Perhaps, it is comfortable to imagine the two as identical, but consider what happens in a Stated Communication. There we practice standard ritual, address the business of the Lodge, approve petitions and vote on new members, serve as an officer or in a station, go through the chairs, and occasionally have a meaningful discussion. And generally this happens only once a month!
Freemasonry is about realizing personal potential, learning moral truths, becoming better men, and sometimes, husbands and fathers. We can, and in some ways must, do this outside of the Stated Communication. Remember the well-worn phrase, "Freemasonry is a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated in symbols." Purposes of Freemasonry are strengthening character, improving moral and spiritual outlook and broadening mental horizons. (See http://mastermason.com/wilmettepark/intro.html.)
It is easy to emphasize Lodge at the expense of Freemasonry.
If all our "Masonic" time limited to "Lodge" It is easy to "do Lodge" without broadening mental horizons and improving moral and spiritual outlook. So how much time do we delegate for becoming better men who build a better world?
It is a good question whether Lodge is a suitable vehicle for advancing Freemasonry - certainly, it is not adequate in itself. The idea of one business meeting a month benefiting the building of better men, Masons and Freemasonry is ludicrous!
Lodge and Freemasonry are like Siamese Twins, but joined at the buttocks. They are bound together, but face in opposite directions, have different perspectives, require different skills, measure performance in different ways. Freemasonry requires more than we can give it in Lodge.
