Romance Is Wonderful, But...

In Jin Moon
October 11, 2009

Rev In Jin Moon's Guidance to Matched Couples October 11, 2009 In anticipation of the Universal Blessing Ceremony officiated by True Parents on October 14, 2009, Rev. In Jin Moon spent time on October 11 with twenty-one matched couples who would be taking part in the ceremony. Reverend In Jin Moon enlightened the group of Second Generation couples, This is a very special time for all of you. You are embarking on a new journey.

As each couple had been matched in advance, Rev. In Jin Moon shared with them, I am very happy to hear that you've known each other for some time before you are going down this road. She asked each couple to introduce themselves and share with her their various stories of how their matching came to be.

Numerous testimonies were given about how couples met each other and decided that it was their time to take part in the Blessing. Many couples described being introduced to each other by their respective sets of parents, who had known each other previously or met in various ways, including through a third party or at a matching convocation, where photos and information are made available to parents seeking matches for their children. Reverend In Jin Moon responded, Do you know how incredible it is that your parents can participate in your blessing now? You guys are very lucky people!

Many couples also mentioned the fact that they had communicated through the Internet before meeting face to face. With interest, Reverend In Jin Moon asked the group, "Is FaceBook how young people communicate with each other these days?" Everyone laughed together and nodded yes.

One husband-to-be who had recently bowed down to ask for his match's hand in marriage in a public setting explained that he felt this was not his original personality, but the gradual and natural process of getting to know his match over time gave him this confidence that he never thought he would have. Being together with her has inspired me. We both feel really excited and that God has made us to be together.

Reverend In Jin Moon responded, But it's wonderful! It inspires us old fogies to see young people looking forward to go to the Blessing, feeling the romance in the air. With tears in her eyes, she reminded him, You have to take care of each other.

After each couple shared their story, the room was opened to anyone who had questions for Reverend In Jin Moon. When asked by one couple what has been the key to success in her own marriage of 25 years, she responded without any hesitation, God. She shared, "Romance is wonderful, and I would like that for all my kids. But first and foremost it has to be God."

After sharing her personal experience of needing to turn to God as her anchor throughout her Blessing, Reverend In Jin Moon said, Whenever you are having problems in your marriage, throw everything out and start from the beginning, start from scratch: What is important to us as a couple? Why did we walk down the aisle together? Why did we decide to commit? Of course you care for each other, but you committed because you want to honor God and bring him joy. As long as you keep that attitude going in your relationship, then, no matter what, you can work things out.

Reverend In Jin Moon gave other pieces of advice stemming from this question, including, Do not take each other for granted. She explained that even simple courtesies such as saying Good morning or How are you? can be forgotten in a relationship. Always go back to the fundamentals and keep things simple, she recommended. The last piece of advice she gave for success in marriage was not to go to bed angry. Every morning should be a brand new morning, she explained. No matter how difficult it is, go to bed loving each other or at least being a united couple.

When asked about any other specific, yet practical, ways to practice God's love in your relationship, Reverend Moon responded, Humor. Sometimes you just need to laugh at the situation. This is incredibly important; don't forget to laugh!

When one bride-to-be shared about her concern of finding the right relationship with both her spouse and her in-laws, Reverend In Jin Moon shared, Showing humility in a relationship can always be shown by being willing to listen. Listen to your husband, but also hopefully he will listen to you. Also communicate with your in-laws, regardless of how difficult it is.

With the bride or groom many times being of different nationalities than the in-laws due to our international matches, Reverend In Jin Moon suggested, Be mindful of common cultural things, but at the same time don't only be your in-laws' nationality. Be a true love family.

Reverend In Jin Moon reminded the gathering that this is important for their future. The role you define for yourself will ultimately color how your children are going to think they should be when they grow up. This is something you need to work out with your husband or wife. You are the ones showing the example.

Reverend In Jin Moon also reminded the matched couples that love and passion are two different things. Love is like a slow pot roast. It sort of percolates and can take a lot of time and work. However, if you keep at it, then you will have something genuine in life. 

Thank You, In Jin, For Being Honest

In Jin Moon
October 11, 2009
Lovin' Life Ministries

Good morning, brothers and sisters. How’s everyone? Did you have a wonderful week?

True Parents just left for Korea this morning after Hoon Dok Hae, and we were so lucky to have them with us for some time now. They truly poured out their heart and soul into this country, in particular every morning at 5:00 am Hoon Dok Hae. Just yesterday was a nine-hour marathon. Father is encouraging all of us to unite with him in heart and in spirit to work together for a greater cause.

As I wished my parents a safe journey back to Korea, where I will see them in a couple of days, I said, “Father and Mother, thank you so much for bringing so much blessing to America. Now you’re headed off to officiate another blessing in Korea for a lot of the people who want to renew their vows, as well as for new couples who will be walking down the aisle for the first time, truly pledging themselves to God and to humanity, to build this thing called an ideal family.”

That’s probably not a very easy thing to do for most of us. I’ve often joked that we always are asking and beseeching our Heavenly Father to give us so much blessing, to give us a wonderful family. Many times our Heavenly Father has given us just that. He has given us a wonderful family where we can practice the art of “true rubbing,” dealing with and working out problems to substantiate the four-position foundation, or this thing called an ideal family on earth.

I told my parents, “You know, Father and Mother, it’s been a long time since I walked down the aisle with my husband -- 25 years. You’ve often talked about the impossibility becoming a possibility and then a reality. Before the day of my blessing, anybody who looked at my husband and me probably thought that we were an impossible couple for the blessing.” Even after we were blessed, for those people who understood how we felt about each other, I think they thought it was an impossibility, thinking, “Let’s just wish them well and hopefully it will turn into a possibility and then perhaps a reality.”

When I told my parents that actually today is the solar birthday of my eldest son, Preston, my parents reminded me, “Now that’s an impossibility that became a reality, and that must be a walking miracle.” Whenever my parents look at me, they like to tease me about my marriage; now they have something else to tease me about -- the five walking miracles that I call my children. I’m so delighted that my parents show my kids so much love and attention.

When you grow up in a public life and environment, many times your parents are not there for you, and you have to walk alone many times, together with our Heavenly Parent, who is always there. It’s heartwarming to see that maybe we didn’t get the love, but the grandchildren are getting the love and the special attention. So there’s a feeling or sense that history is moving forward and that what the First Generation maybe could not experience, the Second and Third Generation might be able to experience.

Here at headquarters I have a wonderful sister named Heather Thalheimer, who’s heading up the Department of Education. She sends me updates on all the activities that she’s involved in. Usually her e-mail subject line says Report on Workshop, Report on this or that. But this e-mail in particular had only three letters and an exclamation mark. It was titled “JOY!” Her message was about how incredibly moved and happy she was after spending some time with the potential blessing candidates, some of them going to Korea for the blessing. She feels that this is a new time for our children. A lot of these new couples were introduced by their parents, and she was commenting that this is really different from the other blessings, that she was an elder sister taking care of these new couples. She said she can feel the change that’s coming. She can feel that there’s a possibility for a great deal of happiness, love, and passion while these children are trying to create ideal families.

When I read her e-mail, I said to myself, “This is what I want for my children, too.” And hopefully, because of the sacrifice that the earlier generation made, or maybe because of the sacrifice that my husband and I had to go through in working to build an ideal family, maybe my kids can have great blessings and truly find that special someone that they’re going to celebrate life with. As parents, isn’t that really the most important wish that we have for our children?

I’m very much looking forward to my five munchkins walking down the aisle. I said, “No more Kleenex at weddings when my munchkins get married. There is going to be laughter, happiness, and celebration.” We very much look forward to that.

When I was meditating this morning about the meaning of the blessing, about the young couples who are looking forward to the blessing, and about us as a community wanting to raise great kids who can enter into a loving relationship with somebody that they care about and truly commit themselves to God, True Parents, you and the greater community, I wondered from a mother’s point of view, What can my contribution be to that process?

I’ve often felt that as a mother probably the most important education that I can take part in, starting from my own individual family and now working with the greater community of the American movement, is to stress moral character. I feel that when a young couple is truly thinking about living a life for the sake of others, really being in that mature position to take another person on, they really must have been prepared by their parents on this wonderful thing called moral education, or character education.

When I meet many young people such as different kids on STF or when I’m visiting families and meeting your children, one of the things that I’m looking at is their personality. A lot of people, I think, feel that somebody’s personality is their character, but those two things are very different. A personality can be so engaging, engrossing, and intriguing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the moral character of that person is just as intriguing and just as compelling as the personality.

Usually when you look at someone’s personality, you’re seeing a unique, individual aspect of that person. The person might be extremely talented, a great artist, singer, or conductor like Brian Saunders, or maybe a great cameraman like Toshi or Koichi here. And maybe somebody’s personality might be outgoing, while another’s is very shy and introverted. But when we talk about a person’s character, or the moral qualities of that person, what we look for in every human being is universal in that we seem to look for certain things. When we say that a person is of moral character, that this person is a man or woman of integrity, usually three things come to mind.

Ephesians 5:8 - 10 says that the fruits of life are things that are good, that are right, and that are true. When you think about somebody who has a good moral character, these three words come up over and over again. When we are born and first start out in diapers, crying and in need of mother’s milk, we’re very much self-absorbed creatures, are we not? We are constantly needing attention and love. But somewhere in the life process, when we begin to take responsibility and know who we are, then we realize that, more than thinking about self-interest, there is a wonderful thing called living for the sake of others or being able to understand from another person’s perspective what that person is going through. In English, that word is empathy -- being able to empathize with another person’s particular situation, or that person’s difficulty or suffering. Caring, being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes, is what helps someone become a good person.

For instance, when we as parents want to educate our children to be good people, the thing that most parents stress is service to others, thinking about others. For instance, I was living and “true rubbing” with my younger sister. There were instances of a bit of friction. At each moment my mother would call me aside, since I was the older one, and would say, “Try to be a caring older sister. Try to be a loving older sister. Even if you think your younger sister is immature, not well behaved, and is asking for things that do not make sense, try to put yourself in her position. Maybe she feels like you, as the elder, get all the attention. Maybe what you get looks better to her than what she has. If you can put yourself in her position and look at yourself through her eyes, then maybe you can learn to develop this love, compassion, or caring so that you can truly take care of her with love and guidance, and not just react immediately out of anger and frustration.”

When we are able to empathize with another person, being compassionate and understanding the situation, then many times we want to do the right thing. I realized, maybe this was the way my sister was looking at me. She had an interesting habit of always wanting to wear something that I put aside for a special occasion. My mother would buy me a beautiful dress, and I would save it for that special occasion. But many times, unbeknownst to me, she would wear it. I would find it in not such good form, and many times I would be upset.

But then I would remember my mother’s words, asking me to be a good person, asking me to empathize with my sister’s need or desire to wear my new dress. Then I would ask myself what would be the right thing for me to do. When you think about the word right, when you’re a righteous person and want to do the right thing, it’s not just a matter of knowing what’s good or bad. Even a very young child has a sense of knowing what’s good or bad. But if you’re truly practicing “true rub,” if you’re truly practicing how to become a better person by applying love in every aspect of your life, then just knowing simply doesn’t cut it.

Not only do you have to know as the first step, but better than that, you have to want to do the right thing. You have to desire to do the right thing. There has to be an inner conscience that tells you it’s good to do the right thing, not just because you know, but because you want to. Many times I’ve used the phrase “just because.” You want to be good, and you want to do the right thing, just because.

We all go through this wonderful thing called adolescence and teenage years. Each step of the way we’re confronted with the question, What’s the right thing to do? Many times we know what the right thing to do is, but sometimes the temptation is a bit too hard and maybe too difficult, and it’s very difficult for us to do the right thing.

But we need to remind ourselves that to be a truly wonderful person and to be a man or a woman of moral character, we start out by wanting to be a good person, by wanting to practice this thing called true love and learning to embody it. At the same time, choosing to do right over not such good things, we can become one step closer to the kind of person that we want to be.

I’ve seen a lot of young people in the midst of their struggle dealing with this dilemma between being righteous and being self-righteous. When you’re wanting to do right for God, that’s a wonderful thing. You want to do good; you want to choose to do the right thing. But there’s a fine line between righteousness and self-righteousness. Sometimes young people in their youthful exuberance and passionate nature forget to be warned of this thing called the self before the word righteous.

When those words are put together, it becomes something quite scary. It becomes something like, “I know that we are good people; I know that our community is wonderful. I know that our community is like the chosen people, and chosen means I’m special. “I’m special” means I’m better than anybody else; therefore, let me be self-righteous, and let me tell you what I think you ought to do.”

When we’re young, often we want to test our relationship with our parents. We’re really believing that we are being righteous, but God gave us parents to teach us the importance of humility and obedience. Many adults who have not grown internally in comparison to what they are externally are still children at heart; adults who are 30, 40, and 50 years old may have a moral character that’s like a child’s.

When you’re thinking you want to do right and you want to be righteous, but you’re not careful that the righteousness that you want to exercise is based on your relationship with God, our Heavenly Parent, and your relationship with our True Parents, it can so easily degenerate into self-righteousness. This happens when we feel that we know better, when we feel that maybe our parents are not as sharp as they used to be, when we feel that maybe our True Parents are a little too old, when we feel that maybe our True Parents do not feel the pulse of the movement. Or maybe some of us might feel that we need to tell our True Parents or our Heavenly Parent how things should be done. The minute we start thinking that way, we very quickly degenerate into self-righteousness

Recently I’ve been watching Korean soap operas with my family. Right now it’s a series called Kim Dae Young, basically a story about a child anointed by God, given to Korea, who grows up in the most excruciating circumstances. He loses his mother, he loses his father, he works as a slave to an incredible general. But because he is such a wonderful human being, he overcomes many odds and also disciplines himself as a great martial artist to later become the true hero of Korea. But when you see his life and the lives of those around him who are fully entrenched in political intrigue, fighting between all the factions that exist in the king’s court, you realize very quickly that they all think that they’re being righteous. Every side believes that whatever they’re doing, it’s for the benefit of God and Korea.

Of course, we have hindsight and the wisdom of history, so we know who the good people are and we know who the evil people are. But in the middle of the story, we see human beings actively engaged in intrigue, plotting, and strategizing; they all think that they’re on a God-given mission and they’re all righteous sons and daughters of God, servants of God.

Another thing that you realize very quickly is that good and righteous people are usually true. They are always eternal in their moral qualities. Once they give their word, it is like gold. They keep their word, whether to their detriment or to their betterment. Usually self-righteous people will change their word depending on the situation that they find themselves in.

When I think about this wonderful word true, I’ve also said to myself, “I want to be a good person, to be a compassionate person, a caring person, someone who practices living for the sake of others, who practices altruism in my daily life. But I also want to be a righteous person, not only knowing what’s right or wrong but desiring to do good, just because.”

When I come upon the word true, I ask myself, what does that word mean? For me the most important thing, especially having grown up in a public situation with my siblings (and still are growing), is the genuine and the true relationship that we can have with people. So many times people look at us as celebrities, as someone they want to get close to -- maybe because they think the True Family has a lot of money or because they think the True Family can give them a new job, maybe because they think they can get a great wife or husband through us. There are many reasons why people want to get to know us.

When you’re a public person, what you crave more than anything is genuine, true, and eternal relationships with brothers and sisters. When I’m looking into the audience with my children seated here, thinking of what kind of family I want to build, what kind of family I want the American movement to be, what I would like more than anything is for us to be real people, genuine people.

