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"If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort in love, if any fellowship in spirit, look not every man on his own things but also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man." |
1. Sing the Rosicrucian opening Hymn (see separate card).
2. Unveil the Emblem.
3. A member reads aloud the following Rosicrucian Temple Service.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers:
Once more we have withdrawn from the material world and are entering into the living temple of our own inner natures in spiritual conclave. As a symbol of this withdrawal from the visible world we have darkened our meeting place.
We are looking for spiritual light along the lines of the Rosicrucian teaching, and we therefore reverently fix our eyes upon the Rose Cross while we listen to the Rosicrucian greeting:
"My dear sisters and brothers: May the Roses bloom upon your Cross."
(The members respond: "And upon yours also.")
One coal will not make a fire, but where a number of coals are heaped together the heat which is latent in each may be kindled into a flame emitting light and warmth; and it is in obedience to this same law of nature that we have gathered here tonight that by massing our spiritual aspirations we may light and keep ablaze the beacon light of true spiritual fellowship which is the balm of Gilead the only panacea for the world's woe.
The Bible has been given to the Western World by the Recording Angels, who give to each and all exactly what they need for their development. They are above mistakes, and if we seek the Light, we shall find it there.
Let us read from the First Epistle of John, and from Paul's Letters to the Corinthians and Philippians, where fellowship is the theme:
God is light; if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, but he that hateth his brother is in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth, for though I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels and have not love, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
Love suffereth long and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not herself, is not puffed up, doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth all things.
Love never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, and whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away, for now we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away; for now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now we know in part; but then we shall know even as we are known; and now abideth Faith, Hope, and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him; but if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he prevaricates, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort in love, if any fellowship in spirit, look not every man on his own things but also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death upon the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that is above every name; that at the name of Christ Jesus every knee should bow, and that every tongue should confess that Christ Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
My dear sisters and brothers, let us strive to follow the example of Christ and live up to His definition of greatness, namely, He who would be the greatest among you, let him be the servant of all.
Loving, self-forgetting service to others is the shortest, the safest, and the most joyful road to God. The recognition of the fundamental unity of each with all, the fellowship of the spirit, is the realization of God. To reach that realization let us endeavor each day to forget the often unprepossessing exteriors of our brothers and seek to serve the divine essence hidden within, which is the basis of fellowship.
We will now enter the silence together and concentrate on service for a few moments.
(After the concentration the emblem is veiled, the lights are turned on, and the lecture for the day is delivered by a member who is of the opposite sex to the reader, if possible.)
4. Lecture
5. At conclusion of lecture the reader returns to the platform and reads —
The Rosicrucian Prayer
Not more of Light we ask, O God,
But eyes to see what is;
Not sweeter songs, but ears to hear
The present melodies;
Not greater strength but how to use
the power that we possess;
Not more of love, but skill to turn
A frown to a caress;
Not more of joy, but how to feel
Its kindling presence near,
To give to others all we have
Of courage and of cheer
No other gift, dear God, we ask,
But only sense to see
How best the precious gifts to use
We have received from Thee.
Give us all fears to dominate,
All holy joys to know,
To be the friends we wish to be,
To speak the truth we know,
To love the pure, to seek the good,
To lift with all our might,
All souls to dwell in harmony
In freedom's perfect light.
6. All rise and sing the Rosicrucian Closing Hymn (see separate card).
The Parting Admonition
And now my dear sisters and brothers, as we part to re-enter the material world, may we go out with a firmer resolve to express in our daily lives the high spiritual ideals we have received here, so that day by day we may become more worthy men and women, more worthy to be used as self-conscious channels for the beneficial workings of our Elder Brothers in the service of humanity.
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