Easter and the first anniversary of Lovin' Life Ministries

In Jin Moon
April 4, 2010
Lovin' Life Ministries
Las Vegas, NV

The following sermon given by Rev. In Jin Moon on Easter Sunday, explores the tragedy of crucifixion in Jesus Christ's original mission 2000 years ago, and why it was given to be fulfilled to a young boy at the age of 16 during his praying on a hill in Korea on Easter Sunday.

Good morning, brothers and sisters. Happy Easter. Wasn't the band fantastic?

I am delighted to be with you once again here in Las Vegas. As you know, our True Parents started a wonderful event called the "Legacy of Peace", honoring the great men and women who have graced our lives and made significant contributions to the world in their lifetime. So in the tradition of our True Parents, truly living for the sake of others, our True Father and Mother have been honoring these great men and women through the Seunghwa ceremony, or the holy ascension ceremony, with a kick-off at the United Nations, the symbol of peace and unity.

It gave our True Parents an opportunity to give thanks to the late Gen. Alexander Haig, who was a dear friend of my parents. He was instrumental, as part of the allied forces, in liberating my father from Hungnam prison, the day before his scheduled execution. It's out of thanks to him and to the allied forces, in particular to the great country of America, that my father came here more than three decades ago in order to take care of this country's children and to raise them up to become the eternal sons and daughters that our Heavenly Father has been waiting for.

Father and Mother kicked off the "Legacy of Peace" holy ascension ceremony at the United Nations on March 18, and later they completed a ceremony in New York at the Manhattan Center, a place that was born out of my older brother's dream for truly using the power of media and entertainment to bring people to God, to bring them to an understanding that we belong to one family under God.

Then they went on to Washington, D.C., where they also had the same type of ceremony, honoring men and women who have gone before us and crossed the river from this life into eternal life. For me, somebody who loves my father and my mother not just as my own biological parents but as the True Parents of humankind, I could not help but be moved, over and over again. Through them, we come to understand what life is all about. Through them, we understand the three most important moments of a human being's life: birth, marriage, and death.

Through our True Parents we understand that at each of these transitional moments, these important moments that take us to another level, we need to invite God into our lives. After a child is born, through the eight-day ceremony we dedicate that child to God and to humanity. When we come to the time when God gives us a wonderful man or woman whom we can call our spouse, through our True Parents we are given the opportunity to not just celebrate our own union and be happy as an individual couple but to truly invite in both God and the world through this wonderful event called the Blessing Ceremony.

Not only do we voice our pledge, our conviction, and our commitment of wanting to live our lives for the sake of others -- loving our spouse more than we love ourselves and deciding to create an ideal family -- we do this in the presence of thousands of other couples in remembrance of and gratitude to God.

The holy ascension ceremony, the final phase of our life when we prepare to enter into the eternal world, to go back home into the embrace of our Heavenly Parent, is a time when the family, instead of being grief-stricken and sad at losing a loved one, can express gratitude for the opportunity to have known and to have experienced life with this precious person. Now we can be gloriously happy that this son or daughter will finally go back from where he or she came from, back into the embrace of our Heavenly Parent. How wonderful life can be when it's understood in the context of what our True Parents have been teaching us.

When I flew in last night and was preparing for this time of fellowship with all of you, I was thinking to myself, Here we are celebrating the first-year anniversary of Lovin' Life Ministry, so it's a kick-off Sunday for the second year. How profoundly intriguing that our True Parents have asked us to celebrate our anniversary on this Easter Sunday in the city known as Sin City.

This is a calling from our Heavenly Parent and our True Parents to really wake up Sin City and inject a little bit of heaven. Together with our True Parents, we can inherit the true love of God and share it with the rest of the world. Let's share it with Sin City and truly turn it into something beautiful, that shining city on a hill that we've been waiting for.

Easter has many images for me, growing up this country. In Korea we don't celebrate Easter with the Easter bunny, colored eggs, and so on. For children here, it's a joyous day of celebration, of Easter egg hunts when the parents can dress up as Easter bunnies and hide eggs, anticipating the delight of the little ones running around looking for these treasures. But when we remember the life of Jesus, we know that it is really a poignant day in that, yes, it is a day of resurrection, but resurrection implies that Jesus died and was crucified several days before.

When we think about the life of Jesus, we realize what a lonely life he had. Nobody fully understood that he was the Son of God; nobody fully understood that he came to substantiate the original ideal of creation that God had when God created his first son and daughter, Adam and Eve. Nobody understood that Jesus had a mission to fulfill here on earth, that he did not just come here to teach but to apply and substantiate the very principle that he came to share in the form of the good news.

Jesus was crucified because the people failed to unite with him and work together with him to wake up the world to the fact that he was the Son of God and the True Olive Tree. John the Baptist failed to proclaim who Jesus was. John failed to realize that he was the Elijah prophesied hundreds of years before, that it was his mission to make straight the way of the Lord, making clear that Jesus was the Son of God so that the sons and daughters of Israel could be prepared to honor this gift of God with their hearts, their lives, and their life of faith.

When we read John 1:19–23, we see that John denied he was Elijah. Without Elijah making straight the way of the Lord, the people of Israel were confused: "If Jesus is the Son of God, where is Elijah? Jesus tells us that John the Baptist is the Elijah, but here is John the Baptist denying that he is Elijah, so how can Jesus Christ be the Son of God?"

John the Baptist goes further, in John 1:29–34, saying, "I myself did not know him." How can John the Baptist, who was a second cousin to Jesus Christ, who grew up together with him, not know him? What John the Baptist was saying in these lines was that he did not know that his second cousin was the messiah. Had it not been for the sign of the dove descending on Jesus Christ, John the Baptist would not have known that his second cousin was meant to be the anointed one who was going to bring the message of true love, who was going to help substantiate the ideal of creation, who was going to teach the world how to build ideal families. These families would have been the cornerstone of each society, so that, centered on God, they could become glorious nations, not nations that saw themselves as ends in themselves but ones that realized that all great nations belong to the one family of God.

But because of the failure of John the Baptist and the failure of the people to truly unite with Jesus Christ and understand why he was given as a gift to this world, Jesus had to go the way of the cross. For the millions of Christians all around the world, the day of resurrection is the citadel of Christian faith. Christians understand Easter as a day when Jesus conquered death and that therefore in Jesus Christ they can have eternal life.

But if we understand that the crucifixion was not the goal of Jesus' mission but was the way that Jesus had to go because he had no foundation to stand on as the Son of God, then we realize that when the Bible says that there has to be a Second Coming, it means that the mission of Jesus Christ was left unfulfilled. Therefore, someone must stand in the position of the perfected Adam, as the True Parent, having found and raised up a perfected Eve, to fulfill Jesus' mission.

So fast-forward 2,000 years from the day that Jesus was crucified. In the lonely hills of North Korea, there was a very fervent Christian child of God, 16 years old, crying and praying fervently to God on Easter Sunday morning. This young boy of 16 beseeched God, "How can I as your humble servant truly inherit the heart of Jesus Christ and be an instrument of your work? How can I play a part in bringing your words and your love to the people? How can I help raise up this world to be your world?"

It was during this prayer that Jesus Christ appeared to him. He asked this young boy, 16 years old, to take up his mantle and fulfill his mission. Jesus went on to tell the very sad story of not being able to fulfill his mission. Jesus explained to this young boy that he did not come to die, that he came as the Son of God to substantiate the four-position foundation, or the building block that would ultimately yield an ideal family.

Jesus told the story that his mission was to find a beautiful daughter of God that he could stand together with and as a couple inherit the love of God and share the good news that God intends for all of humanity, the three great blessings promised when he first created Adam and Eve: "Be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the earth."

Those three blessings were not realized because Jesus was crucified. He never had a chance to find that beautiful woman. He never had a chance to build that beautiful family that would be the paradigm of true love for the world. So Jesus asked this boy, "Please, perfect yourself; go through the process of restoration and indemnity and be that perfected Adam. Then find a true woman and help raise up the woman to be in the position of the perfected Eve, restoring all the misconceptions that women have had to bear for thousands of years because they have been blamed for the Fall."

Eve was the one who fornicated with Lucifer and tempted Adam, so history has not been kind to women. But the incredible thing about True Parents is, once this victorious position of perfected Eve could be accomplished by a beautiful woman standing together with her husband, a proud son of God, then she would be restoring this misunderstanding of a woman as a second-class citizen, someone who needs to relegated to the position of a servant because she's done wrong.

In our True Parents, we have the liberation of women. Two thousand years ago, Jesus would have done the same, had he found that beautiful wife. His wife would have played an active role in his ministry. His wife would not have just sat in the background; she would have nurtured and empowered the congregation, not just with her actions but with her words, together with Jesus. For 2,000 years until now, we would have had a different understanding of women and their place in the life of faith and in the life of society. Had Jesus established himself and stood in the position of the True Parents, then he would have started blessing people in a holy matrimony ceremony, just like what my father and mother are famous for. My father is famous for mass weddings; these very same mass weddings would have taken place 2,000 years ago had Jesus not been crucified.

Jesus, together with his lovely bride, would have encouraged the different nations of the world to see beyond the national barriers. Jesus would have preached the importance of international marriage, of breaking down the barriers of culture, race, and religion that divide our societies and nations today. Jesus would have encouraged the men and women of his time to recognize the time of the good news, the time when people could graft onto the true lineage of the Heavenly Parent, not just celebrating true life and true love but substantiating it in the form of true lineage.

If Jesus had had a wife and children, then he would have more fully understood the parental heart of God and would have encouraged all his followers to experience this heart of God. We can really understand how much God truly loves us when we think about the fact that we are his children.

When our True Parents talk about the four-position foundation, what they are talking about is the fulfillment of the Trinity. How do we inherit the parental heart of God? When we realize that Jesus came not just to be part of the Godhead but to actually be a parent, have children, and build a great family that would be the cornerstone of societies, nations, and the world, we can appreciate the value of the Four-Position Foundation.

In the Four-Position Foundation, centered on God, we have a man and a woman united together in the love and heart of God and with the blessing of God. Then we can participate in creating children and for the first time in history fully understand how much God loves his children.

When Jesus was telling my father, "You have to fulfill my mission," what he was asking my father to do was to finish the story: To teach the people, to share in the breaking news that Jesus did not come to die. The model of Christian piety that thousands of people have followed over the years -- being an ascetic, living a life of celibacy, a life of poverty, a life in which you cannot fully experience the true beauty of a family if you really want to be a pious person -- is not the complete picture. That model is a snapshot of Jesus in the process of fulfilling his mission. But because he was crucified, that picture was never finished.

True Parents came to finish that process, saying, Let's look at Jesus not just as that type of snapshot; Jesus' real mission was to find a wife and build an ideal family. Therefore, instead of an ascetic life, shunning the world in order to have true piety and a life of devotion, dignified and proud sons and daughters of God should immerse themselves in the world as those agents of change that can spark the imagination of the ideal family that our Heavenly Parent has been waiting for.

Instead of thinking that our life has to be one of denial, suffering, misery, and poverty in order to live a true life of Christian piety, our True Parents are here to teach us that, yes, we must understand the sufferings of Jesus Christ and the suffering heart of God, but that is not an end in and of itself.

God did not create his children for the purpose of making them suffer. God created his children so that they could be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion. God intended his children to reach their fullest potential, to reach their fullest destiny and become those confident, proud sons and daughters of God who are not just excellent internally in our life of faith, but also externally excellent in how we live our lives, in different professions and in serving each other.

Our True Parents came to teach us that instead of just thinking about our own individual salvation, living a life of Christian piety, the true goal of every Christian and the true goal of every faithful believer is to be married and to fulfill and to understand love -- but not as something dirty or to be shunned. In fact, in the early 19th century the good wives of Christian faith advised newly married women to basically put up with their husbands -- to give grudgingly and sparingly and not give in to pleasure. That was the understanding of how Christians should live in their married lives.

Our True Parents have come to say that love is not supposed to be something shunned or denied. In fact, love is one of God's greatest gifts. It is a medium through which new life can come about. It is a way to experience the beauty of children and the beauty of a husband–wife relationship. Instead of the Christian life requiring that we be grave, serious, and sour-faced in the bedroom, it should free our bedroom intimacy to be a joyous occasion to love in honor of God and in honor of each other. Having this opportunity to love your spouse is a celebration, not a cause for misery.

