John W. Bizzack, Ph.D.

If there is an allegory bursting with parallels to Freemasonry and the Fraternity that surrounds it, The Parable of the Sower is it. The Parable of the Sower concerns a sower who scatters seed, which falls on four different types of ground. The hard ground by the wayside prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. The stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants. The good ground receives the seed and produces much fruit. How does this agricultural parable apply to Freemasonry?

Since at least March of this year, we have learned just how incompatible Masonic assemblies are with the new practice of social distancing. As the alarm increased across throughout the nation about the spread of the coronavirus, the Institution of Freemasonry was unceremoniously introduced to the true extent of the long- standing but often ignored reality that the culture and society of our nation does indeed directly affect the attitudes of existing and future generations of Freemasons as well as our practices. While our philosophies – the features that make up the Doctrine of Freemasonry – are not in jeopardy of changing because of the pandemic, it appears that, for some time to come, the delivery side of our Doctrine will not be able to build on the fraternal aspects of Freemasonry in the way it always has. We know this will seed change in our operations.