There is something very interesting about being genuine, being true, or being eternal. Maya Angelou once said, “Probably one of the greatest gifts is to be true, but it’s also one of the most difficult things for a person to be because you have to have courage to love.” You have to be willing to risk everything. When you are wanting this genuine, true, honest relationship with somebody, sometimes it takes a great deal of courage to love, to trust that person, and to go out on a limb and maybe tell that person something that you are aware of and might hurt that person, but because you want to be an honest and genuine person, you’re going to say it anyway.

When I was a schoolgirl, my parents rarely went to PTA meetings. Every now and then my mother would try to come to at least one or two graduations. My older sister was graduating, and my mother was getting ready to go. My mother is a beautiful woman who truly encompasses what simple elegance is all about. But on this day she wore an outfit that looked like pink feathers. It made her look bigger than usual, and in my eyes she looked like a pink flamingo. Here I was, caught in a dilemma because everyone was telling her, “You look so ravishing! That color is divine.” The whole time I’m thinking, “Pink flamingo!”

I was thinking, “How do I deal with this? I love my mother. I think she’s a gorgeous woman, but I think she could have made a better choice, especially when she’s going to my sister’s graduation.” I was really struggling because I loved her, and I wanted her to show her best form to my school and to my older sister’s class. But everyone was telling her how divine she looked. I felt like nobody was really telling her what they were all thinking. She looked a bit fluffy, a bit feathery.

I was literally shaking and my knees were knocking because I was so afraid of what my mother would do if I told her the truth. Did I really have the courage to love my mother? Could I risk the fact that she might get really upset with me? Did I have the courage to tell her the truth?

So after much discussion with my brain, and then with my heart, finally I went up to her and said, “Mother, pink is a wonderful color, but that dress is just not flattering on you.” She said, “Oh, but everybody said it looks nice.” I said, “Yes, I heard them too. But I don’t think they’re telling you the truth, Omma, because you look like a pink flamingo.” Then I was petrified. I was so afraid, but I said it. I had the courage to tell her what I felt was the truth because I loved her. I was willing to risk the fact that she might come down hard on me and say something like, “You’re just a little girl. These adults are saying it looks wonderful.” But you know what she did? She grabbed my hand, pulled me close and hugged me. She said, “I was looking in the mirror and I thought, I do look a little feathery.” She said, “Thank you, In Jin, for being honest.” I learned a very important lesson that day. I learned that sometimes it takes great courage to love somebody, to be true to somebody, and sometimes to say the thing that this person doesn’t want to hear.

In the context of my family, nobody likes to bring my father bad news. Everyone has glorious reports. But how is our father going to make the best decisions if he doesn’t have all the facts? I feel that as head of HSA and as head of the American movement, I have not only the job to inspire my father and mother with wonderful stories about you, your children, and your grandchildren but also to present the facts, the reality of the situation at hand, the reality of the businesses or organizations that we have, and maybe at the same time make pertinent recommendations that might make the situation better.

This takes great courage, too, because when you’re one in a line of glorious reports it’s incredibly scary to be the bearer of bad news. But you have to do the right thing by being courageous enough to let our True Parents know what’s going on. Once you do that, then you realize that Father has all the ingredients to create an incredible dish. But if you want to create an incredible dish, you’ve got to let the man know what the ingredients are. Time and time again, there were moments when I have been afraid, when I lacked courage. But if we believe in ourselves, if we believe that we are doing the right thing and we decide to take the risk to love, to have the courage to be real, genuine people, then the Kingdom of Heaven is already here.

These are the qualities, the fruits of light, if you will -- goodness, righteousness, being true. These are the things that I see in my father and mother each and every day. In particular I had a long conversation with my mother about different things going on now in regard to my family. When I look at this woman, she is somebody who gave her life to God at the tender age of 17. Just as my father was anointed by Jesus Christ and has never wavered since then in fulfilling Jesus’ mission, I look at this incredible woman who made a commitment and pledged herself to God when she was 17. Here she is, someone who also never wavered in her life of faith.

I asked her, “Mother, one of the things that I like to do when I have my own time with our Heavenly Parent is to really report in the form of a prayer everything that I would like to do at the start of the day and all the things I have completed at the end of the day. Can you give me a pointer here? Can I ask you, What did you pray about?”

She said something that was incredibly moving, and at the same time electrifying. She said, “Ever since I was a 17-year-old bride marrying your father, there was one constant theme throughout my life. I always prayed to Heavenly Father, ‘Let me be the one to restore all the difficulties of humanity. Let all the difficulties and suffering end with me. Let me digest it all, Heavenly Father. Let me be the one who suffers. Let me be the one who perseveres. Let me be the one who overcomes. I want the suffering to end with me so that my children can have a better life.’ ”

When she said that to me, I thought, “This is the heart of a mother. You are willing to die over and over and over again for the sake of your kids.” My mother has died over and over and over for the sake of her children and for the sake of our movement. Here is Father, on his 9-hour Hoon Dok Hae marathon, and Mother is right there. When my father cannot sleep, she cannot sleep. When my father needs her to go somewhere, she has to be there. So her life has truly been a life of sacrifice and of suffering. This is a woman who, if anybody has a right to complain, would have the greatest right to complain. But in front of the kids, in front of her bigger family, and in front of our American movement, she never utters a malicious word. She’s always there to encourage, always there to teach the children how incredible their father is, how incredible we are to be born at this time.

In America you have the saying, “The buck stops here.” It’s almost as if True Mother is saying, “The buck stops here with me. I’m not going to let my children suffer. I will suffer on their behalf. I will sacrifice on their behalf.” Even as we speak, she’s sacrificing, she’s giving of herself. So it’s very difficult for me as a daughter to look at this woman whom I call my mother and not start to cry because she has carried herself so well, with so much dignity and confidence in knowing who she is -- but, at the same time, just as my father said earlier, with the desire to work for the betterment of humanity.

We as a community have this incredible man and woman who truly encapsulate what a good person is, what a righteous person is, and what a true person is. The only thing we need to do is to be humble, to be united, and to aspire to be just like them in our daily lives. I know there’s quite a bit of conversation these days in our movement, and our father is literally breaking his bones to spend time with the American movement, to let all of us know that he is here and he is taking care of us.

In this call for unity that started when our international president Hyung Jin announced at this podium, It’s really high time for us to put aside our small sacrifices because it’s the least we can do. Let’s think about how we can come together as a community so that we can truly honor these two individuals whom we call our True Parents, so that we can share the breaking news of who they are and how incredible it is for us to have them in our lives. Let’s tell our children to be proud of our sacrifices because it is upon our sacrifice that they can enjoy greater glory in their lives.

When I’m thinking about the blessing, about all the well-wishes that I would like to bestow upon the new couples and on those of you who will be renewing your vows, I am mindful of one Korean story that I heard a long while back. It was such a gruesome story when I first heard it, and I could not sleep for days. It’s called “The Iron Bell,” about a Buddhist monastery that wanted to create a bell that would ring so the townspeople could enjoy it and the monks could be aided in their meditation. The monastery put a great deal of money and care into building this huge iron bell.

But when they finally completed this bell and gathered all the monks to coring it and enjoy the singing of the bell, they realized upon striking it that no sound would come forth. Different townspeople came and struck the bell, but there was no sound. The monks started thinking that something strange was going on, and said, “We’d better meditate and pray.” After their prayers, an older monk had a revelation. “You have to sacrifice a beautiful, pure young girl from the village and throw her body into the hot iron that will be molded into the bell. That’s the only way you will get the bell to sing.”

When they got this revelation, they were terrified, wondering where in the village they would find such a girl, willing to throw herself into a pot of boiling iron, to be molded in the bell to be rung so that the whole town could hear it singing. Nobody in the town wanted to volunteer. But they kept looking, asking, saying, “We need this bell to sing. Can we not find a young maiden whom we can sacrifice?”

They came across a poor but very devout family. The father and mother, realizing that this revelation was something Heaven was asking for, felt that they had to unite with the monks, as gruesome as it might be, and offer their daughter as a sacrifice.

I was a young girl when I heard this story, and I could not sleep for days because I was wondering in my mind, “The parents were good, faithful people, wanting to sacrifice their daughter in the pot of boiling iron, but what was the girl going through? Did somebody take her through the process of wanting to be a good person, a righteous person, a true person? Did she have an understanding of what those words meant? Did she understand what would come to her if she followed the monks back to the monastery?”

The monks took her back to the monastery and threw her into a pot of hot iron to be molded into the huge bell. When the bell was formed and the monks gathered again with the townspeople and struck the iron bell, it rang, it cried, and it sang for the first time, and it never stopped ringing since.

This is a story of extreme sacrifice on behalf of the larger community. But I often thought, “What was she thinking and feeling? Did she know why she was there? As she saw the boiling iron, was she overcome with fear, kicking and screaming?” We’ll never know because the story doesn’t specify. I’m sure she was overcome with extreme fear. But she still did what she felt she needed to do because she was there as a sacrifice for the greater community.

One of the most difficult things in my life was my blessing. I remembered this girl, and I felt like I was being sacrificed for the good of my family and my community. I thought, “Can I do what this girl did? Am I going to go kicking and screaming, or am I going to allow the bell to sing?”

This was what I was thinking, and 25 years of my life have been that question mark of what was that girl feeling and thinking, what was she trying to overcome? Did she fully understand that she was a sacrifice? This concept of sacrificing oneself for the good of the whole is engrained in the Korean mentality. But it’s something that we who live in this superpower country, the prosperous country of America, should think about from time to time.

When Heavenly Father is asking us to do something excruciatingly difficult, we still need to ask ourselves, Can we do it for the good of the whole? Ephesians 5:8 starts off saying, We are from the darkness, but in the Lord you are light; meaning, so many times in our lives when we’re confronted with difficulties and obstacles, it feels like we’re drowning, right? It’s so difficult that you wonder how you’re going to get out of it.

This passage from Ephesians has been my source of strength because it reminds us that no matter what situation, difficulty, or obstacle we may find ourselves in, God is always there. We only need to turn to God; when we connect ourselves to God, then we become the light and the children of the Lord, which is what Ephesians is asking us to be. We become the children emitting the glorious, divine light of our Heavenly Parent. We become something greater than ourselves because we are part of something larger, eternal, loving, which is our Heavenly Parent.

In that way we can truly shine our light as good, true, and right people. If we can do that, regardless of where we find ourselves in our lives, then we realize that all the seemingly different things that have frustrated and angered us merely become small sacrifices that my father has talked about, that we can do to make this world a better place.

For those couples who are renewing their vows, for everyone who is looking forward to going down the aisle, my father is asking you to remember the simple sacrifices made along the way between a husband and a wife. Before you get upset at your husband because he doesn’t put dirty clothes in the laundry bin, maybe you can be a little patient and accommodating, a little bit more appreciative of each other, and in that way grow together as a community.

Probably one of the greatest things about a congregation and community like ours is that we can help each other. We’re not alone on this road. We have our sisters and brothers; we have our parents, and more importantly, we have our children. When I gaze at my kids each day, they are living miracles. I think our children are living miracles. Don’t we have so much to be grateful for, brothers and sisters?

I hope that this Sunday can be a wonderful reminder that our life is a journey that is really about God giving us an opportunity to grow, to practice, and to apply how to become a good, a right, and a true person so that we can all be the simple, elegant human beings who we were all meant to be.

God bless, and I hope you can give your heart to all the couples who are headed toward the blessing. Please have a lovely week. Thank you.

Ephesians 5

1: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

2: And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3: But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints.

4: Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving.

5: Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

7: Therefore do not associate with them,

8: for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

9: (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

10: and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

11: Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

12: For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret;

13: but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

14: Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."

15: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

16: making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

17: Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit,

19: addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,

20: always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

21: Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22: Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord.

23: For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.

24: As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.

25: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

26: that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

27: that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

28: Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

29: For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church,

30: because we are members of his body.

31: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

32: This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church;

33: however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.  

Predictions of the Second Coming

In Jin Moon
October 4, 2009
Lovin' Life Ministries

Good morning, brothers and sisters. How is everybody this morning? What a wonderful band, right?

We had an exciting week. Just last Thursday we had a celebration for the debut of the English translation of my father’s autobiography, which continues to be a best-seller in Korea. As you know, early in the spring we had a celebration for the autobiography in Korea with 3,500 dignitaries from all around the world, including titans of industry in Korea. My father truly showed his heart by digressing from the text and giving an extemporaneous, three-hour speech, standing as the True Father and true grandfather of humankind, cajoling, compelling, provoking the audience to be the kind of children that our Heavenly Parent, God, would like us to be.

Fast-forward a couple of months, and we celebrated his autobiography debut in Washington, at the Sheraton National Hotel with our True Parents again. On Thursday night we had 1,500 dignitaries and representatives from our community all across the states and all around the world. It was truly a magnificent celebration, together with our True Parents. Knowing my father’s custom to truly give his heart and soul to every congregation and audience that he comes across, I remember hearing my mother beseeching my father, “There are lots of VIP guests today. Is it possible to stick to the text?” My mother asked him several times if that was possible. Father said, “Don’t worry. Be happy.”

Our Lovin’ Life band did a phenomenal job of really creating the right atmosphere. Once Father got on stage, my mother and the family knew we were in for another treat. Lo and behold, my father went off on another digression for two and a half hours. The lovely audience really took it very well. Father, being 90 years old, not only is a prophet and teacher, but, first and foremost, thinks of himself as a true father and true grandfather. When he looks upon the beautiful faces of his children, he’s always trying to provoke us, trying to stimulate us to live a life of true love, to apply it each and every day, to practice patience. Sometimes the way he helps us practice patience is by participating with us, such as in the 12-hour Hoon Dok Hae that preceded the evening. He spoke from 5 am until 5 pm, taking only a moment of rest in his room before the evening. Then for his speech, he went on again.

Truly his heart is that of somebody who wants to wake the world up with the breaking news that our True Parents are here, that the son and daughter of our Heavenly Parent, God, are here. It is truly an incredible opportunity for us lucky people to unite in spirit and heart and work together to share in the breaking news that the Second Coming is living, walking, and breathing along with us.

I heard how this autobiography came to be. It was published by a company called Kyung Young Sa, which is the equivalent of Random House in the West. The CEO of that company happens to be Madame Park, a devout Buddhist. She tells how in one of her meditations Buddha appeared to her and asked her to seek out this man named Reverend Moon and to publish a story about this extraordinary man.

Because she had this revelation in her meditation, she reached out to our community and compelled our True Father to write his autobiography in his own words. That’s how it came to be. It is a phenomenal book in that we get a rare glimpse into a man in the form of different stories. The book unfolds almost like a mysterious Eastern fan, with a series of vignettes that give us glimpses into different aspects of my father’s life. It traces his humble beginnings as a little boy born in the hills of North Korea and sees him become the man whom we have come to know as our True Father and as the peacemaker of this new millennium.

In the book’s foreword, my father writes that, as he has been reminiscing about his life, his heart is filled with the love that he still wants to share with his sons and daughters and with the world. He tells the reader that it is his firm belief and prayer that his life and his path of love can become like a river of peace, saturating the drought-stricken lands and truly infusing the world with the new understanding of love and peace that he so longs to share.

When I think about this man, my father, I realize that he is the fulfillment of Luke 17:24 - 25, which talks about how the Son of God will come like lightning, flashing and lighting up the sky. Lightning comes in an unexpected fashion, right? We don’t know when it will strike, but when it strikes, not only do we hear but we see. We see our Father, and we hear him.

But in verse 25 the Bible predicts that the Son of God will first suffer greatly and be rejected by his generation. So when we look at Father’s life, we realize that it really has been a life of suffering, a life of being rejected by society, by established religions, by his brothers and sisters, over and over and over again. But Father has asked, “What do we want to leave behind as a community?” or “What do we want to leave behind as a father or mother, as a man or woman, or a son or daughter of God?”