Our True Parents have come to teach us that we have to honor our dear elder brother Jesus by understanding his life in full, not just the life that he led but what he was all about. As we graft onto this Original Olive Tree, which is our True Parents, and inherit the true love, true life and true lineage of God, we have to remember that we have been given an opportunity to do something that even our dearest elder brother Jesus Christ did not have a chance to do.

So how much more grateful should we be about this life that God has given to us? We have a chance to make Jesus proud of our lives. We have a chance to honor him properly in what he was meant to be for the rest of the world.

Brothers and sisters, can you imagine on this Easter Sunday if the doors in the back suddenly were flung open and Jesus Christ, our beloved older brother, started walking down the aisle? What would we do? How would we receive him? How would we embrace him, and how would we honor him?

I often like to mention to our congregations across the nation that the time we're living in is not business as usual. We are living in the time of the breaking news, when our True Parents are here together with us. What Jesus Christ would be like if he walked down this aisle has been made flesh in the form of our True Parents. Our True Parents walk with us, brothers and sisters. They breathe the same air we breathe; they live in the same time that we are living in.

Can you imagine what the millions of Christians all across the world would do if there were a time traveling machine that could take them back to the time when Jesus was ministering to his congregation and they could have a taste of what Jesus was really like? What would they give for such an opportunity? We know that only a select few at that time had that gift given to them because not everybody could see that he was the son of God. Not everybody realized that he came with the mission to revive the world with a new understanding of our divine purpose in life. Can you imagine what Christians would do just to have that moment in time with Jesus Christ?

Think about the millions of people who came after Jesus was crucified and resurrected. We know that even though Jesus' resurrection was spiritual, the words he preached about love and forgiveness were like an oasis in the desert, the spring rain in the fields of the Nevada desert. It was a way that many people could be reawakened to experience true love and true life.

But our True Parents are here, brothers and sisters. They have been anointed by our elder brother Jesus Christ, who said, "Finish my mission. Finish the last component. I have shared with the world the profundity of true love and true life; I have conveyed an understanding of the love of our Heavenly Parent and of each other as brothers and sisters living our lives as sons and daughters of God." But Jesus Christ asked our True Parents to substantiate the true lineage by building a family, the cornerstone of society.

So here we have the story completed. In our True Parents we have a chance for the first time in history to make the world right, to raise our kids right. When our True Parents came to this great and prepared country, they urged Americans not to waste their precious lives in drugs, aimless sex, and purposelessness. Our True Parents basically said, "You Americans have been prepared to play a crucial role in the world as that agent of change," because as a great superpower we do have the ability to influence the world. If this great country of America can be reawakened to the providential spiritual heritage that God blessed it with, it can be an incredible servant of God.

This is what my father came to preach, and this is the work that he has tirelessly carried out in the course of his 90 years. Ever since he was anointed by Jesus Christ at the age of 16, this man has never wavered, enduring six prison terms, even surviving the notorious Hungnam concentration camp in North Korea, which his dear late friend Gen. Alexander Haig had a hand in liberating him from.

This man has never wavered in the conviction that, with the spirit of God, the world does not have to end in destruction. Humanity now possesses the capability to blow up ourselves and our world 100 times over. The messiah and True Parents come here to say, This is not the final picture of the world that God would like to see. Here we have embarked on a new millennium, and Nostradamus has prophesied that this would be the new millennium of peace. He prophesied that a great teacher would come from the East with Moon somewhere in his name. How can it be made any clearer?

True Parents come from the East carrying the last name Moon that had been prophesied. They want to declare the new millennium as a new generation of peace. They are the Prince and Princess of Peace that the world has been waiting for. So should we not honor them with our lives? Should we not honor them with our faith? Should we honor them just in prayer? Should we honor them just in the context of our own individual families? Should we honor them just in the context of our own congregation?

Turning to the Bible, we find James 2:17 teaching us that faith without action is dead. In order to exercise our faith, we as true believers must put that faith into action, or our faith is dead. What good is our faith if it seeks only individual salvation? We have to be inspired by this understanding of our Heavenly Parent to want to live a faithful life in the philosophy of our True Parents, which is living for the sake of others. We must practice living for the sake of others not just in what we do but also in what we say.

This is the time when the breaking news of our True Parents being here with us must be put into action. It must be articulated. It must be shared. It must be proclaimed to the rest of the world. Let us as the special, chosen people, hand-picked by God to be living at this crucial time, not make the same mistake that John the Baptist made many years ago. Let us not be the ones to deny who our True Parents are. Let us not be the ones who do not know exactly who our True Parents are, but let us honor John the Baptist, too, fulfilling what he could not fulfill himself. Let us play the John the Baptist role to the world, sharing the breaking news that our True Parents are here and that this is a time when we need to graft onto the original olive tree.

We need to realize that God wants us to be great. God wants us to be happy. God wants us to celebrate life together with him and her. God wants us to shine forth the divine light that is within each and every one of us. We are holy vessels that contain a reservoir of true love that needs to be shared, that needs to be experienced, that needs to be substantiated.

On this Easter Sunday morning, let us remind ourselves of how tragic was the life of our elder brother Jesus. Let us honor his memory by being grateful for our lives so that we can truly honor him in the proper way, by fulfilling the things that he never had a chance to do. Let us be grateful that we have our True Parents here with us, lighting the way.

Should we not give everything of ourselves to our True Parents? Should we not unite and become pure and one in spirit, as our True Father's motto for this year is? Should we not harvest all the blessings of this White Tiger Year that God, our Heavenly Parent, is sharing with all of us? And should we not, as proud Unificationists and proud Americans, really help this country to be an agent of change for the rest of the world? Should we not help the world realize that we must not fight over doctrinal differences, we must not fight over racial differences, and we must not fight over cultural differences?

We need to create a world where a mother sending a child to school does not have to fear school shootings, or suicide bombings, or violence that destroys the world. Even on the shores of American soil we saw on September 11 what terrorism does. We saw the Twin Towers destroyed. We saw what hatred can do in this world. Should we not, as proud Americans, work hard to leave a better world for our children, a world that is safe -- the kind of a world that I grew up in, where I had no idea that Japan and Korea were enemy nations? I only learned this in college when my classmates scolded me, as a Korean, for having a Japanese nanny caring for my children. I was raised in our worldwide community, where I saw no enemies, where I didn't look at the Japanese people as being from a nation that tyrannized the nation of Korea. I saw them as fellow brothers and sisters.

Let's raise up a young generation that does not seek to live its life proclaiming the motto of the Millennials, which is "Show me the money," but instead calls itself the Generation of Peace, which understands that God is our common denominator and Heavenly Parent, and that we are God's sons and daughters who realize life is a gift, an opportunity to practice altruism by living for the sake of others. Such lives would be lived in the spirit of compassion that the great Buddha has taught for centuries, practicing kindness in the world. Following such a pattern, we can inject the world with a little bit of love and understanding, and inspire our children to live lives filled with purpose in wanting to be that divine light, divine sons and daughters, and excellent human beings, inside and out.

We can raise our daughters not to be in the shadows of the human Fall. We can raise our daughters knowing that the true Eve in the form of the True Mother has restored the position of true daughter and that our daughters no longer need see themselves as second-class citizens but can look out into the world as proud daughters, proud mothers, and as proud servants of God. In that way our daughters can change the world, little by little, toward the realization that we belong to one family after all.

Brothers and sisters, today my father and mother have come to grace Las Vegas with the Legacy of Peace event, honoring the great men and women of the West Coast who have gone before us, who have crossed the river into eternal life. This is an incredible time when the most important conversations we have with ourselves when we contemplate the words "life and death" are made flesh in that here we are celebrating the day of resurrection. Here we are celebrating Easter Sunday, when Jesus victoriously completed spiritual resurrection and was able to anoint a 16-year-old boy to fulfill his mission. Here we have our True Parents in the flesh, ushering in the new millennium, helping the Lovin' Life Ministries to embark on the second year of its work and at the same time, helping us to realize that death is not an end goal but is a way that we prepare for eternal life.

Our True Parents are conquering death by helping us understand that it is a transition time, a time when we take a voyage to the next world. Just as each baby is prepared in the mother's womb for nine months before it goes through the pangs of childbirth and comes into the light, so, too, will we go through the pangs of being reborn but ultimately into a time when we're going back home to God.

Here is life and death coming full circle. That's what the Easter egg symbolizes. It symbolizes the perfection of the circle of life, life in everything that it can be. Here are our True Parents, together celebrating with us the importance of Easter morning but also reminding us that death is just a continuation into another life. That's our True Parents' way of saying that our lives are wonderful and beautiful circles of harmony, of love, and of celebration.

It is with this spirit that I hope that our congregation and guests here in Las Vegas can really welcome our True Parents and give them the kind of spirit that the true Americans, the specially prepared people, would have done had they met Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Let True Parents know that we understand what it means to have them in our lives.

God bless. I wish you a wonderful Sunday and many more to come. I do look forward to seeing you again. Please have a beautiful Easter Sunday.

Notes:

John, chapter 1

1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2: He was in the beginning with God;

3: all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7: He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.

8: He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.

9: The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.

10: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not.

11: He came to his own home, and his own people received him not.

12: But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God;

13: who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

15: (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'")

16: And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace.

17: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18: No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

19: And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

20: He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."

21: And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No."

22: They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

23: He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, `Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."

24: Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.

25: They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

26: John answered them, "I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know,

27: even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."

28: This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29: The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

30: This is he of whom I said, `After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.'

31: I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

32: And John bore witness, "I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him.

33: I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, `He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

34: And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

35: The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples;

36: and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

37: The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

38: Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

39: He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

40: One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41: He first found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).

42: He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

43: The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."

44: Now Philip was from Beth-sa'ida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45: Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

46: Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

47: Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

48: Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."

49: Nathan'a-el answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

50: Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these."

51: And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."

James, chapter 2

1: My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

2: For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

3: and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "Have a seat here, please," while you say to the poor man, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet,"

4: have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

5: Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

6: But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court?

7: Is it not they who blaspheme that honorable name which was invoked over you?

8: If you really fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well.

9: But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

11: For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," said also, "Do not kill." If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12: So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

13: For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.

14: What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?

15: If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food,

16: and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?

17: So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

18: But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

19: You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder.

20: Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren?

21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?

22: You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works,

23: and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God.

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

25: And in the same way was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?

26: For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.  

Our True Parents In New York City

In Jin Moon
March 28, 2010
Lovin' Life Ministries

On the morning of March 28, 2010, Rev. In Jin Moon enlightened Lovin' Life Ministries congregants on the significance of traditions set up by our True Parents -- in birth, the eight-day ceremony; in marriage, the blessing ceremony; and in death, the holy ascension Seunghwa ceremony. With the sharing of her own personal experience with siblings who had passed, as well as a story of a well-known country singer who had lost her son, it could be seen that these moments are the times in our lives when our True Parents are asking us to remember to have a heart of gratitude and a heart of peace.

Good morning, brothers and sisters. How is everyone this morning? Wonderful! I'm so glad to see you once again.

Last week was a humdinger of a weekend, wasn't it? We had a lot of different things going on at the same time. Last week was the memorial concert of my older brother who had passed away. He was the one who was instrumental in bringing this vision of the Manhattan Center to reality. I have the honor of working here every day and remembering his legacy as I walk the halls of this beautiful building. Truly he was someone who was incredibly important in my life, and I know that he meant a great deal to a lot of our brothers and sisters around the world.

We held the memorial concert to honor him and what he stood for: His name means "March of filial piety." He really tried his best to embody the name given to him by our Heavenly Parent through our True Parents; to this day he remains for me and for a lot of others a symbol of loyalty and filial piety to our True Parents. So in honor of that memory, we were able to celebrate with a grand concert, featuring some of the best artists that we have in our movement. It was not only inspiring to share in the arts and in the camaraderie of each other but also to experience the power of music, or the universal language, as my father likes to call it, and truly remember the day in gratitude to our True Parents and to our Heavenly Parent.

For all the young people who attended, thank you for making that concert a huge success. For the First Generation who were also there to rock on together with the Second and the young people, thank you for being there, and thank you for honoring the memory of my brother.

Last week was also very significant in that we were able to have the presence of our True Parents here in New York City. We had an event at the United Nations honoring the legacies of some great men of history and of our time. This was really a beautiful ceremony in that nothing like it has existed before. It's been a while since my second brother passed away, since the Day of Victory of Love, when Father started celebrating the ascension of our family members who went back to the embrace of our Heavenly Parent.

Last week's event was something monumental in that Father, upon hearing that his old friend Gen. Alexander Haig had passed away, immediately asked some of the True Family and various leaders to attend his funeral service, to bring Father's gift of holy ascension to the ceremony, and to spend time with his family. And, more than that, he invited them to the United Nations for this special event, this holy ascension ceremony for eight men, one of them being General Haig.

