The Oration

Bob Davis, who was the Grand Orator of the United Grand Imperial Council gave an outstanding oration at out meeting. He gave me permission to reprint his oration. I urge you to read it.

WHO LAID THE CORNERSTONE OF THE UNIVERSE?

Robert G. Davis, PS, Grand Orator
UGIC, Red Cross of Constantine, 2009
Oklahoma City, OK


In the 38th Chapter of the Book of Job, God speaks to Job with these words: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know? Or who stretched the line upon it? Or where were the foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

In the original context, the words sound as a warning to us. In some ways, God seems to be sending the message to Job—“Your concerns, important as they may be to you, are not truly of cosmic significance.” It is a lesson in perspective. It seems to be a part of our human nature to get wrapped up in who we are, what we do; so wrapped up in our own thoughts and concerns that we often assume the things which are important to us are of importance to everyone—that we are the center of the universe. We see this all the time in conversations, where the dialogue is always in the first person. “I did this. I did that. I know my opinion about almost everything is best and it goes without saying that you agree with me.” It is obvious from our selection from Job that God does not take this point of view. And neither does Freemasonry.

Even though our fraternity clearly endorses the great Enlightenment motto that “Man is the measure of all things,” it also clearly teaches us that the concerns which are supposed to be the most important to us are of cosmic significance. They are not about expanding our own ego, but of containing it. The central theme of the Entered Apprentice Degree is the death of the Ego. The concerns which are supposed to be important to us are concerns of the Divine nature within us; and these truly are of cosmic significance. I suggest to you that this understanding of Masonry is the central reason we have Christian-based Orders of fraternity. And we always have.

The Rites and Orders of Masonry address the seemingly confusing dilemma in man that our works, as important as they may be to us, are, in the big picture, only strivings after a reflected Glory. Our knowledge and understanding, much as these may increase and grow, are nothing compared to that great knowledge which created the laws of physics and chemistry by which the universe operates. And this cosmic level of understanding does not lessen man, but glorifies him.

God has given us many priceless gifts, but perhaps the most precious is that he allows us to partake of His nature. Each of us intuitively knows that to think and to create is the nature of God. We ascribe to Him knowledge and wisdom—but to us alone, of all the creatures of this earth, He has given the same answer.

No other animal has ever written a poem, or painted a painting, or designed a building, or planned and prepared a mission into deep space, or composed a symphony, or built an automobile, or charted and named the stars. This is the image of God in which we are made, that we are able to conceive and create. Thus, each of us is given an opportunity to participate each day in that Divine nature.

This means that in the process of our being, we can create something every day which was not there before. Each of us can have the great satisfaction of knowing that we have done something well, aided a great cause, helped a child, loved another fellow human being. It is a precious gift that we have been given. And every man in this room knows that it is a gift Masonry admonishes us to discover and liberally use. Indeed, one of the tangible benefits of being a member of the Red Cross of Constantine is that we can associate with many such men.

But there is a risk, as there is with many gifts. Because we are free to choose how we react to life, we can become victims of our own misplaced sense of importance. I have known some Grand Masters like that; even some SGIG’s like that; and even some General Grand Masters like that. We have all known such men. The bane of being successful men is that we can easily forget being a fellow with the Craft.

Again, it is human nature for us to think that nothing, literally nothing, is as important as the task we believe to be necessary, or the idea we believe to be right. A little bit of confidence makes it hard to accept different points of view. Yet, history is wrought with examples of how man has debased, harmed, tortured and destroyed his fellow man just because of a different point of view.

Even on a personal scale, as our experience and confidence grows with our life, it is easy for us to feel so sure we have the best judgment that we refuse to listen to the opinion of someone who believes otherwise. Our churches and political systems are full of such people.

It is a simple matter to believe that our faith, our denomination, our social circle, our political party, our friends are right, and that others are necessarily wrong, or at least less right.

But the point I’m trying to make with this rambling is that this is not the reflected nature of God. This is not the message of the Divine within us. This is not the example of the Christ-Savior of the New Testament. To put ourselves above others—to set ourselves apart from others—to judge others and not ourselves—is to participate only in a collective mediocrity.

Knights Companions, the Red Cross of Constantine is above whatever mediocrity we may find in our fraternal Order. Ours is not an Order to glorify the vanity of man, but to search for all things good and beautiful in the best of men.

As Masons of the Constantinian Order, we rejoice in God’s great gifts of thought and creativity. We strive to make our way to a good place, to a wider and more gracious life; do a great day’s work; rise above the mediocrity—apply what we were admonished to apply in the very beginning of our Masonic journey—to employ the right fundamentals to our life. To be all that we can be; lift up life; and ennoble the lives of others with our own life. This is what it means to partake in God’s nature.

And in the process of our growing; and all the recognitions and titles we take on as active participants in our fraternity, let us never forget that we were not there when God laid the cornerstone of the universe. It is given us only to participate in His nature. This is why we really must know and apply the right fundamentals to our own life. It is important that we live a life of meaning.

To lay the cornerstone of the universe was God’s task alone—but the Orders and Rites of Freemasonry of which many of us have invested our very lives have given us the opportunity to lay the cornerstone of our own lives, and to set the other cornerstones which serve to support our lives, our friendships, and our work on this earth. Knights Companions, may we always lay them well; for there is nothing more Divine in this life than to be the best example of God’s nature in man.


I thought about this paragraph a lot when I went through the Cowboy Museum and looked at the wonderful art there.

No other animal has ever written a poem, or painted a painting, or designed a building, or planned and prepared a mission into deep space, or composed a symphony, or built an automobile, or charted and named the stars. This is the image of God in which we are made, that we are able to conceive and create. Thus, each of us is given an opportunity to participate each day in that Divine nature.

Next time you write a poem, paint a picture or just look at one that someone else has done keep in mind that there was an opportunity to participate in that Divine nature. For me that insight was worth the whole trip to Oklahoma.