A brother of our Lodge, who previously attended stated and called communications regularly, suddenly stopped attending. After a few months, the Worshipful Master decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening, and the Worshipful Master found his brother at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.
Guessing the reason for the Worshipful Master’s visit, the brother welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The Worshipful Master made himself comfortable, but said nothing.
In the grave silence, the Worshipful Master contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After several minutes, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth, all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent.
The brother watched all of this in quiet contemplation. As the one, lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow, and then its fire was no more. Soon, it was cold and dead.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Worshipful Master glanced at his watch and chose this time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember, and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately, it began to glow once more, with all the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.
As the Worshipful Master reached the door to leave, the brother said, with a tear running down his cheek, “Thank you so much for your fiery summons, my brother. I’ll be back in our Lodge next meeting.”
Unity Lodge No. 146 