Not only were True Parents there, but also the son and grandson of General Haig were also present. Here we were at the United Nations, which symbolizes peace and unity of all different countries; here were our True Parents of humankind, truly gracing not just the building but the evening with a beautiful ceremony honoring the legacies of others. Father, in his philosophy of serving the world and living for the sake of others, was practicing just that. He was practicing living for the sake of others by honoring other great men who have played an important role in history together with him.

I had the opportunity to sit at the table with Alexander, General Haig's son, and his grandson, Christopher. We chatted about the relationship of True Father and General Haig. When we talked about our fathers, we could not help but realize that truly the hand of God, in his mysterious way of working through life to bring people together, prepared these two men to meet and work together for the sake of world peace, leaving a lasting imprint and impact on the world that they graced in their lifetime.

Father had a 13-minute speech to give, but in his exuberance and excitement he ad-libbed and talked about a lot of different things. He was quite taken with General Haig's grandson Christopher and saw in Christopher a bright future for the Haig family. Father kept calling out to him, "Oh, so powerful! Much better looking than the father!" When Father finished his speech, we went onstage and Father shook his hand, saying, "Oh, so much power. So young. So handsome." I turned to Christopher and said, "I think you have a new fan in my father." He just smiled and laughingly said to me, "You know, the feeling is mutual."

Father is such an incredible human being. But more than that, he is such a progressive thinker. I was seated together with Reverend Fauntroy, who has worked as a great congressman for many years and is a dear friend of our church, even to this day still working with me. He turned to me and said, "You know, In Jin, your father is really something special." He had tears in his eyes. He was saying, "I thought I had Reverend Moon figured out. Then he pulls out something like this, a ceremony like this that just stirs me to the bone and moves me like nothing else."

What he was saying was, "I do not have to feel bad because, knowing my good friend Reverend Moon, he'll probably send me off in grand style through the holy ascension ceremony and remember me with this kind of a legacy event." For somebody who has lived his life fighting for civil rights and now together with me is fighting the human rights battle, for somebody who's been a dear friend of our church and of our True Father and Mother, seeing the kind of things that our True Parents have done, the kind of ideas that they're sharing with the world, and the kind of traditions that they are making into reality, he's realizing once again that this man is unique and that he must be a gift from our Heavenly Father.

In the grand style of our True Parents, when Father gets an inspiration to hold such an event, there's not much preparation time. Father says, "I want this done. I'll give you a week or two." That's it. So then we have to scurry and find the venue. Because of renovations being done at the United Nations, none of the big halls were available, so we had to have our event in the cafeteria. But the interesting thing was that I felt again that God was working mysteriously in our lives. As the senior pastor and somebody whose responsibility it was to make this a beautiful event, I felt bad that we could not secure the best hall for our True Parents. But we made the cafeteria as beautiful as possible.

When the event started, however, I was watching the evening unfold. From my vantage point I was looking at the podium and stage. The wall behind the podium and stage was made of glass, so you could actually look out onto the East River. The feeling that one had in looking at the river in a ceremony honoring the legacies of those who have gone back home into the embrace of our Heavenly Parent was of experiencing the metaphor of crossing the river of life to the eternal world.

So we who were there felt incredible serenity and incredible calmness. At the same time we experienced the poignancy of what life is all about, how precious it is to be living at this time together with our True Parents, and how lucky these men were to not only have lived their lives at the same time as our True Parents but to be honored by our True Parents as they make their journey across the river into the eternal life. It was a very moving evening. I'm sure not just myself but Reverend Fauntroy and those seated around me at the table could not help but feel that this was something extraordinary.

When I think about my father, that word keeps on coming to mind: extraordinary. If you look at the way the word is composed, it's actually two words: extra and ordinary. For me the incredible thing about True Father is that he is truly an extraordinary human being, someone so great, so wonderful, so loving, so awesome. Yet what also makes him truly extraordinary to me is that no matter how high he might be sitting, he never ceases to be the everyday man. He never ceases to be ordinary in that he is humble. He never forgets that he is part of humanity; he never forgets that he is here to serve.

If he has the calling to be the leader of men and women of society as the True Father of this world, then he does so with a humble, almost ordinary, almost pedestrian heart in that he's not expecting anything special. But that's what really makes him extra-ordinary.

Sitting at the UN event, looking at these men, listening to their stories, listening to General Haig's son and grandson tell stories about him, I had to say to myself, "How wonderful it is to know that I don't have to be afraid of death!" We never know when we will be called to go back home to our Heavenly Parent. Many people in this world are so afraid to go back home. But the wonderful thing about our True Parents is that through them we have a beautiful tradition of understanding the three main, crucial transitions of our life as events that should be celebrated, not just with our own families, but with the world.

Through our True Parents we have the tradition in our faith of an eight-day ceremony when we have a chance to give our gratitude to our Heavenly Parent and to our world community for a newborn child, offering up the child to God in thanks. When we come to the second juncture, another transition point in our lives, which is marriage, in our tradition we have the wonderful blessing ceremony, when we honor not just ourselves as couples but we honor the couple together with the rest of the world, realizing that we belong to one family, that we are about to graft onto the original olive branch, that we will work toward inheriting the true love of God. That's a beautiful thing. Again, it's a joyous occasion; it's an occasion to celebrate everything that is beautiful.

As a mother who recently sent her eldest son down the aisle with his beautiful bride, I can say that it's probably the most exciting time for any parent: to watch your child go through that second transition of life called marriage, called the blessing.

Here at the United Nations Father shared the beauty of the holy ascension ceremony with the rest of the world, with various dignitaries from around the world. And instead of being overcome by a sense of our own mortality, by a sense of finality, a sense that we cease to exist, we can see it as a beautiful ceremony that anticipates a whole new life in the eternal world in the embrace of our Heavenly Father and our Heavenly Mother.

Just as the baby is prepared for nine months in the womb and has to go through the throes of being born into this life, leaving the world where it used to breathe water for a life in which it must breathe air, likewise when we leave this world, where we are breathing 20,000 liters of air every day, for the eternal life where we breathe this wonderful thing called love, then we can look forward to it with great anticipation. It's just another birth process into something beautiful.

When I think about the kind of life that I've led thus far, knowing that I will be ready at any time to go home when our Heavenly Parent calls my name, it's a wonderful feeling, an incredibly comforting feeling to know that I can look forward to an eternal life with our Heavenly Parent and with my siblings who have gone before me.

In his autobiography, Father talks about how when he was 12 years old he witnessed the remains of his great-grandfather being dug up when the grave was relocated. He had heard all these great stories about his great-grandfather, but then to see the casket opened, to see this great and powerful great-grandfather dwindled into a pile of bones was something quite traumatic for a young boy. In many respects, that would be incredibly difficult for a lot of people.

When I lost my younger brother when I was 18 years old, it was also a difficult and traumatic time for me. But I realized through the beauty of the holy ascension ceremony that although it's okay to grieve, at the same time we must also learn how to be happy so that we can send our loved ones to the next world, riding upon our goodwill, our good wishes, our smiles, and the joyous occasion.

The week when we had the UN event was also the week when we celebrated the day that my older brother passed, on March 17, St. Patrick's Day. Even though the years go by, there is still sometimes a feeling of emptiness and sadness. But when you remember this wonderful thing called the Seunghwa Ceremony and the beauty of the idea that he is ascending, that he's not buried or disappearing but is rising, becoming greater because he will be with our Heavenly Parent, it's an extremely comforting one.

Helen Cornelius

I came to know some stories about Helen Cornelius, a famous country–western singer and songwriter. She has three children. Her eldest son was Joey, and she dearly loved him with all her might. If she had a favorite, I guess you could say that Joey was her favorite. They shared an uncommonly strong bond throughout their lives. But she was always concerned because his great passion was bull riding in rodeos all across the country. As a mother, even though she did her own performing tours in different clubs and venues, she was always worried about Joey and his rodeo riding.

But whenever they got together, he would always ask for one song in particular, "The Rose," a beautiful song. It happens to be one of my favorites. One evening after sharing some dinner and conversation, Joey again asked, "Mother, would you sing `The Rose'?" She sang "The Rose" to her son, but that evening, Helen said, she had a premonition that somehow this was going to be her last performance of that song. She felt a bit uncomfortable after singing, but Joey clapped and said, "Mother, that was so beautiful." Helen said to him, "Just promise me that no matter where you are, please remember to be careful." Joey turned to her and said, "Of course I will be careful, and I will not be hurt. I will always come back home to hear you sing that song."

Several days later Helen got the call from a hospital from her second son, asking her to come right away. Immediately she knew something was wrong. When she arrived at the hospital, she was taken to a room where a sheet covered the body of her beloved Joey. Then she realized that her premonition was not about her own life ending but about her beloved Joey's life.

She said at that moment she was so angry at God, so angry at the world, so angry at the person who led her into the room to be with her departed Joey. It took her months and years to somehow come to a place where she could function. But because she was a workaholic by nature, what she did was immediately put herself into her craft. She started singing and writing songs deep into the night because she did not want to think about where Joey was.

She went through a phase in her life where she was like a furious tornado. Then she realized she was good to nobody, and that living a life being angry at God was not good for her as well.

When she started touring again, she decided to do one of the most difficult things in her life: to give a tribute to Joey at the end of her concerts by singing his favorite song, "The Rose." The first concert she sang was quite difficult, but it was made more difficult by the fact that she knew she had to sing her son's favorite song at the end. When she got to the chorus that says, "A soul that's afraid of dying never learns to live," she had to hold back her heart, which was ready to burst open because she missed Joey so much.

Somehow she got through that song and said later, "Even as I was singing this song, I was so angry at God. I don't remember if my voice came out beautifully or not. I don't remember if I sang in pitch. All I remember is that I was so angry that Joey was not here." But somehow when she got to the last note, something in her heart pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, "Helen, do not be angry. Why not thank God for taking Joey back into his arms?"

She did something incredibly difficult. After all these weeks and months of articulating anger and hatred toward the universe, God, and everything else that took her Joey away, she decided to articulate thanks for the first time. She did so on stage in front of thousands of people. She went on to say, "I lost my 19-year-old son to a rodeo accident, and I was extremely angry at everybody, from God on down. But I realize that now he has gone back home into the embrace of God, and I thank God for taking care of him."

The minute she articulated these words of thanks, she started the process of liberating herself from her own bondage to feelings of hatred and animosity and feeling that she could no longer go on, to a process in which she could begin to heal and realize that maybe God called Joey early for a reason: "As a mom, I might not like this reason why God chose Joey before I could let him go."

Maybe I don't like it as Hyo-Jin Oppa's sister that God called him so early. Maybe I don't like it as a sister to my younger brother, Heung-Jin, that God called him so early. Maybe I don't like it as a sister to know that God called Young-Jin early, before I could let them go. But just like Helen, the minute you start articulating thanks, the minute you start sending this person you love back to God, you realize it is the ultimate gift. In so doing, you learn a heart of gratitude. And in so doing, in a very mysterious and strange way, you realize how much God loves you. Helen, when she uttered these words on stage, realized an incredible feeling of warmth, probably the feeling of warmth that you get when you are liberated from bondage to grief, to hatred, and to negative thinking. But it's a feeling of warmth -- that somehow maybe God was counting on you to go through this; maybe God wants to use you as an instrument to do greater good for other people in the world.

So unbeknownst to her, she had touched thousands and thousands of people by uttering the simple words, "Thank you, God, for taking my Joey back into your embrace." She was acknowledging God. She was acknowledging the existence, the willingness, and the loving heart of God, who wants to receive every child that comes back into his or her arms.

Even more, those in the audience at her concert who had experienced grief and the same feelings of hatred against God and against the world that Helen went through somehow felt liberated because they saw an example that they could identify with in Helen. After her concert, thousands of people lined up to shake her hand and to thank her for those words. In her grief, she found the strength to give gratitude to Heavenly Father, and in that gratitude and its articulation she became the conduit for God to work his and her mysterious magic and heal thousands of people who came to her concert.

It was then that she thought, "Maybe my job is to comfort the tens of thousands of people who come to hear me sing. It's my chance to comfort these people, not just with the universal language of love, but to let them know that I understand the heartbreak of losing somebody. But at the same time, if we can have a grateful heart, then we can actually allow ourselves to be the vessels, to be greater instruments of God's work."