This question has intrigued me and given me a lot of inspiration during my meditation. My father answered his own question in a speech he gave in 1976, but I think it’s still pertinent today as we march forward on our road of self discovery. My father has asked, “What do we want to leave behind?” He has answered it with, “We must leave a tradition behind, a tradition of living for the sake of others with the spirit of sacrifice.”

If you really think about it, what our True Parents have come to do is to awaken us to realize that our Heavenly Parent, our God, our father and mother up in heaven, is truly our parent, and that we are meant to be God’s eternal sons and daughters. What Father and Mother are asking us to do in this wonderful gift that we can call our life is to live our lives in gratitude, in truly understanding that we have an incredible eternal flame, like God’s divinity, within each and every one of us. God is just waiting for us to shine unto the world like an incredible light bulb.

How do we go about doing this? How do we go about living for the sake of others? My father is encouraging us to have an understanding of unity. We must be a community that symbolizes unity. Every time, every Sunday when I stand before you here, when I look out into the audience, I see a congregation that symbolizes unity of the world right here at the Manhattan Center. We have men and women, we have young and old; we have red hair, black hair, blonde hair, blue eyes, hazel eyes, brown eyes. You represent the world. In the spirit of unity, in the spirit of understanding that God is our one Heavenly Parent, we have come together to honor him, to honor our True Parents who have taught us who we are, to honor each other, and to appreciate and celebrate each other as truly the lucky ones in human history who share this incredible time with our True Parents.

Anybody who reads the Divine Principle will come to realize, after studying human history and especially providential history, that our True Father is the Second Coming; together with his beloved wife, they stand as the first True Parents of humankind. But we’re not the only ones who have this understanding. Throughout the centuries before us, different prophets, seers, and believers have talked about an incredible time to come when we can experience a thousand years of peace.

One of the key figures that I revisit from time to time is named Nostradamus. I read a book written by a gentleman named John Hogue titled Nostradamus: The New Millennium. I read it about 20 years ago, but recently I came across it again. In reading it I was astounded at the fulfillments of prophecies of Nostradamus that have taken place and are taking place, even as I speak. He was a phenomenal doctor, thinker, and philosopher. He was an herbalist and also considered a celestial scientist because he was so well versed in astrology. But he was really seen as somebody who was like a gift from God in the 16th century.

He was born on December 14, 1503. Throughout the course of his life he was able to help many people; he even helped cities that were plagued by the Black Death. He came to be known as an incredible son of God, a healer, somebody whom everyone wanted to meet and greet so they could better understand themselves and their own destinies.

He wrote volumes of predictions called The Centuries. What I find so incredible about his quatrains when I’m rereading them is that he’s talking about a man who will appear in the East and find his home in the West. He’s saying that this man will be like the Prince of Peace, will be the one who will usher in a thousand years of peace that we will enjoy here on earth. He gives us ten clues.

John Hogue, in researching and interpreting these sixty or so quatrains that pertain to this incredible man who will usher in this new millennium of peace, tried his best to solve the riddles of the words in the quatrains and created a grid of ten possible candidates who might fit the model of who this man is supposed to be. He looks at various teachers and even includes Ron Hubbard, the father of Scientology. But he says that Ron Hubbard doesn’t quite fit the fact that this man will appear in the East and come to rest and call the West his home.

He names my father as one of the ten candidates in his grid. He goes through the eight clues that Nostradamus gives as to who this man might be. He checks off most of the squares, but there are a couple that he cannot check off. But when I reread the quatrains and reread what Nostradamus was really saying, I felt an urge to write Mr. Hogue a letter because if he truly understood our church better than he did at that time he wrote the book, he would realize that our True Father and our movement are truly the fulfillment of the prophecies of Nostradamus.

Nostradamus talks first of all about how this man will be from the East, appearing and taking residence in the West. Then he goes on to say that he will fly through the skies and strike everybody with the rod of Hermes. In philosophy and in religion, the rod of Hermes can be understood as a new stream of consciousness or enlightenment, if you will. The rod has the power to transform and liberate one to experience the truth. So understanding the rod of Hermes in a philosophical and religious sense means that it’s a time when this new awakening will come and hit everybody like a rod of lightning.

For those of us who understand mythology, Hermes was the god representing also commerce and science. This Mr. Hogue did not point out, but I feel that it’s very interesting that my father was studying to be a scientist, an electrical engineer. Many times my father has been seen almost as a god of commerce, not as a religious figure. Many people have seen him as a businessman. Although we may look at this as something perhaps strange, and even if the world wants to persecute my father as a businessman, these are the clues that Nostradamus is pointing out as to how to find who this man is supposed to be. He comes with a new conscience; he comes from the East. He has the reputation of being a god of commerce, a businessman, and he comes from the area of science.

Nostradamus goes on to say that he will be seen as an outlaw. The quatrains talk about how he will be charged with the destruction of temples and religions. The quatrains specifically say that this man comes to harm the rock but not the living. What are the rocks of society? They are the established organizations, the established religions, the established dogmas that have kept our societies in check. But truly this man comes to usher in a new understanding, a new time.

The quatrains are amazing, going on and on. Mr. Hogue forgot to check off the square regarding the color red. Now anybody who knows the Unification Church and understands the symbol that represents the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity knows that our symbol is the color red. Nostradamus also goes on to say that the rose will appear in the middle of the world’s scene, in reference to this group that will be symbolized by the color red.

I thought it was extremely interesting that my father has professed to a group of scientists that his favorite color is pink. At the same time this is a new religion that puts women in the forefront because of the success and completion of our True Mother in restoring the position of Eve so that we are no longer standing behind our men but standing together, and maybe even forward, encouraging our brothers to understand this incredible time.

Many times the rose, or the flower, represents the feminine touch. This is a new religion that will be symbolized by the color red but will carry forth into the world’s scene the feminine touch, this sense of a beautiful flower blossoming. Our church symbol can be seen as almost like a rose, almost like a flower.

Then Nostradamus continues, saying that this man will be under the protection of Mars. The planet Mars symbolizes the passions, the outward manifestation of things. When Nostradamus says that this man will be under the protection of Mars, he is basically saying that this man will be embraced and loved by the people who have had a new awakening of their passions, in knowing who they are, in knowing they are the sons and daughters of God, in understanding that God is our Heavenly Parent. The people with those passions are us, brothers and sisters. It is under our protection that our True Parents will be embraced, comforted, and loved.

The quatrains talk about how this new man coming from the East will have somewhere in his name the word Moon. How more obvious can you get than Reverend Moon? I don’t think I need to expound on that clue, do I?

Then it also talks about how this man will travel through the skies. When we read the Bible, we see many references to the Second Coming arriving on the clouds of heaven. Daniel 7:13 says that, and we hear the same words repeated in Matthew 24 about the Second Coming coming on the clouds. We know that this figure has something to do with the sky, flying through the sky. I’m sure a lot of us have wondered, Is this guy going to be like a superhero, coming the world stage with the letter S and a cape like Superman, saving all of us from our sins and our evil ways?

But if you really think about it, imagine living in the time when the book of Daniel was written, or imagine living 2,000 years ago when the biblical writer said the Second Coming would come on the clouds. Just imagine being one of the people who lived in the time of Nostradamus, trying to explain something called an airplane. Would you not think it was something coming on the clouds?

One of the clues is that this man will travel far and wide, igniting the world with his words as well as igniting a lot of anger and resentment because people don’t understand what he’s all about: again, the reference that this man will be misunderstood, as the Bible tells us in Luke 7:24 - 25; again, this feeling that he will suffer, be mistreated, be maligned, be blamed for harming the rocks.

As a daughter, I watched my father travel all around the world, keeping an insane schedule, flying from Korea to America, to Europe. He is an incredible man who is traveling and flying through the skies to deliver this new and breaking message that our True Parents are here and that God is our Heavenly Parent.

Mr. Hogue forgot to check another box, which includes the quatrain that talks about rare birds that will give a clue as to who this man is. It’s interesting that when the prophets and various teachers talked about the Second Coming, they spoke about a male figure. But we know that our Heavenly Parent’s desire in creating the world was not just to have a first son but to also experience the beauty of a first daughter. In our True Parents we see God’s reasons why he created the world and all of us.

The interesting thing about Nostradamus’s predictions is that although he talks about a man, the more he talks about the religion, he very much references the feminine touch; for us, that comes in the form of the Holy Spirit manifested physically in the body of our True Mother. It’s interesting to note that her name means “heavenly crane.” Is she not a rare and exquisite bird? Nostradamus goes on in his quatrains to say that these rare birds -- it’s a plural -- will fly through the skies, proclaiming to the world, “Now, now, now is the time.” Now is the time of breaking news.

If you really think about it, isn’t it our True Mother who is leading the way at the dawn of the new millennium, to challenge and inspire the sisters of the world to say, “Let’s bring the message forward, let’s empower our families, let’s raise decent children. Let us be the guardians of peace and love.” Our True Mother is the one bringing this spirit, bringing the feminine touch, the mother’s touch, to the world.

Just as throughout the Bible the dove symbolizes peace, when Nostradamus is talking about these rare and exquisite birds flying through the skies, chirping, singing, “Now, now,” what he is envisioning is a time when these birds, our children, understanding themselves to be a generation of peace, will be the ones flying through the skies and sharing the message of true love with our brothers and sisters all around the world that our True Parents are here and that it’s high time to graft onto the true olive branch.

The Bible teaches us in Philippians 2:3 - 5 that we must be of one mind; in verse 4 it beseeches the children of God to live a life thinking about the interest of others more than the interest of themselves. What the Bible is pointing to is this new stream of consciousness that Nostradamus predicts will come at the end of 1970 and will peak during the 1990s.

If you look at the history of our movement, our Father and Mother arrived here in December 1970. There was a lot of excitement, and Father was given the key to cities in each state. It was an incredible time when he was emerging on the world scene in the West, which he would call his home for the next three decades. What Father and Mother are reminding us of is that not only are we here just to share in the good news, but we are here to live the breaking news. This is not a call just to believe; it’s a call to apply, to realize, and to substantiate.

The best way to start on a life of faith and a life of applying this wonderful thing called true love is with understanding who we are and believing in ourselves, just the way the band sang. We need only to look around us and realize that the one thing we need to change is our heart. That’s something that we all need to learn sometime in our lives, brothers and sisters. If we can do that, we will fly through the skies, not with the speed of sound but with the spirit and on the wings of true love. In that way we will come together as one family under God, our Heavenly Parent.

Brothers and sisters, this is an incredible time. This is the time of breaking news. Let us not be confused. Let us not lose heart. Let us be vigilant in knowing who we are and realizing that every one of us here was born with a divine purpose and that every one of us here is incredibly and extremely important in weaving this incredible tapestry that we can call one family.

I want to wish all of you a wonderful Sunday and a wonderful week. God bless.

Luke 17

1: And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!

2: It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

3: Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him;

4: and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, and says, `I repent,' you must forgive him."

5: The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

6: And the Lord said, "If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, `Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

7: "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, `Come at once and sit down at table'?

8: Will he not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'?

9: Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?

10: So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, `We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"

11: On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Sama'ria and Galilee.

12: And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance

13: and lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."

14: When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed.

15: Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;

16: and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.

17: Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?

18: Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

19: And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

20: Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed;

21: nor will they say, `Lo, here it is!' or `There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

22: And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it.

23: And they will say to you, `Lo, there!' or `Lo, here!' Do not go, do not follow them.

24: For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day.

25: But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

26: As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man.

27: They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28: Likewise as it was in the days of Lot -- they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built,

29: but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all --

30: so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31: On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back.

32: Remember Lot's wife.

33: Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.

34: I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.

35: There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left."

37: And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Daniel 7

1: In the first year of Belshaz'zar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matter.

2: Daniel said, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.

3: And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

4: The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given to it.

5: And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side; it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, `Arise, devour much flesh.'

6: After this I looked, and lo, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7: After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8: I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9: As I looked,
thrones were placed
and one that was ancient of days took his seat;
his raiment was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
its wheels were burning fire.

10: A stream of fire issued
and came forth from before him;
a thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
the court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.

11: I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.

12: As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13: I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.

14: And to him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

15: "As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me.

16: I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made known to me the interpretation of the things.

17: `These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth.

18: But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever.'

19: "Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrible, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze; and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;

20: and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, the horn which had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and which seemed greater than its fellows.

21: As I looked, this horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them,

22: until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints received the kingdom.

23: "Thus he said: `As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.

24: As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom
ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.

25: He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for a time, two times, and half a time.

26: But the court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

27: And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey them.'

28: "Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed; but I kept the matter in my mind."

Matthew 24

1: Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

2: But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down."

3: As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?"

4: And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray.

5: For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray.

6: And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

7: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places:

8: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.

9: "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

10: And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another.

11: And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

12: And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold.

13: But he who endures to the end will be saved.

14: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.

15: "So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

16: then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;

17: let him who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house;

18: and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his mantle.

19: And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!

20: Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath.

21: For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

22: And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

23: Then if any one says to you, `Lo, here is the Christ!' or `There he is!' do not believe it.

24: For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

25: Lo, I have told you beforehand.

26: So, if they say to you, `Lo, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out; if they say, `Lo, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.

27: For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

28: Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

29: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;

30: then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;

31: and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32: "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

33: So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

34: Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.

35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

37: As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

38: For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,

39: and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

40: Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left.

41: Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.

42: Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

43: But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into.

44: Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45: "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?

46: Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.

47: Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

48: But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,'

49: and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken,

50: the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know,

51: and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Philippians 2

1: So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

2: complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

3: Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.

4: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

6: who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7: but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8: And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

9: Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,

10: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11: and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

13: for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14: Do all things without grumbling or questioning,

15: that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

16: holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

17: Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

18: Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

19: I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you.

20: I have no one like him, who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare.

21: They all look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

22: But Timothy's worth you know, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.

23: I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me;

24: and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself shall come also.

25: I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi'tus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,

26: for he has been longing for you all, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.

27: Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

28: I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

29: So receive him in the Lord with all joy; and honor such men,

30: for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete your service to me.  

The World of Cain

In Jin Moon
September 27, 2009
Moon of Lovin' Life Ministry
Manhattan Center

How is everyone this morning? Did you enjoy the special treat this morning? Not only did we have the musical Jesus, Ben, in town, but we also had his younger brother Victor, who is visiting for a week and volunteered graciously to come and be a part of our service. It’s just so wonderful to see so much love and so much brotherly unity on stage, is it not?

I am so proud of our Lovin’ Life band because we have great singers, our lead vocalist, and many great band members. We have the tempo Nazi, Alistair, who keeps the band in check, and we have the executive vice president of HSA on bass to ground it and drive it forward. And then we have Diego in the front, always brimming with so much love. He just loves to soak up the love in this auditorium every Sunday. Then we have the lovely Laurel, who’s always encouraging us with her smile and with her beautiful spirit. We have Omar on the drums. And we have a new member of the band, Joe Young, who’s a fantastic guitar player. And we also have Kurt. Sometimes we get Billy, and sometimes we don’t. But all in all, the band is a wonderful mix of people.

Not only am I just so inspired that I can share this great music together with you, but when I look at the band, I see a collection of really, really fine people. In particular, this Sunday I am so proud of Chris Alan, one of our favorite vocalists here at Lovin’ Life. When you work in the entertainment industry like I do, whenever you’re talking about different artists, and lead vocalists in particular, you’re really talking about the management of their egos. But it was so wonderful when I called up Chris Alan and said, “We have Ben’s younger brother in town, and he’s volunteered to come and sing for our congregation. Would you be open to that?” He just immediately, with a loving older brother’s heart, said, “Yes, of course. I think that would be wonderful.”

