by Sir Knight Terry L. Plemmons
The new year has begun. It will be a year filled with preparation, study, waiting, and at times anxiety and sorrow. We will reflect upon the troubles of the business world and of our brave young men and women defending freedom on foreign lands. But in all things we will be Templars.
While we embrace the newness of the year, now is not the time for idleness in our asylums. Together we will find wisdom in council, strength in purpose, and beauty in our lives. Like the grand lady who holds aloft her mighty torch, a light of liberty that streams forth to enlighten the world, so should we, from the mountain top, hold aloft the Templar cross. Shining from it is the full radiance of the message of peace and goodwill toward all men. Likewise, let the rays of love be reflected in a thousand unstained swords when drawn to form our mystic arch. In all our actions, let the world behold that we are Templars.
To be a Templar, a Knight of the cross is to be a model for our fellows and a guide to the young Mason. We do well to remember the white plume upon our chapeau. It is a symbol of purity which should be our constant care; a sacred trust we preserve till our dying breath.
In our daily lives we will find ourselves surrounded at times by want, despair, and sorrow. Our Father has placed each of us here in this time and at this place in our lives with a purpose. He has placed within each of us specific gifts and talents which we are to use to honor His holy name, to restore peace to the troubled mind, and to be a light in a dark world.
The charity of a Templar reaches far beyond our measured miles. It surpasses the physical needs of a weary friend; it does not stop with words of sympathy to a grieving widow or council to a troubled brother. It is the fiber that binds us together. And yet, charity can be found in a kind smile, a warm hand, and a sparkling eye.
The realization of who we are and under whose banner we are enlisted gives us the strength to perform our duties. We are stewards of the time God has given us; we may do with it what we will. The young look eagerly toward the future; the eyes of the old are turned toward the past. In life's journey we hear the roar of eternity ahead of us, yet we oft are heedless of her call. The time that is given us is ours, by our actions, words, and deeds we write the epitaph upon our headstones and record our memory in the hearts of our brethren. Therefore in all things we will be Templars.
During an address delivered at Mount Eagle, Tennessee, on June 14, 1882, Past Grand Commander of Tennessee, George Cooper Connor, said this. "To-day we stand upon this lofty peak, do we recall the high mountain of Galilee, where the Prince of Darkness tempted our Great Captain, but tempted him in vain? Not even the gift of all the kingdoms of the earth could seduce his eternal fidelity. Surely neither prejudice nor habit can betray us into the irreverent use of His holy name or induce us to cherish feelings or indulge practices that would cause our great Commander to turn away in sorrow from the gathering of His professed friends. He now sits on the right hand of the Eternal, receiving the adoration of cherubim and seraphim while the myriads surrounding chant aloud the anthem of redemption, the divine Grand Master of the Templars, the crucified occupant of the sepulcher beholding this gathering of His fellow soldiers. May we at our passing awaken to such a glorious scene. Closing our eyes in that final rest, finding ourselves content, knowing we have been faithful in all things and in whom we have placed our trust."
The Volume of Sacred Law says this;"ye are the salt of the earth," "let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." And finally from James these words "can the fig bear olives; either a vine, figs? So, can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."
Some say our best days are behind us; our days of glory have long passed. To that I do not agree; it simply remains for us to believe and to do. Whatever is good and right when we set ourselves to it can be done. We can choose to merely exist, which we may do in mediocrity thereby slowing fading into the night to be forgotten by the world, or we may be who we say we are. The day is ours, our destiny lies before us. What will we make of it? My Fratres, in all things we will be Templars.
Sir Knight Terry L. Plemmons is Past Commander of Lookout Commandery No. 14 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Past Grand Commander of Tennessee, and is currently serving as Southeast Department Commander for the Grand Encampment. He can be reached at tpchatt199@earthlink.net