I feel that these traditions set up by our True Parents -- in birth, the eight-day ceremony; in marriage, the blessing ceremony; and in death, the holy ascension Seunghwa ceremony -- are the times in our lives when our True Parents are asking us to remember to have a heart of gratitude and a heart of peace. No matter how difficult something might be, such as what Helen was dealing with in grieving the death of her son, in the end when she realized that God was using her to heal thousands of people through her own experience of loss, she had nothing but thanks to our Heavenly Parent.

As we travel through our own destinies and as we walk our own road of discovery, brothers and sisters, we are alike in that there will be times when things will be excruciatingly difficult. But let's remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, "In me you may have peace. In this world you may have tribulations and trials and frustrations, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." "Be of good cheer," meaning, "Cheer up. Don't be so bogged down by burdensome things. Don't be so bogged down by worry, fear, and doubt, for I have overcome the world." God is always there with us. Jesus Christ is always there with us. And in True Parents we have overcome the most difficult thing that a human being has to deal with, which is the death of a loved one. We have overcome that difficulty in understanding that this is a time when we prepare our loved ones for a journey, a long journey in which one day we will join together with them.

When I think about the breaking news of our True Parents, how incredibly blessed we are, and how as a woman, a mother, and a daughter I feel so empowered to be living at this time when women can play not just an active role in society but play an active role in a life of faith and to share in this breaking news, I feel that each day is really a gift. Each day should begin with thanks, and each night should end with thanks.

Unlike the men and women of history who have come before us and who will come after us, we are so privileged to be born at this time, to be with our True Parents, to be a part of the process when the tradition is being built. You have caught True Parents at a time when the tradition is in the making.

Instead of looking at God and True Parents and saying, "What can you do for me? What can you do for my life?" it's really a time when we should be the ones to say to our Heavenly Father and Mother, "You have given us so much. You have taught us all we need to know through our True Parents. Now is the time for you to believe in us and all the great things that we will accomplish in your name. This is a time when we want you to believe in us, to be proud of us, to celebrate with us in this beautiful life that we will make our own."

So instead of looking at the past, instead of suffering in the present, we should always have our eyes to the future. And we should always have our eyes on everyone's destiny. Each and every one of us has a special destiny and a special role to play in this world. So we need to keep our eyes open to that and remember that as the eternal sons and daughters of God we are not here to end our lives just as a pile of bones. We are here to leave each of our great legacies behind, which can be honored after we are gone and shared with our children and our great-grandchildren.

Just as the stories of Jesus' disciples John and Peter are told over and over again, and just as the stories of General Alexander Haig and his friendship with our True Father and True Mother will be told over and over again, your stories and your legacy will be told over and over again. But it's up to you, and it's up to me.

Brothers and sisters, please remember this time. Please remember that we all know where we need to go and what we need to do. We need to inherit the true love of God, and we need to share in the breaking news that our True Parents are here and encourage the world to participate in this wonderful thing called an international blessing ceremony, where we express our conviction and commitment not just to each other as a couple, but to God and to the world -- and in that way become one family.

So share the good news of our True Parents with your friends and with our colleagues; share with them how wonderful it is to be part of one family under God. And each and every day, don't forget, always be grateful for each other.

As I come to a close of this one year together with you, on this last Sunday of the year that we have spent together, I must truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with me, for coming together and creating something wonderful and something beautiful. You are awesome sons and daughters of God. Go forward with great pride and conviction, and have a great week. Thank you so much.

Notes:

The Rose

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

Lyrics and Music by Amanda McBroom 

Introduction to Sun Myung Moon at the United Nations

In Jin Moon
March 18, 2010
United Nations, NY

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you're having a lovely dinner. First of all, I would like to thank all of you for coming on this extraordinary evening that we can share together with Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, along with the honorees here, represented by their portraits on stage. It is truly a monumental occasion in that my father recognizes the great work done by these men of character, dedication, and purpose. In particular, I'm surely delighted to have with us the family of General Alexander Haig represented here by his son, Alexander, and grandson, Christopher.

We were talking earlier while working on our salad and on to dessert about the friendship of General Haig and my father. I was commenting to Alexander that my father often likes to say that in life nothing is a coincidence and that you can always find the hand of God mysteriously guiding people together: in this situation, two people, two great men who are great ambassadors of peace, like my father and Alexander's father.

I really do believe that they were destined to meet and work together for the sake of peace. I know it began for my father with his experience, when he was 16 years old, of praying on his knees on Easter Sunday morning, asking God, the Heavenly Parent of humankind, to use him as an instrument and seeking guidance in his own life of faith. It was at that time that Jesus Christ appeared to him and asked this young boy, who was fervently praying and crying on his knees, to take up the work that was left unfinished.

Jesus went on to tell this young man, "I did not come to die. In fact, I came to find a beautiful wife whom I could call my own. And I came to build a beautiful family together with this wife. I came to create an ideal family and then to share the good news that we are all one family under God, that in truly honoring the Heavenly Parent, we should honor the most important moments of our lives, such as birth, marriage, and death, as times to celebrate together with our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother."

I very much believe that 2,000 years ago, had Jesus Christ been given a chance to fulfill his mission, he would have met a fine woman whom he could call his true Eve and he would have had a beautiful family that would have become the paradigm of love and of what a family could be. He would have asked all of us to try to do the same, in honor of the life that is awarded to each and every one of us: to create something beautiful and to leave behind something beautiful in our children, inspiring them to become great men and women of God and to do the same for their own children when they grow up.

My father is famous for a lot of things. He is known as a man of God. He is known as a fantastic businessman. When my father first walked in, the first thing he noticed was the beautiful East River that we have flowing right behind us here. He immediately said, "Striped bass. Great striped bass!" So my father is also known as a great fisherman. But more important than that, to me he is a wonderful father. When Jesus Christ anointed him to fulfill his mission and to live a life of service to others, to inspire the Korean young people, and then go on to the worldwide level and inspire all the world's people to create and develop beautiful families, this was the first step in allowing my father to meet a great many friends over the years, including General Alexander Haig.

It was because of my father's work that he was thrown into the North Korean concentration camp at Hungnam, and it was there, the day before his execution, that his great friend, General Haig, came with the allied forces that liberated my father, which allowed my father to come to this great country. He has thanked this great country of America with over 33 years of his life, dedicating everything that he had to raise up American young people to dream the great dream, not just to have a great life, not just to be a great patriot, but to truly inherit the love of God and what God intended when he first thought about creating the universe for his beautiful son and daughter, Adam and Eve.

So, you see, I feel that this is an incredible opportunity to share with all the luminaries of society the breaking news that Reverend Moon and Mrs. Moon come not just as ambassadors of peace but as the fulfillment or the culmination of the prophecy of Jesus coming again. They are the True Parents that we have been waiting for, that humankind has been waiting for. With their leadership and guidance, all of us can strive to build incredible families, strong and loving families, and have an opportunity to celebrate the three most important junctures of life.

Our parents can be thankful for each and every one of our births in dedication to our Heavenly Parent, truly in gratitude for a life received, a life that will be nurtured with love, and a life that will be empowered by the spirit of true love. Our lives will be encouraged to reach their true potential and true destiny, and in return we thank God and humanity by giving back with love, with great work, and with service.

This is a time when we can celebrate the beauty of marriage. It's a time when we can celebrate the beauty of the international community coming together. The diversity or differences of race and culture disappear under the new banner of true love in each couple's lives.

Today and this evening, we are here to celebrate the passing on or ascension of these great men, recognizing the great work that they have done in their lives, and how many people have been touched by them over the years. At the same time, it allows us as family to honor them and to be happy that they will return back into the embrace and love of our Heavenly Parent up in heaven. So it's a time of rebirth into a new life, and it's also a time of going back, coming home. It's truly a wonderful occasion.

For the young people in the audience, it's a time for them to think about how they want to live their lives and what kind of legacy they would like to leave in their lifetime. Each of our lives is an opportunity, a gift given by our God up in heaven to make something beautiful and to leave something beautiful behind.

As I approach this podium with the heart of a mother, I can only dream of a world where our children and grandchildren will be able to live in peace because the world recognizes that it belongs to one family, that we belong to the same God. I can only dream of a world where I do not have to worry about sending my children to school for fear of suicide bombers or of a terrorist attack. I want to dream of this wonderful generation of young people called Generation of Peace that has purpose, that has ideals, that has integrity, that has moral character. There is something wonderful waiting for our young Americans and for young people all around the world to be just awakened, if they could be so inspired.

My father is somebody who has truly inspired me in my life of faith and as a public servant. I know that he has touched many people all around the world, just as all the great men represented here have touched many people's lives.

I feel like I have the most difficult task at hand tonight because, how do you introduce a man who means so much, who has touched so many, and who has given so much? No words are adequate or enough to express my pride, my love, and my true gratitude for my father -- not just for being a great man himself, but for teaching all of us, including young people and myself, how to honor all the great men and women who have come before us and left legacies that are worthy of our attention and our research.

As I look forward to reading the biography of General Haig that Alexander so captured my rapt attention with at the dinner table, I know that all of these people have their stories, too. So as we continue on our road of discovery in our lives, as we go about our various tasks, I hope that this can be an occasion when we recognize where we are standing. This is the United Nations. This is a symbol of unity; this is a symbol of peace.

So how incredible it is for my father and for my mother, the True Parents, to grace this evening with their presence and with their words! I would encourage all of you to have an open mind, to have a heart of love, and to help me welcome my father to the podium. Thank you very much. 

Integrity and Faith

In Jin Moon
March 14, 2010
Lovin' Life Ministries

On the morning of March 14, 2010, Rev. In Jin Moon referred to the attributes of the word FAITH, together with a story of her early fishing years with her father, where true faith in him was seen. As the captain of a boat sent out to sea with an all-female crew at the age of 16, it was because of the faith of a father in his daughter that the largest tuna was caught!

Good morning, brothers and sisters. How is everyone this morning? I'm delighted to see you. This morning I woke up to the sound of thunder, and it reminded me of my wonderful summers together with my father out on the open sea in Gloucester and Provincetown in Massachusetts. Starting from when I was 11, my father took the whole family out to Gloucester or Provincetown, depending on the location that he chose for a particular summer, and we would spend our whole summer there.

My father would be ready to go out to sea promptly at 4:30 in the morning. For those of us lucky ones who were appointed to go with him, we would arrive also at 4:30 in the morning and accompany him out to sea, spending all day, sometimes all night, and sometimes even days out in the open sea.

For an impressionable young girl at that age, those experiences were quite profound because it was very difficult to go to sea day in and day out. But the more I tried to unite with my father in why I was there and what I wanted to learn in the course of that summer, the more I thought about what an incredible opportunity it was to commune with nature and to learn more about myself and my own character, especially how I could improve on my character. Now when I look back, I realize that those were some of the most important summers of my life.

Now whenever I hear thunder or see a storm, the more violent, the better because it reminds me of the times when I really became one with my father in terms of where my faith was. So today I want to talk about what faith means to us, especially to those of us who see ourselves as true believers.

All of us in different degrees and in different ways have gone through a lot of hardships. For the First Generation, you have given so much of yourselves, literally your blood, sweat, and tears, for the sake of the providence. You gave up your education, your home, and your career to invest 100 percent in God's providence, to unite together with our True Parents in heart and soul, and to actively apply the principles that our True Parents have come to teach us.

For those of us who are Second and Third Generation, we've had a different type of difficulty in that we were born into the church and we had to go through our own process of discovery. Some of us have had a powerful conversion experience. For those of us who are still en route toward that experience, it's a very difficult process at times, trying to realize who we are, what our identities are.

For me as the senior pastor of Lovin' Life Ministries, I feel that as I approach the pulpit with the heart of a mother, probably the most important thing I can do is not really teach but encourage what is already in each and every one of you. And that is a seed of faith. As the senior pastor, it's my duty and responsibility to remind everyone in the congregation how incredibly important that seed and its harvest might be, depending on where you are in your life of faith.

As a mother, when I try to explain the magnitude of word faith, I break it down as an acronym so it's easy for my children to remember what it means when it is applied in our daily life. When I talk to my children about faith, I usually tell them about when I was little girl out at sea in the midst of an incredibly violent storm, one of the summer's worst. Everything on the boat was being tossed around -- people were tossed around, I was tossed around. My father and I were literally hanging onto the couch that was bolted to the floor. We didn't know where the boat was going; we couldn't even distinguish the heavens from the sea or see the horizon.