Then I gave him a song list, and he knew that he was not going to be singing today. But as one of the lead vocalists of the band, his heart of wanting to embrace new, up-and-coming young ones and to share the stage with other stars was just so beautiful to me. I tried to make it to the rehearsal yesterday because I just wanted to give him a big hug, but I heard that even as he was coming in for rehearsal, he had a tough day, too. When he tried to buy a ticket to come into the city, there was a homeless person refusing to allow him to purchase the ticket until he bought her one also. Then when he was on the train coming in, there was a gentleman seated next to him who basically divulged all the problems of his life and his marriage. I’m sure Chris Alan was thinking, “Is this really happening to me?”

But he came to rehearsal, and he just really put in his heart and soul. Even though he’s a main lead singer, today he was the accompanist. How wonderful it is for me, as someone who works in the entertainment industry, to see, not the fighting of the great titans or the egos on stage, but truly everybody wanting to celebrate each other’s beauty and God-given talent with the rest of the room. What more beautiful band could I have than the one I have already? So could you help me give everyone a great round of applause?

Here at Lovin’ Life as we come to close the month of September, lots of things are going through my mind. In particular, the month of September calls to mind for a lot of American people, subliminally or consciously, what had happened on 9/11, the act of terrorism. When you think about terrorism, it’s really a war amongst brothers. My father has spoken time and time again that all the major religions belong to one family. All the major religions are like siblings, like brothers and sisters. When one wars against another and actually wants to kill and destroy the other, it’s probably one of the most tragic things that our Heavenly Parent, God, has had to witness time and time again.

We know that even with the first family, within the family of Adam, we saw fratricide, Cain murdering Abel, out of Cain’s inability to digest what was going on. Out of his anger and jealousy and out of pure spite, he destroyed the very thing that he needed so much -- a wonderful family. Perhaps if the foundation of faith and substance had been accomplished in Adam’s family, God could still have worked through Adam’s family, but we know that this didn’t take place. We know that the Bible tells a story in Genesis 4:1 - 26 about the murdering of Abel by his older brother.

When you read this passage, it’s quite interesting. You can take it as a literal story, or you can understand it as a metaphor for a lot of things that people of the time or in different periods of human history have had to go through. When you look at the story of Cain and Abel from the historical point of view, you can look at it as symbolizing the enmity or the rivalry between Cain, representing the sedentary farmers, and Abel, representing pastoral nomads. The Bible tells us that Cain was a tiller of the ground and Abel was a shepherd who had his own flock. When you read on, you see that in verse 5 it says that when these two brothers made an offering to God, God had no regard for Cain’s offering but had regard for the younger brother’s offering.

Then it goes on, with God asking the very question to Cain, “Why are you so angry? Why has your countenance fallen? (Meaning, why has your face fallen?) Why are you so ashamed or embarrassed or outraged that your younger brother’s blessing was received but yours was not?”

Heavenly Father goes on to talk to Cain and says in verse 7, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? Heavenly Father is not saying, “If you do well, you will be accepted.” It’s not a conditional tense, a future tense here. He is asking the question almost as if Cain knows the answer himself: that if he does well, he will be accepted. But God asks it almost rhetorically in the form of a question because he’s provoking Cain to think, “Will you not be accepted if you do well?”

Now he follows this question with almost a warning, saying, “If not (meaning, if you don’t do well), then sin is lurking at the door.” He goes on to say, “Its desire is on you, and you must master it.” God is trying to help Cain along as much as he can. As we know, God can do 95 percent, but the last five percent responsibility -- our choice, really -- is our own, and we have to choose to do good over evil.

God is almost trying to provoke Cain to remember, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” But at the same time, because Heavenly Father and Mother is our parent, he is also warning him, “If you do not, sin is lurking at the door. Its desire is on you, and you must master it.”

What were the feelings that Cain was going through when he thought about his younger brother and the fact that God had no regard for his offering but did have regard for his younger brother’s offering? Cain, as the older brother, probably felt like, “What is God doing? I am the elder son. How can God overlook me?” Cain should have known that his parents caused the Human Fall, when his mother tempted Adam and took Adam away from the proper position where he could truly mature in love and stand as a perfected man, together with Eve by his side as his bride and as a perfected woman, and thus be a perfected couple. God was going to do many incredible things, like substantiate for the first time the ideal family. This was God’s grand design.

The children of Adam and Eve would have been direct descendants, inheriting the true love of God and the true lineage of God. Thus, all their children coming thereafter would have been under the direct dominion of God. But we know that the Fall took place. So when God was thinking about restoring Adam’s family so that he could somehow still work through it, God was looking to the two sons. Through Divine Principle, we know what we need to substantiate the foundation of faith. We know that we need an object of condition. In the story of Cain and Abel, that offering was the offering made by Abel; he was the central figure. So by God having regard for Abel, the foundation of faith was laid. It was a wonderful foundation. Cain needed to understand his providential role as an older brother, in particular, that because of the Fall, God had to work through the younger brother because the younger brother represented God whereas the older brother represented evil.

Because Lucifer, an archangel, took something that did not belong to him and took Eve for himself, what had to happen in Adam’s family was the restoration of the whole process, utilizing Abel and Cain as central figures. So Cain had to truly unite with Abel, understanding that from God’s standpoint, he was in a providential and historical position to really humble down and unite with Abel because Abel was God’s chosen representative. If he could truly unite with Abel with that heart, then he would have restored what the archangel did when he committed sin with Eve.

The problem with the archangel, or Lucifer, as we call him, was that he did not see himself from God’s standpoint. He saw himself as God’s most trusted adviser, who had all of God’s love. Even though God’s love for Lucifer did not decrease at all, Lucifer was overcome with jealousy because God’s love for Adam and Eve looked like it was so much more. Instead of understanding that his job was to help raise Adam and Eve, like a teacher, protector, and nurturer, he took it upon himself to become selfish. As William Gladstone, who was a four-time prime minister of Great Britain, said over and over again, “Selfishness is probably the greatest curse of human history.”

Lucifer had the selfish desire to see himself not in terms of God’s grand plan but rather to concentrate only on himself, he himself, and his own sense of the decrease in love. This pushed him to leave his proper position as the guardian of the children of our Heavenly Parent: and not just leave his position, but reverse dominion. Adam and Eve, under Lucifer’s care and under God’s protection, should have been raised up as a beautiful son and daughter of God. They should have stood in the position of lords of this world. They were supposed to be the first true parents.

Lucifer, having really done his best to help Adam and Eve become a perfected man and woman and then become the perfected first couple of the world, should have worked under Adam and Eve as their best and finest adviser. So understanding his position and understanding that Adam and Eve were supposed to be his central figure, he would have worked together with them to multiply good, not evil.

But because Lucifer, an archangel, left his position -- and not just left his position but reversed dominion so he became lord over Adam and Eve, not the other way around -- then the world witnessed and experienced the multiplication of evil. When God was looking at Cain and Abel, he thought, “Okay, Adam and Eve were not successful, but let me try with their sons.” So Cain, the eldest son, represented satanic lineage because it was Satan who took God’s lineage away from God, and Abel represented God’s lineage. Cain should have known -- and he probably knew -- that he had an incredibly important role to play in satisfying the foundation of substance. That was really within his hands.

Had Cain really united with Abel -- had he really acknowledged Abel and seen him from God’s point of view, realizing that he was God’s representative -- then he should have loved Abel with all his heart, regardless of what he was feeling inside, regardless of his desire to say, “But, God, I want to serve you. I want to bring the world to you. I want to be the one who makes the clarion call to wake up the brothers and sisters of my time and bring them to you.” I am sure he felt like that as the eldest son. At the same time, I’m sure he felt anger: “What is the difference between my brother and me? Why should he be chosen? Why should his offering be anointed? Why should his gift be accepted? Why should whatever he does be better than my sacrifice, my offering?”

God was giving Cain an incredible opportunity to grow and to overcome the selfishness that caused the Fall, to really subdue it and master it. When you feel that something has been taken away from you, your anger and rage can sometimes turn into a desire to kill. Cain’s biggest battle was, “How do I subdue, how do I master this desire to get rid of this little pipsqueak who is my younger brother? How do I overcome this urge to kill with love?” This was what our Heavenly Parent was asking of Cain.

Because the archangel left his position and reversed dominion, what God hoped was that not only would Cain see Abel from God’s point of view, understanding that there is an opportunity here for great victory if the two brothers could unite in love, but also that Cain would not leave his position as an elder brother but would really love the younger brother, really acknowledge the younger brother as God’s mediator and representative. But like the archangel, who reversed dominion, Cain killed Abel, taking an almost God-like stand. Only God has the sovereignty to end a life. So Cain became God-like, just the way Lucifer wanted to be God-like, Eve wanted to be Godlike, and Adam wanted to be God-like in the process of the Fall.

Cain needed to understand that, even though he was the older brother, he had to really submit, not in a humiliating way but in obedience and for the purpose of unity, so that through his own sacrifice, through his own annihilation of the self, of the selfishness that has so corrupted human history, then he could stand in the position to be instrumental in bringing about the multiplication of goodness. That was what God was hoping that Cain would do.

If we take this story in Genesis as having a moral lesson, we can look at it and say, “It’s not good to kill your sibling.” Or we can say, “God was really trying to do something here.” But what the writer of Genesis was trying to do was introduce us to the two themes that recur throughout the Genesis story. Those two themes are, first, the strife amongst brothers, and second, the desire to leave your position to become something else.

When we look at Cain and Abel, we see that in verse 13, after Cain killed Abel, God said, “What have you done?” Cain comes to his own realization of what he has done. He says, “This punishment is more than I can bear.” He knows it’s more than he can bear because what he has done, which is to allow the failure for the foundation for the messiah to take place in his family, is not only going to affect him but also his posterity.

When you read the passage in Genesis 4:17 - 26, you can sense a certain level of ambiguity in the progress or advance of humankind. It’s interesting to note that God still performs his mercy by allowing Cain not to be killed by putting a mark on his head. But when Cain leaves his home, one of the first things he does is to build a city. When you read that, you have to say to yourself, somebody who can build a fine city must be someone with some kind of capability. He was no dummy. Maybe he was a very capable person, and he created a city.

But the Bible also gives us a premonition of what is to come because there is a certain feeling of ambiguity when it comes to the advance of human civilization. There’s almost a fear that the more civilization progresses, the more violent it might become. We realize that the Bible is setting up a warning when we reach Genesis 11, where it says that the ambiguity that we felt in Chapter 4 is very much a reality; the city that was built by Cain’s descendants actually becomes something that challenges the supremacy of YaHaeh in Chapter 11.

It’s a reminder to us, brothers and sisters, that as we progress forward in history and as our technology becomes more and more advanced, we have to be careful not to become isolated from God. We have to be careful not to become a fragmented society where we think the only thing we need is “Me, my laptop, and the Internet.” We need to remind ourselves that we are part of something bigger. When we start emphasizing or thinking about only ourselves, this can degenerate into an act of violence because we don’t need anybody: If somebody is better than we are, then we may act out of anger or jealousy; we may react out of an urge to kill.

The heartbreaking passage of what happened to Cain and Abel describes what has unfolded in our own history. Time and again, this historical story takes many permutations in our own individual lives. Cain doesn’t represent only the older brother. Maybe this kind of rivalry exists between the First Generation and Second Generation, between the leaders and the members, between a certain nation and another nation. This kind of sibling rivalry exists all the time.

Maybe a First Generation is confronted with the difficulty, “What do I do with the pipsqueak Second and Third Generation that are coming up behind me?” God’s love for First Generation never decreased. In fact, God’s love for the First Generation remains the same. If we cannot learn how to be happy for the generations that come after us, like the Second and Third, and have a parental heart, if we cannot learn to be happy for our children and our grandchildren, then human history is not moving forward; it’s almost at a standstill.

If the First Generation feels that it’s not being loved enough, then it needs to understand what happened in the story of Cain and Abel so that it can maintain its position. We must maintain our relationship with our Heavenly Parent, understanding what an incredible opportunity it is to be the founding building block of this great movement that we call our own. Instead of thinking, “Why can’t I be the brick that sits on the second floor,” let’s be satisfied that the second floor, the third floor, the fourth floor, and so on and so forth, as high as we can imagine, rest upon our roles, upon our sacrifice, and upon our love.

We need to maintain our positions and not reverse dominion by holding our children back, by saying, “You can never be better than me. Get behind me. Let me be the one who ushers in the new millennium; let me be the one who brings the greatest victory to God. You’re just a pipsqueak.” If the First Generation only thinks about itself, it will not stand in the position to multiply goodness, love, peace, and prosperity in our movement.

The same applies to a leader in a similar position. When you’re looking at your congregation, at the members, remember that a teacher’s role is to make the student better than you. You are a fine teacher if you can raise the men and women in your classroom to be better than you. The teacher or the leader should have a heart of wanting something better, and not being dissatisfied or angry because somebody new coming along seemingly has it easy, seemingly has all the luck, seemingly has all the prosperity. We need to understand that we are really playing a providential role in this building of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, building this incredible mansion that represents God’s love. Then each building block has its position and place. By working together, we can create something that will ultimately reach the sky and the stars.

But we must be grateful, knowing who we are. Sometimes you might find yourself in the position of Cain; other times you might find yourself in the position of Abel. But no matter what position you find yourself in, always remember that if you find that situation to be unbearably difficult and you just want to get out, be grateful for the opportunity to grow into the more profound and deeper person that God is asking you to become. Sometimes the best thing to do is have almost an out-of-body experience and learn to see our lives from a bird’s-eye view point, seeing ourselves from the standpoint of God: “What is God trying to do by putting me in this incredibly difficult situation? God is putting me in this incredibly difficult situation because he believes in me, and he’s hoping that through my sacrifice, through my love and through my desire to multiply good, he can work miracles and miracles upon this community that I call my own. Or upon the family that I call my own.”

We have a lot of siblings in the True Family. My mother gave birth to fourteen sons and daughters: seven sons and seven daughters. When you’re born into such a big family, there is a love of “tlue rub [true love]” that needs to take place. Just like the different religions, every one of us is so different. One of the first things my husband said to me when he married me and entered into my family, getting to know all the different characters, was, “I thought you guys would be a homogenous lot. I thought you guys would be very similar.” The only similarity we have is that we love God, we love True Parents, and we have very obsessive personalities, all of us. Other than that, we are so different.

My husband often said to me, “Getting to know the True Family is like meeting an Eskimo, meeting a Japanese person, and meeting an American.” It’s all different cultures represented, thrown together into this thing called the True Family, with all the different strengths and all the different weaknesses. Imagine all these titans coming together and “tlue rubbing” each other, learning to build an ideal family -- meaning that every one of us has to deal with each other and overcome the obstacles and difficulties by living for the sake of others, by practicing and applying true love in our daily lives.

“Let me be a living testament.” It is not easy. Everyone has his or her own desires. “Let me be the one, God, to bring the world to you. Let me be the one to do it this way, or do it that way.” But if we think about the Cain and Abel story and about the incredible importance of understanding who we are from God’s standpoint, we must not be mesmerized by our own desire to serve. Maybe God is calling us to serve in a different way. We must not be tempted by our desire to love by saying, “Let me be the one, the only one,” when God is asking the whole family to love and everybody to love the world as this incredible first family of true love.

