, I can do that on my own, right? So, I took off and “ran” from any idea, concept, or hint of God.

Later in life, I became a part of the Pagan Movement and an initiated Wiccan of a Tradition. I am an Elder of that Tradition, but I rarely use the title. I remember standing in a Yule ritual one year and being asked what I wanted. I responded with “I want to serve”. I was warned to be careful what I asked for. Again, “I want to serve”.

Now I consider myself more spiritual than religious. I am not a member of the Abrahamic faith traditions. If I am going to practice religiously, it will be my Wiccan Training. To me, it is far more balanced.

I wrote all of that to say this. I grew up being told the Catholics were the Harlots of Babylon in the Book of John's Revelation. That the Mormon church (LDS, and Community of Christ) were a cult and added to the Bible with the Book of Mormon and were going to Hell. That the Jewish Nation rejected Jesus so off to hell with them too. Do I believe any of this? No, I don’t. They are all different faiths that are doing their best to connect to God as they feel led.

I got mad and ran away from God years ago. I guess I am kinda like Jonah. God told him to do something, he got a bit hacked, said no, and ran. God looked down and said…Dude, watch this. A huge whale swallowed him, took him to where God wanted him, and placed him on the beach. Now I am sure all of that is really a symbolic story. I doubt a fish really ate Jonah and all that.

But you cannot run from a Divine calling. It just cannot be done. When you try to run from it, you run into it. It just is what it is. We can try, but we all have our own personal whale.

I learned that ministry is not standing in a pulpit preaching at people. It is service pure and simple. Sure, sometimes it is sharing your beliefs and ideas. Maybe part of my personal “ministry” is writing these articles? I don’t know.

I do know when I serve my Lodge as Chaplain, I leave my faith at the tylers station. I am there to minister to them, not put my personal faith on display. I am there to support my Brothers.

If my Christian Brother is hurting, and asks if I can pray with him. Or if I see he’s having a rough time, and I offer. I will pray in Jesus’s name. If a Muslim Brother, we will pray in the name of Allah (which is just the word God in a different language).

It is fun when I pray before or after a Lodge meeting, I am asked, do you know what you are going to say? Nope, I do not. Not till I take a knee, and it comes to me at that moment. Those are the most heartfelt and honest prayers, anyway.

But the one thing I will always do to end a closing prayer. “Our Ultimate Grand Master, please allow our eyes to be opened, that we may share the light of Masonry into a darkened world. For it is the one thing that can save it. “ This I believe to be truth.

I love you, and may we govern ourselves accordingly.