In the midst of all this mayhem, I turned to my father and said, "I am terribly afraid. Are we going to die?" It was one of the most profound moments in my life, when I experienced the power of the word and of human touch. My father gently reached for my hand and held it tightly. Even though helter-skelter was breaking loose in the cabin, it seemed like things were in slow motion, and I felt the weight, the warmth, the life of his hand as it enveloped mine. It gave me an incredible sense of security. Then he said, "Don't worry, Daughter. I am here with you."

What my father was saying to me was the same thing that our Heavenly Parent whispers in our hearts in his mysterious ways throughout our life. Our Heavenly Parent is telling us, "Don't worry; I am here with you," at the same time encouraging the daughter and son to take heart and to have courage, to have faith and not be afraid.

That was the first time I realized as a little girl (I think I was 12 years old) that the minute I decided to have faith in my father as he said, "Don't worry, I'm here," an incredible calmness came over me, and I was no longer afraid. From then on and throughout my life, I have realized that in times of difficulty and against incredible odds, when huge obstacles arise, as long as we remember that our Heavenly Parent is always there, faith means being Fearless, fearless in the truth that our Heavenly Parent is always there with us, or, in my situation then, that my father was always there with me.

When I think about that summer, not only did I learn in faith not to be afraid, but I also realized the significance of truly having a good attitude, an attitude of acceptance or gratitude. This is what the A in faith means to me. When I saw myself as a true daughter of our Heavenly Parent who was born with a mission and purpose, and has an opportunity to leave behind something truly beautiful, I came to know that I am a divine being, just like each of us sitting here. I realized that if God is always with me, I don't have to afraid of anything in life. In knowing that I'm a proud daughter, a proud Unificationist, there is nothing to fear but fear itself, as President Franklin Roosevelt used to say.

When we know who we are, we realize that there is nothing that cannot be accomplished because we believe that God is with us each and every step of the way. When we realize that God is always present in our lives, a sense of gratitude comes over us, in that we are never, ever alone. Even when I was going through my teenage years -- and we all have our periods of rebellion, of questioning, of seeking -- I would always come back to the thought that God is always with me. I could not help but be grateful that I have a partner in life, that I have a great teacher in life, that I have an eternal Parent who is always praying for me, who is always wishing me well, who is always encouraging me to be the best that I can be.

Thinking back to those summers, going fishing day in and day out, I remember that what I saw as something incredibly beautiful and majestic for the first couple of days became quite a chore. Every day we get on board, scrub the floor, and prepare all the different gear and instruments for fishing. It's usually about a 45-minute ride out to Northwest Corner. We are constantly working from the minute we leave the dock until our destination. Once we get there, we have to start chumming. Chumming is not a very pleasant thing. We are basically throwing cut-up, stinking fish into the ocean all day. For those who are not truly strong at sea, who suffer from sea-sickness, it's really something horrendous to see.

I remember times when international leaders would come and Father would invite them to join him in fishing. One Japanese leader in particular, Mr. Kuboki, did phenomenal work for the Japanese movement in the early years. He was like a samurai. On land, nobody could defeat this man. He was there, and he looked strong; he looked so presentable and was so articulate and formidable when he was giving Divine Principle lectures -- a force to be reckoned with.

But when my father invited him to the boat, Mr. Kuboki always brought a special bag for the day. In it were five to seven towels of different sizes. When he first came on the boat, I asked him, "Why do you have that bag? What's in it?" He said, "Many towels." I said, "Why do you need towels?" He said, "No ask. No ask." I thought, "Okay, this man is coming to go fishing. Why does he bring towels? Maybe fishing gear or gloves to fight the fish, but why towels?"

I watched him with great interest. Once on board, he put on a white Japanese headband. Then when the boat got under way, he wouldn't go inside the cabin but stayed outside. I suggested he come in because it was about a 45-minute ride and very cold outside. He murmured, "No, no," and was just standing out there. I thought he wanted to feel the air. The further we got out to sea, I saw him start to sway, and his face started losing color. He slowly reached inside his bag, took out a huge towel, and wrapped it around his head as if he had a huge toothache. He had huge round eyes and was wearing this white headband, so he looked like a samurai warrior with a huge toothache. He had no color, and he started swaying. I thought, "This is the man who leads the Japanese movement? Interesting."

Finally we got to Northwest Corner, and my father shouted, "Anchor," meaning to lay down the anchor. When the anchor goes down, the boat starts rocking. If you're not physically equipped, it's going to be a very long day. I saw Mr. Kuboki at the back of the boat, holding the railings, walking continually, trying to get to the side of the boat, with his back against the cabin. When he got to the side where the ladder ascends to the upper part of the boat, he suddenly bent over, and it looked like he was going to dive into the ocean. He fell onto the railing at his waist. I wondered if he was trying to commit hari-kari, but actually he had a severe case of seasickness. The minute the boat started rocking, he started vomiting -- at 5:30 in the morning.

My father usually fishes until 6 or 7 p.m., or 10 or 11 p.m., depending on when the tuna is caught. That first day I saw Mr. Kuboki suffer, I think we left around 7, meaning we got back home around 8 p.m. Basically all day long we heard the sound of the chumming, the splashes as the slices of fish landed in the open sea, then the ropes hissing in the waves, and intermittently my father on the top deck giving out commands, "Do this; do that," or "Steer this way; do the lines this way," or "The tide is going this way. Turn the boat around." But there was this other constant sound of Mr. Kuboki vomiting all day long. It was the most horrific thing I've ever seen. One towel, then another towel, then another one.

He had them in all different sizes. He had a big, long one around his shoulders, and after each vomiting he would take the ends and wipe his face. Then he had a small one to take away the perspiration. He spent all day and into the evening keeled over the side of the boat.

When we came back, I was thinking, What can I do for Mr. Kuboki? But the minute he got off the boat, the other Mr. Kuboki was back. It was unbelievable. The minute he got off the boat, he was back! He was the formidable samurai again. The night-and-day visual of this man before, during, and after fishing was just unbelievable.

I went up to him and said, "Mr. Kuboki, are you okay?" "Hie, no problem!" I said, "Yes, but you were sick all day. Are you really okay?" "Hie!" "Can I get you anything?" "No, no. No problem." And then he said, "I thankful Heavenly Father, I thankful True Parents, I thankful tuna fish." He's thinking, "I have to thank God for this experience, for whatever indemnity I have to pay. I have to thank True Parents for giving me an opportunity to rise and to experience tuna fishing. And I thank God he sent us a tuna so we could come home."

I realized at that moment, this is a samurai warrior with an attitude of acceptance. He knew what he was getting into. He knew it was going to be a whole day of suffering and vomiting. But after the day was done, his sense of gratitude just bowled me over. So whenever I'm at a crossroads in my life or faced with something difficult, Mr. Kuboki comes to mind. And also, when Mr. Kuboki came to fish with my father, it would not be just one day. It would usually be for a week. So I would see this every day, but the minute we came back home, it was "Hie, no problem. Thank Heavenly Father, thank True Parents, thank tuna fish!"

It was unbelievable how this man, despite the suffering he went through, ended with a heart of gratitude. It left an indelible mark on my life and is a great reminder for me that regardless of how difficult it might have been, I should try to be grateful.

Another thing I realized on the open sea is the importance of the word integrity, from the letter I in faith. Webster's dictionary defines the word as soundness, completeness, or wholeness, an unbroken quality to something. I've often used the word integrity to symbolize or exemplify what true moral character should be -- seen in somebody who has moral convictions, is good and consistent. But in this case I understand the word integrity to mean a consistency of purpose or character.

When I think about Mr. Kuboki, he definitely embodied what the word integrity meant. When I saw the different fishermen who went to the Northwest Corner to fish for tuna every summer with my father, I saw the amount of dedication in their consistent daily effort. Each day started out the same, but in the course of the day, depending on the weather, there were many obstacles to overcome. Maybe the tide wasn't with us. Maybe the boat placement wasn't good. Maybe the tunas were at a depth not good for fishing. You had to take in all these different factors and still keep a positive attitude even if nothing was biting all day long. You are constantly hoping, being consistent in your effort until you would leave. That was something that was incredible for me to experience.

The first hours when you're out on the open sea can be exciting. We had a fish finder with a printer that would show the depth the fish were at, so when we were chumming, we were taking into account the direction of the tide and the depth of the ocean, calculating how we should chum so that the bait would go to where the fish were. Many times when I was done with my kitchen duties, my father would let me look at the printout showing where the fish were, and he would encourage me to think about where we should chum, to see where the tide was going.

For hours and hours the printer kept printing, and it's quite mind numbing at times. Perhaps the next hour nothing bit, and the hour after that nothing bit. Sometimes all day would go by when you could see that the fish were at a certain depth, but none of them would bite, so you could become discouraged. You're trying to chum in a way that would attract the fish to come bite on your bait. Why is it not working? So you start doubting yourself; you start questioning, not believing that you're going to catch something that day.

At times like that, the word integrity, meaning the consistency of purpose and the consistency of character in carrying out whatever you're involved, with comes to mind. Many times, just when I was on the verge of giving up, I would tell myself, "Okay, one more hour." Time and time again, that was when God sent us the tuna, just when I was almost giving up. But I basically told myself, "One more hour." God was letting us know, "See, if you remain consistent in your purpose, in the kind of character you should carry in your life, sooner or later you're going to get that tuna."

When you leave the dock on this big boat, you feel like there's nowhere this boat cannot go. But once you're on the open sea, you look like a dot and you realize how tiny, how small you are compared with the vastness of the open sea. You realize that you're really at the mercy of the elements, and you come to a point when you have to ask yourself, "Am I going to entrust my life to God? Am I going to trust, the fourth letter in faith, that he and she will see me through today? Or am I going to doubt, thinking I might not survive this day, this storm?"

Every summer there were boats and fishermen lost at sea, so this constant theme of life and death plays on your mind when you're on the open sea. The question "Do I trust my God? Do I have faith in my God?" is asked in your mind day in and day out. But when you decide to have faith, when you decide to trust in God, you realize that the instability or the insecurity in your situation suddenly disappears. The minute we decide to trust in the Lord, there's an incredible feeling of security, a feeling of being embraced, a feeling of being held in His hands. You feel as if God himself and herself is holding you and is guiding you to the open sea and bringing you back home. That is probably one of the most incredible experiences that a young child can have.

During the whole summer's worth of fishing my father was thinking about the world: thinking about people's health, planning how do we end hunger, how do we feed hungry people? It was really the beginning of my father's attempt to get the American people to eat more fish. He was preparing for the whole wave of sushi aficionados that simply did not exist in the early 1970s in America. My father was advocating healthy living, eating more fish as opposed to beef, eating fresh food that is simply cooked, not too highly seasoned. Unlike the common perception that my father was enjoying himself on a "yacht," as they called it, my father was actually researching different ways to catch and package fish.

In fact, my father pioneered hand-line fishing for tuna in the Gloucester area. Before he came along, the way they caught tuna there was with a fishing pole. My father tried that method and found that it was lacking. He realized that when you're fighting a fish that's anywhere from 500 to over 1,000 pounds, you need more grip. You need to be able to maneuver more quickly, to be more tactile and flexible in your approach in terms of pulling in the line or letting go of the line. When you're using only a fishing pole, you can't do that in a split second, but when you're holding onto a line, then depending on the feel of the fish as it is pulling and tugging on the line, you can decide whether to let go or to quickly draw it in.

In the beginning when he asked for different types of rope to try, the salesperson at the fishing supply store looked at my father and the group of Japanese people working with him in a very, very strange way. Why would anyone leave a fishing pole and take a rope to try to catch this massive fish? But when my father started catching all the tuna in the area when the others weren't catching anything, many of them tried hand-line fishing. So that's something that my father pioneered. Even to this day, many tuna are caught that way there.

When you think about the level of dedication that each summer required, you realize that in order to have the best experience possible, you needed to have a special heart of dedication, which is what the H in faith represents to me. When we decide to have faith, what we're saying is that we're not going to doubt any more. We're not going to do-out with our faith. We're going to choose to be Fearless, to have the Attitude of gratitude. We're going to choose to practice Integrity consistently. We're choosing to Trust in our Heavenly Parent, and we're going to follow through with a Heart of devotion.

The Book of James 1:5–8 says to us, "But ask in faith, never doubting." The Bible is telling us, don't be like a wave in the open sea that is wind driven, tossing us around. The minute that we start to doubt, James reminds us that we become double minded. When we decide to exercise faith and decide to trust in the Lord, we become very clear in our direction. We're no longer double minded. James reminds us that when we doubt, we become unstable, but in faith we become incredibly stable in the security of our Heavenly Parent.