We must not be confused in thinking that maybe God is asking a certain kind of responsibility from the youngest son of the family by anointing him as the spiritual head. In a way, he is like the Abel of the family. He is God’s representative in our family, but this doesn’t mean God loves any of us any less. In fact, God is giving the greater and perhaps more difficult responsibility to the elder members of the family by saying, “I know how incredibly difficult it might be for elders to humble themselves and honor, respect, and acknowledge a younger brother as the head of the family.” But if God so wills it, then it must be done.

There is no room for others in the family to say, “Let me be the one.” We must all be the one. And being the one means listening to the word of God. Our God has anointed our True Father at the age of 16 to carry out and fulfill Jesus Christ’s mission. Father has taken us thus far, and so successfully, in more than 90 years of his life. God is working his mysterious magic through our True Father and through our True Mother; for the first time in history, God is working his mysterious magic through our True Parents.

When you think about the story of Cain and Abel, also think about going into a room full of theologians. There will be a great deal of debate and back-and-forth about “Let’s get this story from this perspective, or from that angle.” One of the things that they all like to say is, “It’s a mystery why God had regard for the second son and did not have regard for the first son.” In fact, that’s the second time that this mystery occurs in the story of Genesis, the first being the strife amongst brothers, and the second being this mystery of why God keeps on picking the younger one.

But when we see Cain and Abel’s position from God’s standpoint and realize that Cain represented satanic lineage and Abel represented God’s lineage, then we begin to understand why God accepted Abel’s offering as the foundation of faith and was hoping that Cain, representing satanic lineage, could really, truly become humble and truly annihilate the self, take the self out of the equation, to say, “I am in a providential role to deny the self, to take selfishness out of the providential history, so that together in unity my younger brother and I can usher in a true world of peace and love.” This is what should have happened.

As a member of the True Family I’m always thinking, okay, this is a story about two brothers, but we know that in most families there are sisters, too. I’m thinking, where are the sisters? What about the mothers? History has been male dominated because providential history has been that of restoration, trying to create a foundation for the messiah to come, or the perfected Adam. But now that we have our True Mother, who has restored the fallen Eve’s position, stands in the position of a perfect woman, and stands together with our True Father in the position of True Parents, there is a whole lot of work to be done by us women.

God, through our True Parents, announced the dawn of the Pacific Rim era and is encouraging the daughters, mothers, and sisters of this world to come together to ring in the new millennium with a new atmosphere of love, compassion, kindness, and strength. God is hoping that the women can really play a major role in a lot of these things that we call Cain and Abel struggles.

Think about it. Here we are, each of us, like a single strand of thread. One might be the color red, one might be yellow or brown. One might be French or Belgian, maybe a little sophisticated color here. But each and every one of us is weaving together this incredible tapestry that we call the human experience. God wants to create a masterpiece, so he brought out a canvas, along with different colors on an artist’s palette or threads on a loom, and is weaving a tapestry. We are the different threads.

We may be men; we may be women. We may be girls; we may be boys. We may come from different religious backgrounds. We may come from different cultural backgrounds. But what God is hoping for is for us to continually weave each other into this human family, into this one family that he has been waiting for. Let me remind the men in the audience who might not have experience with needlepoint or weaving or knitting that it’s a laborious process. It takes a great deal of patience; it takes a great deal of application and effort in order for one to complete a needlepoint masterpiece.

Think of our lives as this masterpiece needlepoint tapestry that God wants to put up in the sky for all to enjoy. Each of us with our own eccentricities, with our own God-given talents and gifts, are just that extra spice that adds a certain highlight or a certain dimension to this incredible tapestry that God wants to create. Instead of thinking, “I am the highlight; I am the mountain but you are the valley,” instead of thinking, “I am the light; you are the darkness,” remember that it’s very difficult to see the light in the painting if there is no contrast, darkness. It’s very difficult to experience the full ecstasy of climbing up an incredibly high mountain if you have not experienced the beauty and the profundity of a deep valley.

What God has given us through our lives and through all these different things that I call growth opportunities is that he’s taking us through this journey of self-discovery and he’s throwing a little bit of pink here, a little bit of brown here, a little bit of blue here, a little bit of yellow here. Sometimes we’re thinking, “What is God doing?!” But if we can pull ourselves away and take God’s bird’s-eye view and see ourselves from God’s standpoint, we realize that each and every one of us has an incredible responsibility to play a part in this masterpiece that God is creating.

Instead of concentrating on what I didn’t get, or what I don’t have, or why do I have less, let’s see that it really needs to be about what I do have and look what God has given to me. Are we not beautiful men and women? Are we not healthy men and women? Sometimes it’s a wonderful thing to remind ourselves that we are not alone in our difficulty, our suffering, our moments of confusion. Everybody goes through it. God takes us through the slow burn in order to make us into an incredibly beautiful man or woman of God.

Instead of fighting against the slow burn, let’s welcome the slow burn by realizing that the slow burn is there for our benefit, to make us better. When Cain was experiencing the excruciating pain of this slow burn, a feeling like he’d been cast aside, was not loved, and God had no regard for him, how incredible would it have been if Cain said to himself, “I am God’s son, and I always will be. I am his eternal son,” really concentrating on who he was, what role he was meant to play as that providential older brother figure and what he could bring about by mastering his demons and his desire to kill by instead learning how to love, how to be grateful, but, most importantly, learning to accept the will of God.

We are a movement in America, an incredibly important providential country. My father has said so, time and time again. Americans pride themselves on the word diversity. There are so many different types of people in our country. But what God is asking us to do is not just celebrate our diversity but also learn to love through unity. When you think about the word unity and you realize that it comes through the Latin word unis meaning “one,” you realize that God’s desire for humanity is for all of us to live as if we belonged to one family, to one parent, as if we were brothers and sisters.

The Cain and Abel story reminds us that we must not kill our own. We must not destroy the ones whom we were meant to call brothers and sisters. But in this call for unity, Father and Mother together as the True Parents are asking the women to play a crucial part. If you really think about it, when you put males, strong testosterone figures, into a room together, they want to butt heads. Here we have the gift of mothers, the gift of sisters, the gift of daughters who did not have a voice until our True Mother could stand in the proper role of womanhood. But now that our True Mother has done so, it is an invitation in this time of the Pacific Rim era for women to have a voice, saying to our brothers who might be going through a Cain and Abel situation, “Lordy, Lord, brothers, why not just love each other? Let me be the glue between you two. Let me be the glue that binds us together into a family. Instead of thinking about our own egos, why not think about the beauty of unity?”

This is where a feminine touch can come in really handy. I grew up with seven brothers, and they were all big and strong. Many times they butted heads, and many times it was the sisters that kept them well behaved. Father and Mother sometimes jokingly said to the family, “There is a purpose and a reason why there are exactly seven sons and seven daughters. Not eight sons and six daughters, not nine sons and five daughters, but seven sons and seven daughters.” It’s like the yin and yang of the True Family. Many times it takes the feminine touch to invite the different yangs of the family to unite together.

This is a time when the sisters and the daughters can play an incredible role as unifiers, not just in the context of their own individual family but also in the context of society, the world, and the cosmos. And also in the context of our own movement here. Let’s work together and celebrate our strengths and acknowledge our weaknesses, the boys and the men realizing they have great strength but certain areas that need a little work, and the women knowing they have great strength, too, but certain areas that also need a lot of work. So let’s come together and concentrate on what is truly important, and that is the creation of unity. After all, isn’t our church the Unification Church?

Are we not here to unify the family, society, world and cosmos? Are we not here as a symbol and an example of unity? We need to remember who we are, brothers and sisters. We need to remember that we are God’s sons and daughters. When our Father established this as the Unification Church, what our Father and Mother were asking us to do is to truly open up our eyes so that we can see beyond the diversity, beyond the differences, beyond the different cultures and packages that come along with each and every one of us.

Just as the acronym of the Unification Church says, Unification Church, we need to open up our eyes and begin to see, inviting different religions of the world as our brothers and sisters. It is with our own opened eyes that we must encourage all the different religions to think of ourselves as one family and in that way usher in a new millennium of peace.

As a mother, not a day goes by without my thinking, what do I want to leave my children when it is my time to go? I want to leave a world of peace. Brothers and sisters, we can accomplish this world of peace only when we first and foremost acknowledge God as our Heavenly Parent, when we see ourselves as the eternal sons and daughters of God, and when we promise and commit to a life of living for the sake of others, just because, not out of some reward system. Let’s practice on a daily basis the meaning of the word compassion and be strong in standing up for our different liberties, understanding that we must stand up against violence of any kind, especially the violence within the home, and educate our children to be not just internally excellent but externally excellent.

This is a simple reminder that we are here not for ourselves, really, but for each other. Unlike the young men who shed their lives because they were promised an eternal life with seventy-two virgins and crashed into the Twin Towers of New York, instead of thinking of some kind of reward system that supposedly promises you a life of debauchery in the hereafter, how wonderful would it be if young men and women could be inspired to live a great life now and continue that life onward into the hereafter? There is no promise of sex with seventy-two virgins that will be used to take the precious life that God gave you and use yourselves as missiles of destruction. Once you realize that you were placed here for an incredibly important reason, which is to be the son or daughter of God and learn to live in peace and in love as members of one family, then peace is just around the corner.

Brothers and sisters, I’m hoping that as our movement goes forward through the different permutations of the Cain and Abel story, let’s please be mindful of who we are and of our need to be absolutely obedient to and united with our Heavenly Parent, God, and with our True Parents. They will not lead us astray. What they want more than anything, as it says in John 10:16, is one flock, one shepherd. That shepherd is our True Parents, brothers and sisters.

Have a great week, have a great month, and God bless you. Thank you.

Genesis 4

1: Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD."

2: And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground.

3: In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,

4: and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,

5: but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6: The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?

7: If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."

8: Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.

9: Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"

10: And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

11: And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

12: When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."

13: Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14: Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me."

15: Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If any one slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who came upon him should kill him.

16: Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

17: Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

18: To Enoch was born Irad; and Irad was the father of Me-hu'ja-el, and Me-hu'ja-el the father of Me-thu'sha-el, and Me-thu'sha-el the father of Lamech.

19: And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

20: Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle.

21: His brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.

22: Zillah bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Na'amah.

23: Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, hearken to what I say: I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me.

24: If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold."

25: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another child instead of Abel, for Cain slew him."

26: To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD

Genesis 11

1: Now the whole earth had one language and few words.

2: And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

3: And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

4: Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

5: And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.

6: And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.

7: Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

8: So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

9: Therefore its name was called Ba'bel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

10: These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was a hundred years old, he became the father of Arpach'shad two years after the flood;

11: and Shem lived after the birth of Arpach'shad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

12: When Arpach'shad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah;

13: and Arpach'shad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.

14: When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber;

15: and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.

16: When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg;

17: and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.

18: When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Re'u;

19: and Peleg lived after the birth of Re'u two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.

20: When Re'u had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug;

21: and Re'u lived after the birth of Serug two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.

22: When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor;

23: and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

24: When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah;

25: and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.

26: When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27: Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.

28: Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chalde'ans.

29: And Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sar'ai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.

30: Now Sar'ai was barren; she had no child.

31: Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sar'ai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chalde'ans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.

32: The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

John 10

1: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber;

2: but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3: To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4: When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5: A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."

6: This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

7: So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

8: All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them.

9: I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

11: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

12: He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

13: He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.

14: I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me,

15: as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16: And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

17: For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again.

18: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father."

19: There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.

20: Many of them said, "He has a demon, and he is mad; why listen to him?"

21: Others said, "These are not the sayings of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"

22: It was the feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem;

23: it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.

24: So the Jews gathered round him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."

25: Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness to me;

26: but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.

27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;

28: and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

29: My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

30: I and the Father are one."

31: The Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32: Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?"

33: The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God."

34: Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, `I said, you are gods'?

35: If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken),

36: do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, `You are blaspheming,' because I said, `I am the Son of God'?

37: If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me;

38: but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."

39: Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

40: He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained.

41: And many came to him; and they said, "John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true."

42: And many believed in him there.  

Only Through Trial and Tribulation Can the Soul Be Strengthened

In Jin Moon
September 20, 2009
Lovin' Life Ministries
Sunday Service
Manhattan, NY

Good morning, brothers and sisters. Please have a seat. Last night was an exciting, fantastic evening, when we were able to celebrate the success of the 17th year of Women’s Federation for World Peace. I was truly honored to have the presence of Mrs. Evelyn Lowery. She really blessed this occasion with her presence. I was so happy to meet a lot of the sisters from around the world whom I have not seen for a long time. It was really wonderful and heartwarming to spend moments here and there with different people whom I have come to love over the years.

Yesterday was extremely gratifying for my family, in particular for my children and, I think, for the Second Generation here because it was truly the first time when we as a community could come together and really celebrate what we are all about. I felt that the real, true stars of the evening last night were our children. They looked so beautiful. It was almost as if the stars up in the sky came down for the evening and danced beautifully on the ballroom floor. Thanks to my daughter, Ariana, you guys are awesome! You guys can really move: not just the First Generation but Mom and Dad and daughters and brothers.

You know, this is what a wonderful community is all about. Not only do we come here to understand the deep and profound suffering heart of God, our Heavenly Parent, but we also come here to experience the love, the laughter, and the camaraderie that are just so pure and beautiful in a family and in a familiar setting. So what could be better than that? I was really tickled pink. And I was tickled pink this morning to see my drummer here wearing bright pink, my favorite color!

I felt there’s so much love in the room, and I really feel God with us today. I know that our True Parents are with us today, and they are still here with us in America. For me, it’s an incredible blessing, not just for my family and me but for our American movement.

Here we are, after finishing the Women’s Federation for World Peace 17th annual meeting. We talked about a lot of things at the conference. We were reminiscing about the history of women, especially the things that women had to go through to arrive at the Pacific Rim Era, when my father, Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon, has proclaimed to the world that this is a time for women to come up to the front and play leadership roles. We must really encourage our families -- our brothers, our husbands and our sons to be truly incredible men of God and our daughters to be women of God.

Whenever I’ve attended different women’s conferences in the past, not just our own, there’s a great deal of talk about how women have been oppressed, abused, and controlled. In many instances, that is the hard fact. Because of the Human Fall, I think many times Eve had the most difficult responsibility to bear in that she was seen as the one who tempted Adam away from his proper role as a true son of God. So over the years women had to endure great suffering.

Many women have not been allowed the opportunity for an education. A producer friend of mine came back from Afghanistan, wanting to make a documentary on the education of the Afghan girls. He was telling me that he went into the basement floor of what looked like a ruin, and there were fifty to seventy girls there, all huddled together, learning to read. He was so inspired by their desire to educate themselves, to prepare to become great mothers so they could better take care of their families.

Then he told me how he was shocked and alarmed when he heard some rustling outside and saw a bunch of what he called 16-ish and 17-ish year-old boys storming the basement school. The reason they came there was to throw acid into the faces of these young girls who wanted to get an education and better themselves. The boys wanted to scar the girls for life, for wanting to get an education.

We hear examples of young female babies born in different countries who are left to die in the countryside in remote areas simply because they are girls and girls are seen as worthless. We hear numerous stories about women in history who have had to overcome incredible odds simply because they were women. But they persevered and were persistent, and they believed that they were daughters of God. They were strengthened by their own belief in God, their Heavenly Parent, and their belief in themselves, that they were put upon this earth to do good work. There are many great women like Catherine Booth, Harriet Tubman, and Mother Theresa who persevered so much to become what they were. Their good works and their memories continue to inspire us throughout the years and even today as we go about our daily routines and responsibilities.

