Ever since I was an impressionable young lad I have had this passage from the Bible memorized: Ezekiel 25:17, “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.” Call it my first memory work; I learned it from the movie Pulp Fiction.
Now, I am not exactly sure what kind of Bible director Quentin Tarantino checked, but scholars and theologians alike must gawk at the blatant error that is nearly the entirety of that supposed passage. Indeed, with the exception of the very last piece, I seem to be unable to find this passage as stated in any of my Douay-Rheims, King James or New International versions! As history would have it, Tarantino did not check his Bible but instead borrowed this quote from another movie entitled Karate Kiba, a martial arts film in which the introductory scene is almost verbatim the aforementioned “verse” from Ezekiel. Despite the fact that this verse is a “poser” and not from the Good Book as it purports to be, the message still carries great meaning for me -- even more so now that I am your Worshipful Master.
If we work through it, Jules’ monologue from Pulp Fiction is a message full of hope and wonder for all Freemasons. You see as Masons we are indeed each-other’s keepers, walking that narrow and dangerous path pointed out to us in the First Degree by the Junior Warden when he calls our attention to the pavement. Every step we take in this world is a choice between light and dark and as Brethren of the Mystic Tie, we are charged with the duties of charity and goodwill toward all men. The “lost children” must certainly be those seekers at the door of the Lodge, whom we find hungry for more light. The latter two sentences of the verse fill us with a sense of Divine protection, that not only does His all-seeing eye behold us but will look out for us, we the humble shepherds of goodwill. And indeed there are those attempting to poison and destroy us at every turn!
Rather than dwell on possible interpretations of this verse (which was more than adequately done in the movie) or even forcing it into having overarching Masonic meanings which probably were not there when the Director chose these words, I would like to direct your attention to the fact that meaning, carrying Truth, surrounds us in our daily lives -- whether it be from the Volume of Sacred Law, a humble film production, or the not-so-historically-accurate epic of our fallen Grand Master. Works of art that carry meaning educate and inspire us to excel in our lives and strive to become something more than what we are. This inspiration is the very centre of what we do as a Fraternity: we take good men and make them better.
I would like to challenge each of you to try, if you do not do so already, to see the underlying meaning in everything you do in life: it is there, I guarantee you. But more so, take those pieces of meaning you find and bring them to Lodge. Through sharing our realizations we will advance closer and closer to finding the Truth which we seek.
Brightest Blessings,
W. Bro. Adam Pigeon, W.M.
Exemplar Lodge #175, Edmonton
A.F. & A.M. - G.R.A.
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