So when we honestly and earnestly ask in faith for God to be there with us, to experience life with us, and we approach our prayer with this heart of devotion, and we approach the different service projects that we do with this heart of devotion, what we are doing is actualizing this word faith in our daily lives.

When I think about my summers together with my father, I can think of so many different experiences that have moved me to tears. But especially I realize that when my father made me the captain of the first all-female crew when I was 16, as a parent my father must have had incredible faith in me. I think about my children who are 16, and I think about trusting a 16-year-old with his own boat, making him the captain of four other people and basically throwing him out onto the open sea, where seasoned sailors die, boats capsize, and people disappear. My father had incredible faith in me. In that sense, he was fearless, and he was grateful to have a daughter who did not get seasick wanting to become a captain. He saw this little girl follow him every day for five years, since I was 11, so he knew I could be consistent. He knew that I had absolute faith in him, and now he was returning that absolute faith and trust in me by saying, "You take care of this boat."

Just as I tried to approach my summers with a heart of devotion, what my father was doing to me was paying that devotion back by saying, "Now I am going to give you my heart of devotion. Make me proud, daughter." You have to understand, back then when I was 16 years old there was no concept of a woman captain, let alone a teenage girl captain. So not only did the sailors think my father was crazy, I think a lot of the leaders and good brothers and sisters thought my father might have been crazy, too.

Why would you throw a 16-year-old girl at the mercy of the open sea? And what good would she do? How could she catch a tuna with three other teenage Second Generation girls?

When we started the summer of my 16th year at Gloucester and Provincetown, it didn't really look too good, but because Father had faith in us, I said, "Girls, girls, it doesn't matter if the sailors are hooting at us, saying, 'Ladies, go back home to your daddy. There's no place for women on the sea. I thought I'd seen it all with crazy Moonies, but here come the crazy ladies.'" We heard it all.

And even when we got to Northwest Corner, different sailors on the boats would jeer at us, saying, "This is no place for women. Go back home. We don't want you here." Sometimes they would throw things at us. But we just had to have a heart of gratitude. We had to have an attitude of gratefulness and just be consistent. As angry as we might have gotten at that instant when people were hurling things at us, big burly sailors with big biceps, throwing these things at teenage girls, jeering, "Go home," we reminded ourselves to focus on consistency, to focus on practicing integrity. We decided we were going to catch a tuna, whether they liked it or not.

The amazing thing was, we were one of the first boats to hook up because I had learned a thing or two fishing with my father all those summers. I learned how to chum, especially how to calculate where to make it go, depending on the tide. So we were one of the first to hook up. Then the sailors shouted, "There's no way they're going to catch that tuna. Let's watch this entertainment hour. Let's watch them lose it."

We felt that not only were we representing teenage girls, we had to fight for being legitimate fishermen on the open sea. I felt like we had to fight for our sex, that there's no reason why women can't catch a tuna. We may not be as strong, but we are cleverer! We may not have the brawn, but there are ways to tire the tuna.

When a tuna bites, the line runs out so fast that lives have been lost at sea in accidents when people are not watching where they are walking and they are near the basket where the ropes are coiled. In the frantic moment of "Hook-up!" and pulling up the anchor, getting behind the wheel, starting the engine, sometimes you don't realize you're standing on the basket of rope. And if you do, you're gone. You'll go out like a cannonball. There's just no way to save you because the tuna is going, and it's fighting, and the line is racing out. You literally can see smoke as it goes out. So you have to be mindful of different things like that.

But when the tuna hit and the line went out, I screamed, "Anchor up." Then everybody on Northwest Corner knew, "Oh, the kiddie boat got a hook-up." They were all watching us with binoculars. I told my crew, "I'll go first, then you go second, you third, and we're just going to tire the fish out." So we're taking turns, and as we're going we could literally see these fishermen with binoculars hollering. I felt like a horse running at the racetrack and all these people were taking bets on how long we would last and how long we would keep the fish on the line.

I thought, "Okay, if they want a fun time, we'll give them a good show." So the line flew out. Tuna are so big and strong that they can drag the boat. The most important thing is that when the fish wants to go, you have to let it go and just maintain the tautness of the rope. But the minute that the fish decides, "I don't want to go away from the boat; let me try going toward the boat instead," then you have to frantically pull it in. If you don't keep that tautness on the line, the hook is going to come out.

A tuna is incredibly smart. It takes the boat out, and then it charges straight back toward you, then it goes off to the right, then off to the left. It's trying all the different directions in order to get the hook out of its mouth. The key is keeping the line taut.

So here we were, taking turns, and the fish took us so far from our initial starting point in Northwest Corner that we couldn't see the other fishermen jeering at us. We were thinking, "Thank you, Heavenly Father. You got rid of them." Here we were on the open sea, like in the movie The Old Man and the Sea from the Ernest Hemingway story, a gigantic fish and us. It felt like a life-and-death battle because it wasn't just about catching that tuna; it was about saving the dignity of the women and having the right as women to catch a tuna. A lot was riding on us. I said, "Ladies, come on. We have to do this."

It took about four and a half hours, but we tired the tuna out. By the end of four and a half hours, we were all dying, but the tuna started to surface because it was so tired. Then what you do is pull the tuna in, and it's a very, very heavy fish. The tuna we caught that day was something like 675 pounds, so it was a big, big tuna. As it comes near, the next thing you have to do is to harpoon the fish. If you don't harpoon the fish, it's very easy to lose it, even as you're pulling it in.

When it got close enough to the boat for us to see it, I had to get up on top and harpoon it. I said to myself, "I can harpoon this fish with my eyes, because I can see where the fish is, or I can harpoon the fish with God's eyes, and I'm going to catch that tuna." So the minute I saw it coming and knew approximately where it was, I threw my harpoon, knowing that God would not let us women down. The harpoon went straight into the side right behind the gill, which is where you want it. You don't want it in the great meat, but instead right next to the gill. It went in! It was amazing.

When my crew saw the harpoon go in, they were screaming at the top of their lungs. I said, "Let's tie the fish up. Now we're pretty far off from Northwest Corner. Shall we just go straight to the dock, or would you ladies like to see the sailors' faces at Northwest Corner before we go back?" After four and a half hours I think all the fishermen were thinking, "Silly teenage girls; they probably lost the fish and went back home in total disgrace."

We decided to visit them before we went back. You can't really drive the boat too quickly with a huge fish on the side of your boat, so here we were putt-putting through the sea. My girls were looking through binoculars to gauge the reactions of the different sailors. When they saw us coming over the horizon, you could hear them, "There they are," screaming different things. When they saw the girlie boat approaching, we heard this loud jeering, but then it died away because they're thinking, "What the heck are they doing with a tuna tied to the side of their boat when we haven't gotten a hook-up yet?"

At that moment, when you're 16 years old and you realize that your father gave you this opportunity to experience how exhilarating, how exciting, how satisfying it is to putt-putt back to Northwest Corner, you are thinking, "Thank God my father had faith in me. He wasn't thinking he was sending me out to the sea to leave me at the mercy of the elements; he was hoping that I'd do my sisters justice and that my crew would do women justice."

So even though it was a very small victory in the course of the summer, it changed my life. It changed the sisters' lives on the boat with me. It made us realize that there's no limit to what a woman can do. And the greater the opposition, the greater we're going to fight. The more they want us to go home, the greater our consistency of purpose will be. And the more people put obstacles in our path, the greater our heart of devotion and our trust in God will be. Instead of being bogged down with doubt, doing-out with faith, and instead of being bogged down with double mindedness and questioning, the minute we decide to have faith and believe, God can work in mysterious and incredible ways.

The Koran Chapter 8, verses 2–4, reminds us what a true believer is supposed to be. A true believer is someone who is in awe before God. And awe does not just mean astonishment. It means you are in so much gratitude that you are filled with the feeling of love. The true believers are those who truly, truly love God as our Heavenly Parent.

The Koran goes on further to say that the true believers are people whose faith grows with every word, every revelation. So sometimes revelations can come through Scripture. Sometimes revelations can come through dreams. Sometimes revelations can come through an experience like the one I had. But each and every one of those revelations makes us grow in faith: we become stronger, we become greater, and we become the kind of sons and daughters that we are destined to be.

So this Sunday, I'm thinking about the importance of faith and what it means to be a true believer. If you think about a life without God, it is almost like being a rudderless boat. But the minute you bring God into the picture, the boat has a rudder. God provides the wind in the sail, and God clearly shows us a direction where to go; just like when we want to catch a tuna, we head out to Northwest Corner. The minute we have clear faith and we believe, our lives become very clear.

This morning the band performed the wonderful song "Somewhere Only We Know." Faith is not something that should just be believed, something out there. It needs to be made our own. We need to own up to our faith. Find a place in your life, somewhere only you know, where only you and God can commune, converse, and be with each other, and you can feel every day how incredibly special and precious you are.

Let's remind ourselves that it's always God who is singing us this song to make us feel his and her love. God is the one singing this song in difficult times, in times of joy, in times of trial. God is always there, wanting us to feel his love. Despite the manic time and scheduling of life in Midtown Manhattan, we still need to find a time to come home, to be with God.

Brothers and sisters, thank you for this Sunday. Thank you for joining with me. Remember to always decide to be a faithful servant of God, and always remember that God, our Heavenly Parent, and our True Parents are always with each and every one of you. So God bless, and have a great week. Thank you.

Notes:

James, chapter 1

1: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greeting.

2: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials,

3: for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

4: And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him.

6: But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

7,8: For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.

9: Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

10: and the rich in his humiliation, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.

11: For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.

13: Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one;

14: but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

15: Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death.

16: Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

17: Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

18: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

19: Know this, my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,

20: for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God.

21: Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23: For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror;

24: for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

25: But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.

26: If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain.

27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Chapter 8 - "The Accessions"

In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful.

8.1: They ask you about the windfalls. Say: The windfalls are for Allah and the Apostle. So be careful of (your duty to) Allah and set aright matters of your difference, and obey Allah and His Apostle if you are believers.

8.2: Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust.

8.3: Those who keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.

8.4: These are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance.

8.5: Even as your Lord caused you to go forth from your house with the truth, though a party of the believers were surely averse;

8.6: They disputed with you about the truth after it had become clear, (and they went forth) as if they were being driven to death while they saw (it).

8.7: And when Allah promised you one of the two parties that it shall be yours and you loved that the one not armed should he yours and Allah desired to manifest the truth of what was true by His words and to cut off the root of the unbelievers.

8.8: That He may manifest the truth of what was true and show the falsehood of what was false, though the guilty disliked.

8.9: When you sought aid from your Lord, so He answered you: I will assist you with a thousand of the angels following one another.

8.10: And Allah only gave it as a good news and that your hearts might be at ease thereby; and victory is only from Allah; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

8.11: When He caused calm to fall on you as a security from Him and sent down upon you water from the cloud that He might thereby purify you, and take away from you the uncleanness of the Shaitan, and that He might fortify your hearts and steady (your) footsteps thereby.

8.12: When your Lord revealed to the angels: I am with you, therefore make firm those who believe. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.

8.13: This is because they acted adversely to Allah and His Apostle; and whoever acts adversely to Allah and His Apostle -- then surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil).

8.14: This -- taste it, and (know) that for the unbelievers is the chastisement of fire.

8.15: O you who believe! when you meet those who disbelieve marching for war, then turn not your backs to them.

8.16: And whoever shall turn his back to them on that day -- unless he turn aside for the sake of fighting or withdraws to a company -- then he, indeed, becomes deserving of Allah's wrath, and his abode is hell; and an evil destination shall it be.

8.17: So you did not slay them, but it was Allah Who slew them, and you did not smite when you smote (the enemy), but it was Allah Who smote, and that He might confer upon the believers a good gift from Himself; surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

8.18: This, and that Allah is the weakener of the struggle of the unbelievers.

8.19: If you demanded a judgment, the judgment has then indeed come to you; and if you desist, it will be better for you; and if you turn back (to fight), We (too) shall turn back, and your forces shall avail you nothing, though they may be many, and (know) that Allah is with the believers.

8.20: O you who believe! obey Allah and His Apostle and do not turn back from Him while you hear.

8.21: And be not like those who said, We hear, and they did not obey.

8.22: Surely the vilest of animals, in Allah's sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who do not understand.

8.23: And if Allah had known any good in them He would have made them hear, and if He makes them hear they would turn back while they withdraw.

8.24: O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Apostle when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered.

8.25: And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust; and know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil).