When I think about all these women and how I feel so blessed to be born as a daughter of God, I truly have to thank my mother, who is the international president of the Women’s Federation for World Peace. Single-handedly she has spearheaded a movement, basically asking the women’s movement not just to be a movement of liberation and freedom, but to be a movement that can truly help women to seek and find fulfillment as true daughters of God. Instead of just concentrating on freedom, we were also reminded about the responsibility that we hold in our hands, in particular the responsibility of raising great kids, of raising a great family.

My mother always told her fourteen children over the years (Can you imagine? Fourteen children from one woman?), “You must be men and women of integrity.” I understood her words to mean that we must be men and women of character. Helen Keller, who herself overcame great odds to do so much good for the world, especially for the blind and for people with disabilities, once said something that still rings true to me this day. She said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through trial and tribulation can the soul be strengthened, can ambition be inspired and success achieved.”

When I look at Helen Keller’s life, I see that she lived her own words. She became a woman of character herself and helped thousands of people. When I’m thinking about what kind of a person a woman or man of character is, I’m ruminating on the word character. My mind does interesting things. I approach a word through phonetics, maybe through my own cultural ears or through my own understanding. But char-ac-ter is a three-syllable word. It’s interesting that when you use an Eastern pronunciation twist to it, it almost sounds like cal-rac-tor. And cal actually sounds like the word knife in Korean. And rac sits smack in the middle, the second syllable. And then the last syllable sounds like her. It sounds like knife, rock, and her. Female gender here.

When I thought about it, I thought about Heavenly Parent and our True Parents telling the children and myself, too, “You are like a rough-cut diamond. You must live your lives polishing and cutting away the crusty exterior so that you can truly reveal the beauty of your character and the beauty of your divinity by truly practicing on a daily basis what it means to be a true person.”

For me, when I think of the word character, it’s really an invitation for the mothers in the room because we hold within our hands the power to educate the character of our children. We are the ones holding the knife or chisel, chiseling away at our children. Many times the diamond is not too happy, and many times it might complain. But the mother loves the child and knows that buried deep within is a beautiful, awesome son or daughter waiting to shine the brilliant light that is the light of our Heavenly Parent and True Parents.

It is often the responsibility of the mother to hone, sharpen, and polish this incredible rock that we call a diamond. How fitting that in our society the diamond represents forever. I know that when young girls are hoping for the blessing and hoping for that wonderful man who will be their eternal partner; when they say, “I do,” to Heavenly Father and Mother, not only will they get a beautiful gold church ring, but many of the girls will receive a diamond ring. The diamond is given to your beloved because it’s a symbol of eternity. When God crafted his son and daughter, he was crafting this incredible diamond called you, me, us, and the community.

When you saw my daughter Ariana perform with her Harvard ballroom dance team yesterday, wasn’t she magnificent? But, brothers and sisters, how do you think she got to be so good? She certainly wasn’t sitting back nibbling popcorn and twiddling her thumbs. It’s a lot of hard work. The band here that you heard this morning, weren’t they great? But how did they get to be so good? It’s because blood, sweat, and tears were behind what you saw, just like the blood, sweat, and tears of effort, perseverance, overcoming, and working through the difficult steps allowed Ariana and her friends Tim, Lou, and all these wonderful dancers to grace us with the beauty of the human form.

When our Heavenly Father is asking us, “Look, my sons and daughters, my beautiful rough-cut diamonds, I want you to go through life and really, really work hard to become that true son and true daughter,” I think some of us in the room sometimes say, “Why should we work so hard? Why is life so difficult? I want the good life now.” But what God is really saying is, “Look, my dear children, when you really want to strive for a life of fulfillment, a life of satisfaction, rarely is the greatest satisfaction gained from ease and comfort.”

The greatest satisfaction in life, just like winning the Gold Medal at the Olympics, comes when the process is an excruciating and arduous one. But because you know that if you keep on pursuing your dream, if you keep at it, and if you keep believing that success will be achieved, then the inspired ambition that you hold in your heart can be realized because once you know that you’re the son or daughter of God and feel it in your soul, there’s an incredible strength that comes from knowing who we are. That knowledge of who we are as sons or daughters is the most wonderful foundation for overcoming any kind of difficulty that we have to face.

In the second section of Isaiah, Chapter 43, verse 2, the prophet Isaiah says, “Walk through the water and I [God] will be there and through the rivers, and the river will not overwhelm you. Walk through the fire, and you will not be scorched or burned. The flames will not consume you.” The prophet Isaiah is not telling us, “Walk in the water, walk on the water, walk over the water.” He is saying, “Walk through the water. You are going to get wet. But continue to walk, even if you feel like you’re going to sink. Continue to walk, continue to move, continue to tread.”

It’s very interesting what he says next: “Walk through the rivers and the rivers will not overwhelm you.” When I read this passage, I was thinking about my boys, who love to work out. They’re fantastic specimens, are they not? Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I just love them to death. But they’re very conscious of wanting to be fit and healthy. I fully support all that they’re doing. When they’re working out with the barbells or doing abdominal crunches, they’re always going for what you call the slow burn. It’s not the quick burst of energy that’s going to give you the greatest muscle mass or the leanness that you want; it’s the slow burn that gives you the greatest result.

I think a lot of married couples in the audience here know exactly what I’m talking about, right? Sometimes marriage feels like a slow burn, and maybe we don’t get to look in God’s mirror and see the lean muscle mass that we’ve acquired over the years. Maybe we’re so consumed with the slow burn, which is excruciating. My boys will be doing crunches until they look like they cannot go on. It’s when they hit that moment when they feel they cannot go on that I hear them say, “Seven more!” Or twenty-one more, or forty more. What they are going for is that slow burn.

When they work out they know how far they can go, but they also know the limit. They know when they cannot do any more. That’s the wonderful thing about having a coach. When coaches take you through a workout process, they’re pushing you toward experiencing that excruciating slow burn, but when they feel you’re on the verge of a heart attack, they’ll say stop.

When you listen to this passage in Isaiah and God says to walk through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you, God is being like the coach looking at his children who are feverishly and furiously doing their abdominal crunches. Here we are, feeling like we cannot go on, but maybe God might whisper to us, “Three more.” God might whisper to someone else, “Seven more.” He might whisper to another person, “Twenty-one more.” But when God promises that the rivers will not overwhelm us, what he is saying is, “Look, I’m your heavenly Parent. I’m your coach. I’m watching over you. I know when you cannot go any longer.”

This passage meant so much to me as a mother who has given birth to five children. This is exactly what I experienced, the excruciating slow burn that builds into -- I don’t know what else to call it, a volcanic eruption, maybe? When you’re about to have that child, you feel like you are going to die. You feel like you are going to rip in half. But just at that moment when you feel that the rivers are overwhelming you and you’re going to die, God says, “Okay, time to come out.” And out they came, and aren’t they beautiful?

God is encouraging us, “Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to go through the waters, through the rivers, through the flame. Don’t let your eyes deceive you.” Have faith that God is watching over us, that our Heavenly Parent is always watching over the children. When you read a bit further down and you get the same chapter, verse 5, God reminds us in a very loving way, “Do not fear, do not be afraid, I’m here.”

When I read the next passage, I feel it is truly a fulfillment of everything that is taking place here in America and also everything that is taking place with the advent of our True Parents. For me as a woman, having the True Parents as messianic figures is incredibly important because our precious, lovely, and beautiful True Mother is truly an incredible human being who overcame the difficulty of being a woman in a society that was not the most loving. Not only did she thrive because she knew she was the daughter of God, but she went on to find this incredible man called Reverend Moon. She was a smart one; she married him. And together they became the True Parents.

For the first time in history, somebody could stand in the position of the restored Eve. This is something that has never happened, that was only the dream of Jesus Christ when he was crucified on the cross and could not have the opportunity to experience the beauty of creating an ideal family. Fast-forward 2,000 years and in our True Parents we have that opportunity. We see that opportunity. They’ve tried their best over the years to build a wonderful family.

But I’ve got to tell it to you straight, brothers and sisters. As great as my father is, there’s always a great woman behind a great man. It’s my mother that kept the family together. It’s my mother and my mother’s voice as the conscience for so many of her children that kept us inspired, that kept us wanting to become who we were meant to be, who we were destined to be. She is still an inspiration to all of us today. Truly that is because of our mother’s great effort and overcoming her own personal suffering and difficulty.

Sometimes I joke with her, “The Kleenex Company should really pay you a commission because you’ve been its most loyal customer.” She’s passed that tradition down to her daughters, and we’re good clients, too. Maybe I should call the CEO of Kleenex to see if we can work something out.

What I mean is that my mother and my family are no strangers to suffering, heartache, and difficulty. But I saw my mother overcoming all these difficulties and still maintaining her dignity as a daughter of God, living her philosophy of simple elegance, which is my philosophy for life. It’s something that I want to be. It’s something I aspire to. We have our most precious True Parents here with us, and God has given all of us the greatest gift. This time is not going to come again. They’re not going to live here forever. Their physical bodies will sometime pass away. Having them here with us, having them here in America today is an incredible blessing.

I think a lot of us here in the room are familiar with biblical prophecy. Those of us who understand the Divine Principle know why our True Father is the Second Coming and why our True Parents are so precious. But when I was reading this book of Isaiah and I came across this passage, I thought that Isaiah 43:5 is really prophetic for our community. It starts out by telling the reader, “Don’t be afraid; I am here. Then it says, “Your offspring will come from the East, and they will be gathered in the West.”

When I read that, I think about our True Parents coming from Korea, the East. They came upon the world and graced our lives with our eternal partners; it is through their blessing and by grafting onto the True Olive Tree that our Second Generation came to be. Our offspring came from them, and they’re from the East. It says that they will be gathered in the West. Here in America and the Western world, we stand on the foundation of Christianity. We stand on the foundation of Jesus Christ’s work. The Bible is reminding us of the significance of our time right now. This whole chapter is really talking about the promise of redemption. God is promising redemption to the reader.

I really felt that this was meant for our community. Here we have our most precious True Parents coming from the East. Of course it would have been better had Christianity fully united with our True Parents, but still the foundation is there for us to harvest if we can truly unite and realize that people of all major religions are all children of God.

When Father says that America must play a providential role in this history, what he is saying is that just as America has been so blessed and now is the superpower of the world, our Heavenly Parent is asking us to think about how we’re going to use this ability to influence. When the Bible says through Isaiah that your offspring will come from the East, it’s a prophecy of the Second Generation that we so enjoyed last night, and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and all of posterity that will come after we’re gone.

It says that the great harvest needs to be gathered here in the West, that the West must play a role in truly helping our True Parents, in truly doing our best to unite with our True Parents. I think it’s incredibly prophetic that not only do Father and Mother come from the land of Korea, but also the youngest son, who has been anointed as the spiritual head of our movement, is concentrating his efforts in Korea. As Americans, should we not unite with him? And should we not help him? Should we not reap the harvest that is waiting for us?

Brothers and sisters, the prophet Isaiah continues, saying to the North, “Give them up.” He says to the South, “Do not withhold.” When I read this passage, knowing that one of the last great dreams of my father is the unification of North and South Korea, I realized that God was giving a message to the North Koreans, “Do not hold my children. You need to give them up because they belong to God.” Communism denies the existence of God, but our True Parents came to teach us that God is our Heavenly Parent. God is telling the South, “Do not withhold. Do not withhold your love, do not be afraid. Trust in God. Work with your brothers and sisters as if they are your own. Do not think about how to exploit the North. Do not withhold what is truly genuine in your heart.” And what is genuine in every Korean’s heart is desire for Korea to be unified.

The prophet Isaiah continues on, saying, “Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the world.” Many of the sons of our Heavenly Father went away in the pursuit of their own wealth, treasure, or independence. But bring them back, our Heavenly Father and Mother is saying. Many of our daughters, our sisters, were living as if at the end of the earth. They were faceless, voiceless, and having no presence. But in the dawn of this Pacific Rim Era, our Heavenly Parent is asking us, “Be present. Shine your beautiful face as a daughter of God, and speak the words of true love. In so doing you will not just empower your brothers, you will not just encourage your fathers, you will not just nurture and support your sons, but you will be instrumental in bringing about the creation of a new generation of peace, a new generation of young people who truly understand that God is our Heavenly parent and we belong to the same family.”

It is our honor and dignity to love each other, to be kind to each other, to be compassionate with each other, to group together and fight against injustice, just the way Dr. Lowery, Dr. Abernathy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., did with the civil rights movement. We have seen the fruits of the civil rights movement. Don’t you think it’s high time, brothers and sisters, that we see the fruits of what true love really is?

I saw that last night in our children. Our children are our stars. Our children are the hope. If we can truly inspire them to be more than what they think they can be, which really is the duty of a parent, can you imagine, if the whole world is wishing everyone’s children well, what kind of a world this could be?

God reminds us at the end of verse 7, “I have created you in my name for the sake of my glory.” He is reminding his children that our lives, if you really think about it, are not really about ourselves. It’s really about what we can leave behind. When I was growing up, my mother told us, “Always leave the place that you enter better than how you found it.” This has been inculcated into all of us and ingrained into our souls.

What God is reminding us that we came into this world naked and we will leave this world naked. Let’s not get caught up in materialistic baggage or the pursuit of things that will not last in the hereafter. We need to realize that our lives are really an opportunity to have an experience of self-discovery by going through the waters, by going through the rivers and by not being afraid; by going through the flame because we know that our Heavenly Parent, our coach and our teacher and our most ardent supporter, is watching over us each and every step of the way.

I know that there are times, even for me, when I feel, “Where is God?” There ain’t no sunshine without God. Sometimes you ask yourself, “Where is God?” God is just reminding us, “You are my eternal children. You are my eternal sons and daughters. All you need to do is to speak from within, to allow yourself to feel through prayer or meditation, through concentration, through reflection, through writing, and to allow yourself to turn the switch on.” Then we as the light bulb become a brilliant light unto the world because we’re plugged into this incredible energy source called God, our Heavenly Parent. We are experiencing the true circuitry called true love that will allow us to express ourselves, our own uniquely gifted and talented selves so beautifully unto the world and thereby give great joy and comfort to people around us.

I feel that the experience of last night is really only the beginning of many great things to come. I often like to tell members that the First Generation suffered so much in the time of the wilderness, but in this time of settlement we really need to see our children prosper, becoming internally excellent and externally excellent. I thought last night was a wonderful step in that direction.

I’ve got to tell you, brothers and sisters, I got to dance with Bishop Kim, the Continental Director. He was learning on the spot, but he picked up the three steps pretty well, and he even spun me a couple of times. We have a bishop who’s willing to boogie with us, and that is a good thing, brothers and sisters. So let’s boogie out of the wilderness.

Rev. Ken Sudo has given the True Family countless Divine Principle lectures, and I remember how he pronounced the words true love, making them sound like “tlue rub.” Here at Lovin’ Life I’m always encouraging people to practice “tlue rubbing.” But if you listen to the way he says “tlue,” it kind of sounds like “through.” So it’s “through rubbing” each other or, for the Second Generation, the young people in the audience, it’s going through the rubbing process that your parents are putting you through, maybe with a chisel or a hammer, but they’re doing it out of love. They love you more than anything. They love you more than life itself. Isn’t it wonderful to know that you have parents who truly care? If that is not a blessing, I don’t know what is. So, Second Generation, honor your parents and be grateful to them.

And First Generation, please help me empower our children so that by coming together into this incredible community that we are, we can truly realize everyone’s dream. As a daughter, what I would like is to really see my father’s dream realized, which has already been prophesied in the Book of Isaiah, which I shared with you this morning.

