Indiana Supplement
By SK Steve Arlington
Grand Prelate
In the past I have read the submissions of others discussing this
holiday. I wanted this year to take somewhat of a different approach on
Thanksgiving. We know the story of the Pilgrims and Indians sharing
the feast, but there are a few more lessons to this holiday.
The “Pilgrims” as we all call them were more accurately known as
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During this period of history, very few
people in England had the means to privately finance trips to the New
World. With time, charter companies were formed in which many people could make investments of capital, expecting a return share of the
profit of the colony once it was established.
Our Pilgrims, after leaving England in search of religious freedom,
first went to Holland. After a brief stay there, finding this culture undesirable, they set off for the New World. At this time, there already existed a colony in Jamestown.
The lesson to be learned is found in the contrast of the two establishments. While both suffered hardship, harsh winters, starvation and
disease, the Massachusetts Bay Colony quickly began to flourish and
prosper, enjoying not only success but community and organization well
beyond that of Jamestown.
Jamestown was a colony that was occupied by indentured servants
and masters. This colony eventually found its niche in the popular tobacco trade and was operated in a corporate culture. Since families were
not traveling to the establishment, the indentured servants were unrelated, independent of others they believed and seeking to make their fortune
The Massachusetts Bay Colony, however, was comprised of nearly all families. Each establishment first built a church and used that
building for town government, trials and social gatherings. The closely
knit families worked in their households for the common good of themselves and, as Christianity would dictate, the common welfare of the
community. There was an element of capitalism and mercantilism within the residents, but it was carefully balanced with providing for the less
fortunate and supporting the common good.
One might think, “the way it has been described, it only makes
sense that the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be more likely to flourish.”, but one of the important lessons isn’t which method is superior,
but why?
When you take a group of individuals and release them to that
which is beneficial to them singly, you will soon find an environment
overrun with somewhat of a social cannibalism. We as creatures have
demonstrated time and again through history a basic repetitive premise
in scripture… it is this: It is not within us to guide our own steps. The
next time you begin to feel lofty and spiritually advanced, go on
YouTube and type in the word “fail” and spend some time witnessing
this cosmically or spiritually advanced race we call humans. While God
the Father endowed us with the ability to create beyond survival and the
arts, he did not equip us with a supernatural GPS for us to utilize in his
absence. Which leads to the other point.
There may have been planning or decisions that needed to be
made that the Bay Colony believed they could handle, but a quick overview of their governing documents makes it irrefutably clear that they
believed God to be their guidance. If your neighbor is doing something
contrary to scripture, while still your neighbor, he was wrong. If a
friend was partaking in evil practices, they were evil practices. These
settlers saw no correctness, nor need for that matter, to bend and shape
and manipulate the Word of God to make more friends, keep things
comfortable in social settings or be more popular.
Sir Knights, when you scoot your feet under the table this Thanksgiving to Thank God for all the bountifulness of living in the most
blessed nation on earth, thank Him for his guidance. Then later, when
everyone else has drifted into their naps and football games, slip off and
find that book presented to you at the Masonic altar. Read it. Read it
with acceptance that those words are instructions on how to properly
operate, written by the Engineer that created the machine to operate just
that way. The consistency and simplicity in those lines will be refreshing.
Just as Jamestown struggled, had to be reestablished several times,
suffered civic unrest and was generally undesirable by every measure,
we, as Christians, can expect no better fate spiritually should we continue the redefining, reshaping and separation of our spiritual trestle board
to fit our needs. Remember, the only men that will join our ranks as soldiers of Christ are the ones that believe they will be comfortable associating with us based on who WE are. So who will be signing our petitions tomorrow?
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Knight Templar
Edward L. Sebring KCT, GPE, editor
316 Church St., Vincennes, IN 47591
812-890-2992
[email protected]
James Bolinger, GC
Grand Prelate’s Thanksgiving message
The First Thanksgiving
November 2015
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