8.26: And remember when you were few, deemed weak in the land, fearing lest people might carry you off by force, but He sheltered you and strengthened you with His aid and gave you of the good things that you may give thanks.

8.27: O you who believe! be not unfaithful to Allah and the Apostle, nor be unfaithful to your trusts while you know.

8.28: And know that your property and your children are a temptation, and that Allah is He with Whom there is a mighty reward.

8.29: O you who believe! If you are careful of (your duty to) Allah, He will grant you a distinction and do away with your evils and forgive you; and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.

8.30: And when those who disbelieved devised plans against you that they might confine you or slay you or drive you away; and they devised plans and Allah too had arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners.

8.31: And when Our communications are recited to them, they say: We have heard indeed; if we pleased we could say the like of it; this is nothing but the stories of the ancients.

8.32: And when they said: O Allah! if this is the truth from Thee, then rain upon us stones from heaven or inflict on us a painful punishment.

8.33: But Allah was not going to chastise them while you were among them, nor is Allah going to chastise them while yet they ask for forgiveness.

8.34: And what (excuse) have they that Allah should not chastise them while they hinder (men) from the Sacred Mosque and they are not (fit to be) guardians of it; its guardians are only those who guard (against evil), but most of them do not know.

8.35: And their prayer before the House is nothing but whistling and clapping of hands; taste then the chastisement, for you disbelieved.

8.36: Surely those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (people) from the way of Allah; so they shall spend it, then it shall be to them an intense regret, then they shall be overcome; and those who disbelieve shall be driven together to hell.

8.37: That Allah might separate the impure from the good, and put the impure, some of it upon the other, and pile it up together, then cast it into hell; these it is that are the losers.

8.38: Say to those who disbelieve, if they desist, that which is past shall be forgiven to them; and if they return, then what happened to the ancients has already passed.

8.39: And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah; but if they desist, then surely Allah sees what they do.

8.40: And if they turn back, then know that Allah is your Patron; most excellent is the Patron and most excellent the Helper.

8.41: And know that whatever thing you gain, a fifth of it is for Allah and for the Apostle and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, if you believe in Allah and in that which We revealed to Our servant, on the day of distinction, the day on which the two parties met; and Allah has power over all things.

8.42: When you were on the nearer side (of the valley) and they were on the farthest side, while the caravan was in a lower place than you; and if you had mutually made an appointment, you would certainly have broken away from the appointment, but -- in order that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done, that he who would perish might perish by clear proof, and he who would live might live by clear proof; and most surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing;

8.43: When Allah showed them to you in your dream as few; and if He had shown them to you as many you would certainly have become weak-hearted and you would have disputed about the matter, but Allah saved (you); surely He is the Knower of what is in the breasts.

8.44: And when He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes and He made you to appear little in their eyes, in order that Allah might bring about a matter which was to be done, and to Allah are all affairs returned.

8.45: O you who believe! when you meet a party, then be firm, and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.

8.46: And obey Allah and His Apostle and do not quarrel for then you will be weak in hearts and your power will depart, and be patient; surely Allah is with the patient.

8.47: And be not like those who came forth from their homes in great exultation and to be seen of men, and (who) turn away from the way of Allah, and Allah comprehends what they do.

8.48: And when the Shaitan made their works fair seeming to them, and said: No one can overcome you this day, and surely I am your protector: but when the two parties came in sight of each other he turned upon his heels, and said: Surely I am clear of you, surely I see what you do not see, surely I fear Allah; and Allah is severe in requiting (evil).

8.49: When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was disease said: Their religion has deceived them; and whoever trusts in Allah, then surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

8.50: And had you seen when the angels will cause to die those who disbelieve, smiting their faces and their backs, and (saying): Taste the punishment of burning.

8.51: This is for what your own hands have sent on before, and because Allah is not in the least unjust to the servants;

8.52: In the manner of the people of Firon and those before them; they disbelieved in Allah's communications, therefore Allah destroyed them on account of their faults; surely Allah is strong, severe in requiting (evil).

8.53: This is because Allah has never changed a favor which He has conferred upon a people until they change their own condition; and because Allah is Hearing, Knowing;

8.54: In the manner of the people of Firon and those before them; they rejected the communications of their Lord, therefore We destroyed them on account of their faults and We drowned Firon's people, and they were all unjust.

8.55: Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe.

8.56: Those with whom you make an agreement, then they break their agreement every time and they do not guard (against punishment).

8.57: Therefore if you overtake them in fighting, then scatter by (making an example of) them those who are in their rear, that they may be mindful.

8.58: And if you fear treachery on the part of a people, then throw back to them on terms of equality; surely Allah does not love the treacherous.

8.59: And let not those who disbelieve think that they shall come in first; surely they will not escape.

8.60: And prepare against them what force you can and horses tied at the frontier, to frighten thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them, whom you do not know (but) Allah knows them; and whatever thing you will spend in Allah's way, it will be paid back to you fully and you shall not be dealt with unjustly.

8.61: And if they incline to peace, then incline to it and trust in Allah; surely He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

8.62: And if they intend to deceive you -- then surely Allah is sufficient for you; He it is Who strengthened you with His help and with the believers

8.63: And united their hearts; had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah united them; surely He is Mighty, Wise.

8.64: O Prophet! Allah is sufficient for you and (for) such of the believers as follow you.

8.65: O Prophet! urge the believers to war; if there are twenty patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand.

8.66: For the present Allah has made light your burden, and He knows that there is weakness in you; so if there are a hundred patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a thousand they shall overcome two thousand by Allah's permission, and Allah is with the patient.

8.67: It is not fit for a prophet that he should take captives unless he has fought and triumphed in the land; you desire the frail goods of this world, while Allah desires (for you) the hereafter; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.

8.68: Were it not for an ordinance from Allah that had already gone forth, surely there would have befallen you a great chastisement for what you had taken to.

8.69: Eat then of the lawful and good (things) which you have acquired in war, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

8.70: O Prophet! say to those of the captives who are in your hands: If Allah knows anything good in your hearts, He will give to you better than that which has been taken away from you and will forgive you, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

8.71: And if they intend to act unfaithfully towards you, so indeed they acted unfaithfully towards Allah before, but He gave (you) mastery over them; and Allah is Knowing, Wise.

8.72: Surely those who believed and fled (their homes) and struggled hard in Allah's way with their property and their souls, and those who gave shelter and helped -- these are guardians of each other; and (as for) those who believed and did not fly, not yours is their guardianship until they fly; and if they seek aid from you in the matter of religion, aid is incumbent on you except against a people between whom and you there is a treaty, and Allah sees what you do.

8.73: And (as for) those who disbelieve, some of them are the guardians of others; if you will not do it, there will be in the land persecution and great mischief.

8.74: And (as for) those who believed and fled and struggled hard in Allah's way, and those who gave shelter and helped, these are the believers truly; they shall have forgiveness and honorable provision.

8.75: And (as for) those who believed afterwards and fled and struggled hard along with you, they are of you; and the possessors of relationships are nearer to each other in the ordinance of Allah; surely Allah knows all things.

Somewhere Only We Know
Keane

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when, you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know?

Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So, tell me when you gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything.
So why don't we go, so why don't we go?

Hmmm yeahh.

This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go, somewhere only we know,
Somewhere only we know
Somewhere only we know? 

Opening The New Unification Peace Temple

In Jin Moon
March 7, 2010
Lovin' Life Ministries

Good morning, brothers and sisters. How is everyone this morning? Loving life? Yes, we're here to love life. It's good to see you after three weeks. As you know, on February 14th we had to be in Korea to celebrate the lunar New Year together with our True Parents there. We spent about a week together, and there were a great many celebrations going on at the same time.

But this trip in particular was quite profound because we had an opening and dedication ceremony for the new Unification Peace Temple there. This is the intermediate temple. Of course we are looking toward the final temple that will be built in Seoul. This was really a dream realized for my father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Moon, as well as for my brothers and sisters and the members of our worldwide community who were there to celebrate this incredible time.

You know that we are so blessed in so many ways, but we are really blessed to be living in the time of our True Parents, in the time of the breaking news. Jesus brought us the good news, and he has given new life and new meaning to thousands and thousands of people all around the world. But with our True Parents, we have the breaking news. Our True Parents are the messiah come again. They are the Second Coming who have come to teach us what the true meaning of life is, what God was wanting for his children when he created the universe, and how important it is to inherit the true love of God and have an opportunity in our lives to substantiate this wonderful thing called an ideal family.

In our True Parents we have great teachers, a great father and mother, and great friends. They've always been people who were there when I was growing up, to truly encourage, empower, and embolden us to fulfill the destiny that they felt was inherent in each and every one of us. We are all sons and daughters of God. We are unique, and we are special reservoirs of true love.

Our True Parents have encouraged us to practice true love in our daily lives and to manifest it to the world in a way that is unique to each of us. When I think about my life of faith and my life as a daughter born to such wonderful parents and to this great movement that I call my family, sometimes I have to stand back and take stock of how incredibly blessed I am.

My father and mother would be the first ones to remind me that with blessings comes responsibility. I have felt the weight of this responsibility time and time again. Last year was a very difficult one for my family. But we've persevered, and now we've celebrated the dawn of the Year of the White Tiger. Ushering in this new year with the opening of the Unification Peace Temple really was a wonderful and auspicious sign of things to come.

Our movement is progressing on, and there's no stopping us, brothers and sisters. We have often talked about interfaith activities, embracing the different religions of the world, and celebrating God, our Heavenly Parent, as the true parent of humankind. The wonderful thing about this temple is that for the first time in history, we have represented in the temple not just the Unification Church symbol, but we have portraits of Jesus Christ, of Buddha, of Confucius, and of the name of Mohammad. These four portraits are encased in what is like an inner sanctum seen when one first enters the temple. It's like a portal to the spirit world, if you will.

When Father first dedicated the temple to our Heavenly Parent, he went in there, together with our True Mother, and prayed. He ushered in the heavenly fortune and prayed that we as a Unification Church can really do our responsibility in honoring the different religious traditions and encouraging each other to worship together in this common denominator that we call our Heavenly Parent.

Two days prior to the opening, my younger brother Hyung Jin Moon, who is the spiritual head of the movement, had a vision in which Jesus appeared to him, encouraging him and thanking him for the temple. Since then, there have been many spiritual occurrences that brothers and sisters have witnessed visually. One church member walked into this inner sanctum, where the four great saints are represented, and saw a band of light coming from each of the portraits, merging to embrace the two chairs that represent True Parents. The whole inner sanctum was flooded with light, as well as with a feeling of incredible energy, warmth, and love, and with hope for the world because finally we have a place of worship where not just one religion but a family of religions is represented. That's a beautiful thing.

We are still celebrating the victory of my father's autobiography, which continues to be a best-seller in Korea. The president of that publishing company is a devout Buddhist, a highly professional and capable woman. She took the helm of this company and made it a great success, the equivalent of Random House here in America. She's a phenomenal woman, but first and foremost she's a devout Buddhist.

So when she first started working on the autobiography and wanted to push this book through at the company, she said she came across a tidal wave of negativity. For instance, the editor-in-chief she had worked with for 20 years quit on the spot when she said that the company would be publishing Dr. Moon's autobiography. She asked the editor, "Why are you quitting after 20 years of such wonderful work?" He said, "I'm a proud Christian, and I cannot publish this book." Another editor who was a staunch Catholic also quit.

She tried to encourage the view that the subject of this book was sent to Korea by Heavenly Parent, who comes to unite all religions. She suggested that this is not a time when religions should be fighting among themselves. Celebrating our differences, nonetheless we should come together in our commonality, in that what we want for the world is the same thing; what we want for our families is the same thing; what we want for our children is the same thing. We want internal and external excellence in our lives and in our children's lives. We want to be able to call our God our Heavenly Parent.

She tried to have this type of meaningful conversation with them, but these two editors were very strong in their stance. She still felt compelled to go on. We asked her why. She said, "I am a devout Buddhist. I recite the Buddhist Scripture every day. I do 108 bows every morning to Buddha. In one of my prayers Buddha himself appeared to me and said, 'You must publish Reverend Moon's book. It's incredibly important.'" When Buddha himself appeared to her and commanded her to publish our True Father's book, nobody could stop her. She went ahead, despite the persecution and the negativity, and it continues to be a great best-seller.

But spirit world is not just moving with her, not just moving in the inner sanctum. One of the most inspiring things that I witnessed at the opening ceremony of this new headquarters was the presence of the Venerable In Kong, president of the Taego Buddhist order in Korea, the largest Buddhist order that allows the Buddhist monks to have families. He came to give congratulatory remarks to our True Parents.