So brothers and sisters, please go in high spirits and know that our God, our Heavenly Parent, and our True Parents love you with all their hearts. You are truly their children. I often like to joke that they really do love you more than us. We are happy for that.

Please go, knowing that you are blessed. Please be those wonderful sons and daughters that all of us are destined to be. So God bless. Have a great week.

Isaiah, chapter 43

1: But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.

2: When you pass through the waters I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned
and the flame shall not consume you.

3: For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.

4: Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.

5: Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;

6: I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,

7: every one who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made." 

Registration and Payment Instructions Original Divine Principle Workshop Washington DC, Sept. 29 -- Oct. 3, 2009

In Jin Moon
September 20, 2009

Registration Guidelines

All registrations will be done Online. To connect to the Online Database please click on the link below:

principlefamilyandpeace

This will take you into the live data base page. Click on the headline as shown below: "Principle Forum on Family and Peace" The click will lead you directly into the Registration Form. You must enter data into every field before you can save your entries. Enter dash (-) into the fields you do not yet have information for or you will not use. When done, click on “Save New” and your form will be saved and you will be taken to another page. Click on the “Click Here” link to register the next guest.

Payment Guidelines

All payments must be routed through the District HQ. This includes cash, checks and credit card payments. If you are not set up for Credit Card processing at your bank send the CC Authorization Forms to the National HQ in New York.

The District bookkeeper should send the full amount of the registration fee and donations collected to the National HQ by 6:00 PM, Friday, September 25th 2009. This is the deadline.

Please send your check (made out to HSA-UWC) to the National HQ at 4 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036. It is very important that you send a name list of the participants who paid with your payments. Use the attached an Excel form for this purpose (Reg Fee and Donation Tracking).

I have attached Credit Card Authorization Forms for your use. One form is for the Registration Fee, the other for the Donation. Please make sure you enter your District HQ email and fax number in the allocated spaces on the forms. Again, in order to do this you will need to unlock the forms, enter your District HQ information and re-lock them before you send the forms to the field.

The following Documents are attached:

1 09-09-29 Registration Guidelines

2 09-09-29 Registration Form

3 09-09-29 CC Registration Fee

4 09-09-29 CC Donation Fee

5 09-09-29 Reg Fee and Don Tracking

Have a great day,

FFWPU National HQ 

"Human Rights, Women's Rights and Religious Freedom"

In Jin Moon
September 19, 2009
Keynote Speech to WFWP, USA's National Assembly

I am happy to be with all of you this morning on this 17th conference of the Women’s Federation for World Peace. I feel truly honored to be asked to give the keynote address this morning, and I’m particularly privileged to have Mrs. Lowery here with us today. Could I ask her to stand? (Applause)

They say that behind every great man there is a great woman. I had the privilege of getting to know Dr. Lowery, with whom I worked with the Coalition for Religious Freedom. I was just a 17-year-old girl. But I realized when I got to meet and work with Dr. Lowery that there must be a great woman behind this man; certainly after meeting Mrs. Lowery, I discovered why Dr. Lowery is truly great.

When I worked as a 17-year-old girl together with the great luminaries of the civil rights movement, such as Dr. Joseph Lowery, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, and so many other Christian leaders and ministers, I realized that these were people who fought and struggled against something, overcoming different obstacles, overcoming the odds. But they came together in the spirit of unity so that by working in cooperation with one another, they could make a difference.

We have seen the fruits of the civil rights movement in the election of President Obama to the White House. For me as a woman who represents a minority in this country, his election was truly a symbol of hope, and it brought me back to when I was a little girl and I heard Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech for the first time. He taught me how to dream. And when I started working with the civil rights leaders here in America like Dr. Joseph Lowery, I learned that not only can I dream, but I can put my dream into practice and make it a reality.

The election of the first black man as the president of the United States to usher in this brand-new millennium is a symbol of hope, and very much a symbol of what we can do if we really come together and stand for something. When I think about the women’s movement and its history until now -- organizations like NOW and different women’s groups who have really fought for the right to vote, for the right to equal representation in government, or in different business organizations and so on -- I look at our sisters here. We’ve been struggling against an unbreakable glass ceiling. But through the diligence and persistence of our sisters over the years, we have made great strides in claiming for ourselves the dignity of being part of humanity, exercising our God-given rights to be a part of the community that we belong to, and exercising our voice in a religious community when many times women had no voice.

But in our fight for liberation and for our rights, sometimes I feel that we’ve become so relativistic that we forget that we are beautiful women. What I would like to see as we go forward and introduce a new vision of women for the next millennium is to bring the wonderful, feminine touch of a woman as a mother.

Historically the women’s movement espoused the importance of freedom, of independence, and of individual fulfillment, meaning the rights of a single woman. But when we are thinking about the Women’s Federation for World Peace being an important organization to bring about world peace, to really affect the world in a profound and meaningful way, then we have to rethink what a woman’s organization really should be.

We have fought for freedom, but as mothers raising children we know that freedom alone does not guarantee happiness in the home. Freedom must always be tempered and must work in conjunction with this wonderful thing called responsibility. So we need to ask our sisters to not only highlight our freedom to do whatever we want but also the responsibility that we can exercise in the context of our homes as mothers, in the context of sibling relationships as sisters, and in the context of loving couples as wives.

Instead of just concentrating on a woman’s right to financial, economic, and physical independence, we need to be thinking about the meaning of unity. Yes, we need to be healthy and independent emotional, spiritual, and physical beings, but we’re not an island unto ourselves, and many of us, when we reach motherhood, have an opportunity to affect the future generation of our world. Education starts with us.

As we come to realize our true worth as daughters of God and everything that comes with that, knowing that we are divine beings and we are put upon this earth to play a major role -- not just in our own lives but in the lives of everybody living together with us -- then we realize that we have a divine mission, which is probably most profoundly felt in the context of the family.

So instead of just highlighting our rights and independence, if we can also highlight the importance of responsibility as a great daughter of God, as a great mother to children, and as a great sister to brothers, then I think we can be instrumental in raising a generation that is truly phenomenal.

Instead of emphasizing the single woman or the importance of the individual, how wonderful it would be if we as sisters and mothers could highlight the importance of the family. The family is truly the cornerstone of every society and every great nation. It starts with us, usually with the mother in the home. I know that I would not be here, for instance, without the wisdom and the encouragement of my mother. She was the one who truly inspired me to continue that dream that was sparked in my imagination by the great leaders and luminaries like Dr. Martin Luther King. She taught me to dream. She empowered me to dream. She encouraged me to apply my dream to my daily life and to really make something of myself so that I could be somebody who could be of service in the world in everything that I have to offer.

So this year we are here to talk about human rights, women’s rights, and religious freedom. For me, when I think about this great country of America, religious freedom is something that is fundamental to the concept of who we are when we think of ourselves as Americans. Our great forefathers and foremothers came to this country with the notion that we should be able to exercise the right to worship in a manner that we see fit. Over the years my father brought our whole family over here, and we saw our American movement grow. But we also saw the backlash that was unleashed against our movement because some people started thinking Reverend Moon or the Unification Church was too powerful.

I saw the injustice that was thrown into our brothers’ and sisters’ faces, into my siblings’ faces, into my parents’ faces, and into my face. So I looked to the great leaders of the civil rights movement, and I saw their tenacity in carrying forth their dream as an inspiration to take as my own.

In my years of self-discovery and of coming to know what I could do in the world, I realized that I have to be true to myself and to my family, but most importantly, to my God, our Heavenly Parent. So when we’re talking about human rights, the right to worship in the manner that we see fit, and the rights of women, we’re really talking about a gift that God has given to us in that he and she, they, our Heavenly Parents, are really encouraging all of us to treat each other with dignity and to treat men and women equally with dignity because in the eyes of God we have equal value as human beings.

Let’s truly start from the point of understanding that no matter where we come from, no matter what culture, no matter what race, no matter what religion we come from, then we ultimately belong to one Heavenly Parent. That is the basis, the platform, or the common denominator on which we can start seeing ourselves as one family under God.

A couple of weeks ago I had the honor of welcoming Mr. Goto to our congregation during Sunday worship. He was imprisoned for 12 years and five months because he wanted to follow Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon. He was kidnapped, tortured, and confined against his will by his family in conjunction with deprogrammers in Japan. The way he survived was on meager rations of food. Perhaps some of you have had an experience of deprogramming, so you know that these poor brothers and sisters are put under extreme mental duress and fed only meager rations so that they will be easier to break. After day in and day out of negativity, accusation, and persecution, Mr. Goto, who is truly a saint representing unbreakable faith, never wavered in his faith, just like the way Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Lowery, and Dr. Ralph Abernathy never wavered in their dream that one day they would overcome. They did overcome, and the civil rights movement saw the dream come true.

Here as a movement we are smack in the middle of fighting a battle against something as hideous as deprogramming, which denies our brothers and sisters their human dignity, their right to choose, their right to exercise their freedom to determine themselves what and how they would like to worship their Lord, their Heavenly Parent. This great country of America was born with the concept of religious freedom. It is explicitly stated in the Bill of Rights, the first Ten Amendments that were introduced as a series of articles in 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791. This series of articles guarantees American citizens the right to civil liberties.

The First Amendment in particular guarantees religious freedom. It states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the establishment of religion or the exercise thereof. Basically it’s guaranteeing the right of all people to practice their faith in this great country of America. But in 1984, when my father was cast into prison in Danbury, Connecticut, he was denied his religious freedom. I had the honor of watching a sea of Christian ministers truly come together and voice their opinions on the matter at hand, saying, “This is not right. This is the great country of America. This man is a great man. This man is a man of God, and he should be acknowledged to be the teacher and the True Parent that he is.”

I saw the pictures taken of Mr. Goto when he was thrown out by his captors because they simply gave up after 12 years and five months, not being able to break his faith. They threw him out onto the pavement with a pair of shoes. I always say God works in mysterious ways because even though he had nothing and he was thrown out with a pair of shoes, the second person he came across was actually a sister of our movement. She took him to the headquarters and then to the hospital, where for the next several weeks he went through a process of recovery.

Imagine a man who was bright, intelligent, articulate, and with a promising career -- he was studying to become an architect. But his dream was ripped away, and he was thrown into a dark and difficult time when he had to endure 12 years and five months of fighting for his right to believe in God in the way that he saw fit. He fought for his right to exercise his freedom to be an Unificationist. He fought for his human rights, for his right to make that choice and have the ability to decide for himself how he wants to live his life.

He lived on scraps of food that were thrown away. He told me a story of how he was allowed into the kitchen from time to time, but his captors made sure that nothing was in the refrigerator, that there was nothing available for him to eat. What he ended up doing was rummaging through the garbage compacter and eating the potato skins, carrot skins, or onion skins that were discarded. This the way this man survived. Day in and day out, he fought for his human rights.

When Mr. Goto had the opportunity to come and worship with the American movement, I said to the American brothers and sisters, “Look at this man. Look at this saint with unbreakable faith who fought for his right to worship his Lord in the manner that he saw fit. Should we not honor him? Should we not let him know that his problems in Japan are not simply a Japan problem but it is our problem here in the United States as well?”

We should be the voice of countless brothers and sisters who have been deprogrammed over the years. Since 1966 we have over 4,000 cases of kidnapping and deprogramming in Japan. Should we not speak? Should we not give them a voice when they have none? Should we not highlight what is going on when they are not able to raise awareness themselves? Should we not alarm our society or alarm the American government as to what is happening in Japan?

What is happening in Japan is a great crime -- human rights violations that are denying a person the right to choose or the right to believe. And not only are we talking simply about the rights being denied, we’re talking about physical and sexual abuse. The deprogrammers know very well that we espouse the importance of purity and fidelity in marriage. Some of these women have been raped or otherwise physically abused in order to break their faith. If this is not a human rights violation of the worst kind, I don’t know what is.

As mothers who have the duty to raise the new generation of peace that is going to usher in this new millennium, we cannot just sit still while these violations are taking place. We need to come together, just like the great luminaries of the civil rights movement came together and worked together to make a difference.

I very much see the Women’s Federation for World Peace as an organization that, empowered by a true understanding of who we are as God’s daughters and as incredible mothers to our children, is going to stand up and say, “We must fight against abuse. We must fight against violence. We must fight to empower our sisters giving them the opportunity to have an education and to create a decent home by helping our brothers realize the dignity and worth of a woman so that as wives and mothers we can truly experience what true love is all about.”

We as women truly must be the conscience of America and the world. Just as my mother is the voice of my conscience each and every day, we must be the conscience of our nation, our community, and our family. Instead of looking at our brothers and men as people who have oppressed women over the years, we are going to do it better this time, sisters. We are going to raise them up to be better men, to be better sons, and to be better brothers. We are going to empower them and invite them to be loving husbands and great fathers, so that together in the context of a family we can initiate the revolution that is truly important. That is the revolution of true love.

It is a revolution of true love that is going to nourish, that is going to care for our children, and that is going to empower our future generation to be the kind of men and women that we all need to be when we are talking about world peace. We have to understand that the word peace is not just a word made up of five different letters. It must mean something. But not only should it mean something, we must be practicing peace every day. We must not just dream, but we must apply it because through daily practice and daily application that dream of ours is going to become a reality.

I came across this wonderful thing called a mnemonic device when I was trying to teach my children the importance of certain things. When I talk to my children about the importance of having a true understanding of what the word peace means, I invite them to look at the word as an acronym. We could start out by understanding that God is our eternal Parent. P for parent, eternal parent. And we need to have an understanding of ourselves as Eternal sons and daughters of God. E, eternal.

And if we have an understanding that God is Heavenly Parent and we are eternal sons and daughters, then we realize that we have to live a life of Altruism, A. We have to live for the sake of others, thinking about others before ourselves. This is not simply because we want to receive rewards or eschew punishment, but we want to be good people, and we want to live our lives in service to others, just because. Just because we want to be good people. In doing that, we need to practice what it means and begin to apply what the word compassion means. We need to be men and women of Compassion.

I also like to tell people that when the great Dalai Lama is asked, “What is your religion about?” he gives a very simple answer. He says, “My religion is kindness.” Compassion is kindness. Many people understand compassion to be something weak, something that you can just push over, but actually kindness can be incredibly strong, especially when it is ignited with a spirit of cooperation. Then truly as a community we can and must stand together against violence of any kind. Violence in the home. Violence in our schools. Violence in our communities, and violence in our nation. We must not do this in anger, but we must respond with true love. We must practice that true love through the spirit of cooperation, understanding that our opportunity here as human beings is to exercise this wonderful thing called compassion.

In so doing, we are going to realize that we are well on our way to becoming Excellent men and women of this world, men and women who are worthy of this thing called peace. Not only will we be excellent in our careers, not only will we be excellent in what we do, but we will truly be excellent internally in who we are -- that is, as children of our Heavenly Parent, God. In that way, this is an invitation to a true understanding of the word peace. It is an invitation for every young man and woman to become a loving couple and to create a beautiful family, called an ideal family.

I always like to joke with my congregation. Here we are, a bunch of Unificationists who believe in the importance of building an ideal family. You know what? Dr. Lowery told me that God works in mysterious ways and God always has a way of giving us what we ask for. As many of us who have entered into this new phase of our lives called parenthood and have found ourselves raising teenagers, I’m sure we’ve thrown up our hands and said to ourselves, “Where is God? Why didn’t God give me what I wanted, an ideal family?”

God very much gave us exactly what we wanted. God was inviting us to deal with the everyday struggles, overcome, and establish something that would bring us the greatest satisfaction in life.

Over the years the women’s movement has been about having a voice and fighting for liberation. What I am encouraging the sisters and gentlemen in this room to think about is liberation or freedom as just the first step. It’s just the first step on the road to what I feel is the true goal of a women’s organization, and that is to help women reach fulfillment as a true wife, a true mother, a true daughter, and a true sister.

I hope that as you go through the day and listen to different speakers talking about the themes of human rights, women’s rights, and religious freedom, please think about how we as individual women can become agents of change in our homes who, starting with ourselves, can usher in a revolution of true love, so that for the first time in history we can claim the proper rights of women in the context of family, nation, and world, and therefore play an integral part in raising up and empowering the future generation to name their own generation as a Generation of Peace.

Thank you, brothers and sisters, for this morning. 

October 14, 2009 Special Blessing Ceremony- Details and Updates

In Jin Moon
September 19, 2009

TO: USA District Directors, FFWPU Leaders, Blessed Central Families
FROM: Rev. In Jin Moon, Bishop Ki Hoon Kim
DATE: September 19, 2009
RE: October 14, 2009 Special Blessing Ceremony- Details and Updates

We would like to share more detailed information regarding the purpose, value and plan for the October 14, 2009 Blessing Ceremony that our True Parents have called all Blessed Central Families to attend, together with those newly matched First and Second Generation couples, Ambassadors for Peace and VIPs planning to participate.

I. Significance of October 14th Blessing On August 19 and 20, 2009, in Hoon Dok Hae at Cheon Jeong Gung, True Father explained:

“Humanity cannot unite and become owners of peace unless they share a common blood lineage… a condition must be set through which all six billion people in the world, from both the communist and the democratic worlds, receive the Blessing on the same day. Once that condition is set, then the Blessing can be given again and again to cleanse the entire world.”

On the following day, August 21, 2009, Father mentioned:

“If we cannot set the proper conditions together while Father is on the earth, you will be unable to set the necessary conditions without me in the future. If we miss the right time, you will have to wait for hundreds or thousands of years. Since it’s difficult for Father to set the necessary indemnity conditions to give the Blessing again, the event on October 14 is the beginning point of opening the way of setting the conditions needed to Bless the high and low people of this world, who are on all different levels, some as high as heaven and others as low as the earth.”

In his message at the celebration for the publication of True Father’s memoirs, also shared on July 4th in New York, he explained that this Blessing is held in a new age where humanity enters the realm of grace of being restored to its original state untainted by the fall, inheriting and sharing God’s original heart. He said that True Parents’ coronation and 50th Wedding Anniversary have established a foundation for complete oneness of Cain and Abel, and that this Blessing will usher in that new age, when all 6 billion people of the world are brought together in oneness through the Blessing, on the foundation of the True Parents’ enthronement. Father intends to expand the Blessing rapidly in the coming 3 years and 3 months before “D-day.” For this reason he announced on August 11:

“Everyone must receive the Blessing again by October 14 of this year. In attendance of True Parents, you must fulfill your filial duty to establish a victorious standard, calling on all the saints in the spirit world.”

More detailed content of True Fathers’ words regarding October 14th will be distributed soon.

II. Date, time, SCHEDULE:

October 14, 2009, 11:00 AM, at Sun Moon University, Asan, Korea, held simultaneously throughout the world by internet broadcast. That is 10:00 PM EST (New York and Washington, DC), and 7:00 PM PST (Los Angeles and San Francisco) on October 13 in the USA.

III. Locations - Where and How to Participate:

Couples have three options for participation:

A. With True Parents in Korea, October 14, 11:00 AM: Our International President, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, has asked for 100 representative couples from North America to join with True Parents and 12,000 world representatives at the main international ceremony. Those desiring to join should Email Blessing@familyfed.org and complete the application process. [see details in section V]

B. In New York City, where the main US Ceremony will be held October 13, 10:00 PM.

C. Locally, by internet broadcast. Our HQ will support District Directors to plan the number of sites needed to make this holy and historical event accessible to all Blessed Central Families by car or ground transportation. These locations will be announced in the coming days.

IV. Guidelines for Newly Matched Couples’ Participation

[Blessed Central Families -- see section V]

A. Who Should Participate

Newly matched First and Second Generation Couples who complete the requirements below, have registered their match with their District Blessed Family Department and completed all application requirements by September 30, 2009.

1) Qualifications for Second Generation matched couples:

(a) Match approved by parents and registered with district BFD

(b) Blessing application forms submitted and interview completed by Sept. 30, 2009

(c) Blessing Fee completed (see point C below)

(d) Blessing Education completed (see point B below)

(e) Recommended participation in national spiritual condition prior to October 14 (see National Condition, section VI)

2) Qualifications for First Generation matched couples:

(a) Match approved by district church and registered with district BFD

(b) Blessing application forms submitted and interview completed by Sept. 30, 2009

(c) Blessing Fee completed (see point C below)

(d) Blessing Education completed (see point B below)

(e) Seven Day Fast completed (or equivalent -- discuss with district BFD)

(f) Recommended participation in national spiritual condition prior to October 14 (see National Condition, section VI)

(g) The Blessing process for First Gen. includes the Holy Wine, Blessing and Chastening (Indemnity) ceremonies, a separation period and 3-day ceremony to begin family life. Participants will be guided regarding how to accomplish these.

B. Blessing Education - There will be a special Blessing Preparation Workshop for First and Second Generation matched couples participating in the October 14th Blessing ONLY.

As mentioned in national MEMO BFD 2009-09-08, in the future Blessing preparation will involve several levels of education for matching, Blessing and family life. This workshop represents the preparation of matched couples for the Blessing.

NOTE: The cost for participation in this workshop is included in the Blessing Fee. However, participants must register for the appropriate workshop. Applications will be available by Monday, September 21 in the members area at www.familyfed.org.

There are three opportunities to complete this education requirement prior to October 14th:

1) Preparation Workshop at UTS in Barrytown, New York, October 9-11. Beginning 6:00 PM Friday evening at UTS, and concluding Sunday with Lovin’ Life Ministry Worship and an afternoon meeting for all couples with Rev. In Jin Moon. (please plan departure flights after 5:30 PM Sunday- Several late evening flights to Korea are available from JFK).

2) Preparation Workshop in San Francisco, CA, October 9-11. Beginning 6:00 PM Friday evening at a location to be announced, concluding Sunday at Worship Service. Several afternoon flights to Korea are available from SFO.

3) Preparation Workshop at the Lovin’Life Learning Center, 4 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY, October 13, 2009. Beginning 8:00 AM and concluding with the Blessing ceremony at 10:00 PM.

C. Three Options for Blessing Participation

We recommend the following three options for those planning to participate in the preparatory workshop and the Blessing ceremony October 14th:

1) Preparation Workshop in NY or SF Oct. 9-11 è Blessing at Main Ceremony in Korea.

Couples in NY can complete workshop, attend Lovin’ Life worship, meet with Rev. In Jin Moon, and depart late Sunday evening from JFK for Korea, arriving 4 or 4:30 AM, October 13th. Transportation will be provided from Incheon Airport to the Blessing and accommodations, where participant schedule begins October 13th morning.

Couples in SF can complete workshop and worship, and depart for Korea Sunday afternoon, arriving early evening on October 12th. Transportation will be prepared from Incheon Airport to the Blessing and accommodations, where participant schedule begins the following morning.

2) Preparation Workshop in NY or SF October 9-11 è Return home for local Blessing Ceremony by internet Tuesday evening, October 13th.

3) Preparation Workshop and Blessing at Main USA Ceremony (by internet broadcast) in New York, October 13th. Couples desiring to experience the main ceremony in New York should arrive by Monday evening, October 12th, and join education and program all day Tuesday. Accommodation and meals will be provided; details will follow soon.

D. Blessing Fee

The Blessing fee, established by our True Parents, is an historical condition and offering of sincerity and seriousness to receive the gift of divine love, life and lineage from True Parents through the Blessing, which means far more than simply getting married. The Blessing fee for North America is as follows:

1) For newly matched First or Second Generation couples -- $2,000 per candidate. NOTE: for couples traveling to Korea, an offering of $1,500 per candidate is accepted in order to offset some of the costs of travel.

2) For previously married First Generation couples -- $2,000 per couple.

3) For candidates who paid the full Blessing fee for a previous Blessing which has broken- $500 for this re-Blessing.

PAYMENT PLAN: For candidates in financial difficulty, with an offering of at least $1,000 prior to the Blessing, the remaining fees can be paid by the end of 2009, but must be completed to fulfill the offering established as a condition by True Parents.

Blessing Fee payment forms and information regarding payment plans can be obtained from your District BFD (see section VIII). Or download the payment form at www.familyfed.org by clicking “member login” at top right, logging in and clicking the “International Peace Marriage Blessing Ceremony” banner at the right. Links to forms are available at the bottom of that page. Submit fees to:

National BFD- ATTN: Mrs. Yukari Kim
Suite 620
481 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10036

E. Application and Registration Deadline- all forms must be submitted to the National BFD through your by September 30, 2009.

F. Transportation and Accommodation for participants traveling to New York or Korea will be provided for candidates, covered by the Blessing fee. Details will be announced soon.

G. Additional Information

1) Attire for participants -- GROOMS: dark suit, white shirt, red tie; BRIDES: wedding dress and veil (veils should be provided, which will be confirmed soon)

2) Blessing Rings -- all participants will need a Blessing Ring for the ceremony. 14K Gold Blessing rings can be pre-purchased in America by calling. You must order by Tuesday, September 29, with your ring size and method of payment in order to guarantee delivery. The current price for these Blessing rings is $280 (female) and $320 (male). A limited number of metal rings are available from National BFD for $15 on a first-come, first-served basis. To order contact Blessing@familyfed.org. Any availability of rings in Korea will be confirmed and announced soon.

3) Ceremonial items -- such as gloves, veils and Blessing scarves will be provided by HQ for participants in Korea or New York.

4) Schedule -- participants in Korea should plan for three days of activities: Oct. 13-15, with the last day including sightseeing for international couples and celebration. The schedule for New York includes Blessing Education from 8:00 AM on October 13. Further details regarding the schedule in New York and local US ceremonies will be announced.

V. Guidelines for Blessed Central Families’ Participation

A. Who Should Participate

As noted, Father has asked all Blessed Central Families, including parents, children, and tribe as well, to participate in this Blessing Ceremony. Spouses or children who have ascended can participate spiritually, and should be represented by a photo in the physical ceremony. Members whose Blessing has broken, but have maintained faith and the standards of the Blessing should participate. For any whose Blessing may have been tainted by infidelity, they should participate according to the recommendations in part C below.

B. Family Participation

Family members who have difficulty to participate in the same location should join together in spirit, participating in their various local ceremonies.

C. Significance of Participation

Blessed Central Families’ participation October 14th is an important offering for the globalization of the Blessing and the establishment of Cheon Il Guk, and is no doubt deeply significant for each family. It is not, however, a forgiveness or amnesty ceremony. If a Blessing has been violated by infidelity, that couple should consult their district BFD and leadership, participate in an approved preparatory condition prior to October 14th, and plan to fulfill appropriate conditions after October 14th to restore the sanctity of their Blessing with the grace of God and True Parents. With these conditions, guided and approved by their district leadership or BFD, couples may also participate in the October 14th Blessing.

For further information, or for any other concerns regarding couples not in good standing, please consult with your district leadership and BFD.

D. Blessing Donation, Registration and Reporting

Each Blessed Central Family in North America should prepare a donation for this Blessing of $1,000 for their family and tribe. Families should register with your district. The deadline for registration is September 30, 2009. Registration forms can be obtained from your district office, or downloaded at www.familyfed.org by clicking “member login” at top right, logging in and clicking the “International Peace Marriage Blessing Ceremony” banner at the right. Links to forms are available at the bottom of that page.

The deadline for donation submission to National HQ from each district is October 5, 2009. All donations should be collected by each district HQ and submitted to national HQ, which will forward these entire offerings and a list of US donors to International HQ in Korea. Instructions for districts to submit donations will be provided later. Family donations should not be sent directly to National HQ or BFD.

PAYMENT PLAN: We are currently seeking international approval for a payment plan for families in financial difficulty.

E. For Participants in Korea

International President Rev. Hyung Jin Moon has asked for 100 couples to represent North America at the international ceremony in Korea on October 14th. A couple alone may represent their Blessed Family, or if only one is able to travel, they may participate with a photo of their spouse. Couples desiring to participate in Korea should:

1) Report their planned participation by Email to Blessing@familyfed.org. Indicate the name and number of participants planning to attend.

2) Submit completed application forms (see point C above) to their district HQ, and forward a copy to the National BFD by Email or by fax.

F. For BCFs Visiting from Other Nations, Who Plan to Participate in the USA

Blessed Central Families who are members in another country or international region must apply and submit their appropriate national donation for this Blessing through their own country or region. Documentation of their application and approval from their national or regional leadership must be submitted to the US district where they plan to participate.

Any special circumstance or request requires endorsement from their nation or region and approval from the USA District where they will participate.

VI. National Condition of Sincerity and Unity

As True Parents have asked Korean Blessed Families to participate on behalf of all 80 Million Koreans, President Hyung Jin Moon initiated a 40-day condition and special activity for oneness with True Parents and the success of the Special Blessing Ceremony. These include 21 bows for 12 days (connected to Hyun Jin Nim’s 21,000 bows) and 7-day breakfast fast [devotion], participation in DP workshop [word], and bringing one couple to the Blessing [outreach].

To connect with this condition and unite the American movement for the support of True Parents’ Special Blessing Ceremony, our Executive Vice President Rev. Joshua Cotter has initiated a 21 Day National Condition from September 23rd to October 13th. Our entire US movement is encouraged to make conditions of sincerity in one or more of these three areas:

A. Devotion -- fasting (breakfast fast for 7, 12 or 21 days; 1 day or 40 hour fast, etc.); prayer (7, 12 or 21 days for unity with True Parents and True Family, success of Special Blessing- details to be announced); bowing, cold shower or other devotional offerings.

B. Word - Hoon Dok Hae with True Families: Gateway to Heaven, Father’s June 1 speech or other; For those who can, participation in ODP workshop

C. Outreach - invite guests to Sunday worship, small group or other event (if appropriate); invite new Blessing participants.

American president and Senior Pastor Rev. In Jin Moon has encouraged that all Unificationists develop a creative, personal and meaningful spiritual condition during the 21 days prior to this Blessing, based on the recommendations above. Details will follow in a separate memo.

VII. Registration Forms and application Deadline (Matched couples and BCFs) Application forms to participate in the October 14th Blessing are available at www.familyfed.org by clicking “member login” at top right, logging in and clicking the “International Peace Marriage Blessing Ceremony” banner at the right. Links to forms are available at the bottom of that page. Applications must be submitted by September 30, 2009.

VIII. CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions or additional information, please contact your district HQ or Blessed Family Department. District BFD representatives can be reached at:

Dist. 1: Doug and Cheryl Wetzstein
Dist. 2: Chen Lawrence Fong
Dist. 3: Masako Feddema
Dist. 4: Marjorie Buessing
Dist. 5: Tomiyo Miyazake
Dist. 6: Chris and Mihoko Rood
Dist. 7: Fumiye Ikeda
Dist. 8: Rosemary Yokoi
Dist. 9: Alice Fleisher
Dist. 10: Richard and Hiroko Stumpf
Dist. 11: Poppy Richie
Dist. 12: Peter and Klara Chen

The national BFD can be reached at Blessing@familyfed.org, and will respond promptly.

Sincerely,

Reverend In Jin Moon
President and CEO HSA, FFWPU-USA

Reverend Ki Hoon Kim
Continental Director - North America