When he got to the podium, he did something of great significance in terms of providential and religious history. Here is a representative from a Buddhist order giving congratulatory remarks on the opening of a Unification temple. He didn't just say, "Congratulations on your new temple, your new headquarters." There at the podium, with utmost conviction he declared and proclaimed True Parents as the living Buddha come again. He declared to the leading politicians, luminaries of Korean society, and guests from all around the world that our True Parents are the messiah that we have been waiting for, that our True Parents are the living Buddha that they've been waiting for, and that he was blessed to be living at a time when he could dedicate this temple in honor of our Heavenly Parent and our True Parents. He said this was a historic time, and he felt very privileged to be allowed an opportunity to share this breaking news with the world.

Brothers and sisters, all the great religious leaders, one by one, are coming to understand the significance of having our True Parents here. They're not just understanding; they're proclaiming, they're testifying, they're witnessing to who the True Parents are and why they are so important to all of us living today.

This is really a clarion call for all of us sitting in the audience to do the same because, just as these great leaders of religions have dedicated their lives to their faith and to their brothers and sisters in different congregations or orders around the world, I know that each and every one of you have done the same in your own lives. You have dedicated and sacrificed so much in helping to build this kingdom on earth, as we call it.

Over the years we've had to persevere. We've had our own individual struggles. When we got blessed, we've had to work out or deal with all that comes with trying to create an ideal family. I know that sometimes we've experienced great joy, sometimes we've experienced great loss, and sometimes we've experienced great suffering. But through it all, you and I have persevered. We were there to usher in the new millennium. We were there once again to dream about this wonderful thing called an ideal family, about living our lives inheriting the true love of God and raising wonderful children to be part of this thing called a Generation of Peace. We are so blessed.

When Father asks us in his speech from September 11, 1972, how long we can continue to sacrifice with this heart of love, he's not asking about how short a time we can continue to suffer. He understands that maybe our suffering will take some time, and he understands that you have continually given of yourself, living for the sake of others, because he says to continue. You are continuing the kind of sacrificial life that you have led thus far. He asks us how long can we sacrifice, how long can we continue to live for the sake of others, with the heart of love.

Brothers and sisters, when I stand up here and I encourage all of us, you and me alike, to raise a Generation of Peace, to raise a generation of young people that has ideals, that has moral integrity, that has a vision and a dream, and that has a need to fulfill destiny, what I'm thinking about is, how do we raise this wonderful group of children with the heart of love? When we dream of peace, peace cannot be realized on its own with just goodwill; peace needs the active participation of love. If we do not have love, and if we do not practice love in our lives or in our dealings with other brothers and sisters of different faiths, then we cannot come together and create a world of peace. When my father asks the very question, "How long can we continue with this heart of love?" in a way he is asking how long can we practice applying this heart of love so that we can fulfill our destiny, the destiny of the world to have all people living in peace.

Our True Father has taught us that true love is something that's eternal, unchanging, absolute, and unique. Buddhists have their understanding of true love, too. When Buddhists think of true love, they believe there are four elements to true love. The first is metta, which means benevolence or loving-kindness. By that, they mean a sincere desire to care for somebody, a sincere desire to understand somebody because they know that true love really starts with true understanding.

They also know that when you really want to love somebody and you take the time out to understand what that person is going through and feeling, what that person's aspirations and dreams are, it's a time-consuming effort. It takes time and dedication to understand, and it takes understanding to love. It takes understanding and time to practice loving-kindness or benevolence.

Buddhists believe that the second element of true love is karuna, which translates into compassion. By that, they mean a sincere desire to ease the suffering or the pain of others. In English, we can think of it as having the capacity to feel empathy for another person in a loving and truly encouraging way.

Compassion also requires a certain amount of understanding of that person's situation or a working knowledge of what that person is going through. It requires a deep, meditative, reflective time to really think about the other person, to really work and practice in applying our love toward this person by trying to serve him or her, by understanding, by having a working knowledge.

In that way, we go to the third element of true love. Buddhists believe that the third element of true love is mudita, or joy. They believe that a sincere desire to understand what true love is all about necessitates an attitude of happiness or joy. This joy is incredibly important because if we are always suffering, if our spouse is always crying, if we are always fighting, we will never be able to experience true love.

But we can change our perceptions, and by changing our perceptions, we can change our attitudes. Changing our attitudes can change our behaviors; by changing our behavior, our general outlook can be changed. We've all heard the example of looking at a glass with water at the halfway point: We can perceive the glass as half empty or half full. We can have the attitude, "Oh, I'm not happy because it's not full." Or "I'm grateful because it's half full."

We can modify our behavior, the behavior of gratitude versus complaining. Then we can modify our outlook, our general understanding, and our general appreciation for life. Our negativity toward life starts with a simple decision of looking at something in a certain way.

So the thought that the Buddhists are encouraging when we're thinking about true love is that we need to celebrate. We need to be joyful. We need to understand the common humanity that makes us who we are. We all understand pain. We all understand suffering. There is not one person sitting here in the congregation who has not shed a tear. We know what that's like. But also in a life of faith, in a life that practices true love, it's also important to be joyful. It's important to laugh; it's important to celebrate.

And that leads us to the fourth element in the Buddhist understanding of what true love is all about, and that is upekkha, which translates to equanimity or freedom. When we utter the word equanimity, what we're talking about is an evenness of temper, and evenness of spirit, something that is consistent, something that you know is always there.

When we think about freedom in the context of true love, we have true freedom in our relationships with our spouses, with our brothers and sisters, with our True Parents, with our parents. When we have given our trust to each other, when we've entrusted our hearts to each other, then we can truly be free to express what we're going through, what we're feeling. We don't have to be afraid of the repercussions in leaving ourselves vulnerable to the people whom we love. We have the freedom to be who we are, which is beautiful sons and daughters of God.

So when we read through the four elements of the Buddhist understanding of true love, we realize that these are all the qualities that parents would naturally come to embody because they have the experience of what it is to be a parent, to raise a child, to raise a family. The wonderful thing about our True Parents is that they bring to us an opportunity to graft onto the original olive branch and to substantiate an ideal family for ourselves. Within the context of the family, we can experience what it is to be like God because God is our Heavenly Parent and God loves us as his children.

So when we become parents to our own children, we can understand how much God loves us. When we become parents ourselves, we love each and every munchkin with all our heart and with all our soul, do we not?

When we have a parental heart, the parental heart of True Parents, following the simple guidelines that the Buddhists offer in their faith -- of benevolence, compassion, joy, and freedom -- then we can imagine a family that is truly supportive of each member and practicing loving-kindness toward each other.

One of the ways that we show loving-kindness can be a gesture. But a truly effective and empowering way that we can show kindness is through articulating kindness through loving words. How wonderful if in a family the children wake up and greet the parents, "Good morning, Father and Mother. Please have a wonderful day. I love you so much." And at the end before going to bed, they kiss them good-night, saying, "I am so happy that you are my parents. How lucky I am." When the children start articulating these loving, kind words, they start becoming loving and kind themselves.

If a husband and a wife coming from two different cultures can start articulating beautiful words to each other, in time they will become beautiful in their own love for each other. The way you treat your wife, not as a second-class citizen but as a daughter of God, as a divine human being, as your eternal partner, as your eternal soul mate, and the same on the part of the wife, creates an incredible circuitry, an incredible energy.

When a husband and wife start treating each other with benevolence, with loving-kindness, then whenever they are confronted with a difficult situation, they will have the room in their hearts to be empathetic with each other. So maybe a husband comes home after a really tough day at the office and is in the midst of his venting when he walks in the front door. A loving wife will be a compassionate wife, understanding that the venting is not directed toward her and that she has within her hands the power to love and change that venting into words of love through her own joy.

A husband and wife or a brother or sister should recognize the importance of practicing joy, that not only should we suffer and work hard together but that we should have a good time. I think this is highly pertinent for Asian families because I come from an Asian culture. In an Asian culture, it's not highly encouraged for the parents to frolic with the children or to engage in conversations with the children, let alone spend time with the children. It's a very vertical relationship, almost like a teacher and a student.

But if we can approach life with a joyful heart, wanting to celebrate each other in our time, the children can understand love not through suffering and not through a painful situation but through sharing laughter, through sharing joy, through celebration. When we are engaged in a religious life and we think that we have to sacrifice everything for our Heavenly Parent, it does not mean dying for the sake of others. We have to live. We have to enjoy our children, and we have to allow them to enjoy us as parents. We have to put our pride away and have that conversation, that meaningful conversation that will embolden our child to go out into the world with the confidence of being a son or daughter of God who can accomplish great things. This starts with a joyful heart and experiences of laughter and happiness in the family.

Then we can go on to practice what the Buddhist understanding calls freedom. Many times I think we as parents, wanting to raise children in this life of faith, really are afraid of the word freedom. But if we really love each other and if we really trust each other, there are times when as parents we must be willing to let go of our children. In our so doing, by trusting our children and by letting go, they will feel the weight of our love and our trust, and they will rise up to the challenge and be those trustworthy sons or daughters who will feel so empowered because the parents believe in them. So they will go out into the world and become great men and women.

I've seen many instances in a spousal relationship when the husband or the wife is so afraid of the outside world that they feel the only way they can be a successful, loving couple is through total control. I've seen instances when the husband cannot do anything without the wife's permission. I've seen instances when the wife, knowing that the husband is in a meeting, is calling and saying, "Come home right now. Now." Every five minutes, "Now." If the wife doesn't have the heart to understand that maybe the meeting that's going a little too late is a very important one and the husband has a responsibility there that he has to execute, and she's just enforcing her divine right as a wife to say, "You come home now," that is not a relationship where there is true love, where there is true freedom.

When we have true love, there are no boundaries. You can go anywhere. You can do anything. You can be anything, and nothing will change. So we have to start believing in each other. We have to allow each other room to grow. We have to understand that when God gives this wonderful person to us in our keeping, the relationship is not a possession. It's not something you control. It's something that you honor; it's something that you nurture; it's something that you serve in living for the sake of others.

That's why, if you really think about it, the philosophy of living for the sake of others is a very profound one. When you live for the sake of others, you have to make a conscious decision in your mind that there is something called the other outside yourself. You have to be cognizant of the other in your life. By allowing your consciousness to be cognizant of this thing called the other, then you realize that me, myself, and I is not the most important thing in the world. By concentrating on something other than yourself, you have the desire and the need to start practicing benevolence, compassion, joy, and freedom.

If we really think about our lives as true Unificationists and our philosophy as living for the sake of others, it's really not about us; it's really not about just the individual. It's really about honoring the divine within that is part of God. When we fulfill our destinies, we honor God first; in so doing, naturally we honor ourselves and our lives.

When we live in honor of the others in our lives -- our parents, our brothers and sisters, our worldwide community -- then the I does not become so important. The walls of pride fall away and we realize that the only thing that we really need to concentrate on is running to our Heavenly Parent each and every day and living our lives as a living prayer. Every day is a living prayer.

If we can rejoice in the Lord and practice this thing called true love, then we can give of ourselves and with everything honor our God up in heaven, honor our True Parents, and thus honor our own lives.

When you think about these four elements in the Buddhist understanding of what true love is all about, the most important message that they teach us is, "I will be present. I will be there for you." In our different relationships, we many times express to each other, "I love you." What does "I love you" mean? How does "I love you" get expressed through our articulation or through our behavior in our daily lives? I believe that if you really love somebody and you're gazing into the eyes of somebody that you want to say "I love you" to, what you are expressing is the message "I will be there for you."

That's the message that our Heavenly Parent has been saying all along to his children. Our Heavenly Parent is always there for us, no matter what, no matter what we are doing, no matter what we are going through. Our Heavenly Father and Mother are always there. And the great thing about our True Parents is they are telling us the same thing. They will always be there for us, wishing us well, empowering us to do better, and emboldening us to be great men and women of God.

If we are successful parents ourselves, that's the most important message we can give to our spouse, "I will be there for you," absolutely, eternally, unchangingly. It's the most important message we can convey to our children.

For the First Generation and parents who are going through some difficulty with their children because perhaps they might be in a rebellious phase, this is the time when we can say to our children, "I will be there for you, no matter what." It's that sense of security, that sense of comfort, that is going to empower our children to do great things.

If siblings can say that to one another, how wonderful would that family be? And in a wider context, if different religions can say to one another, "I will be there for you," meaning, "I will love you," meaning, "I will honor your tradition; I will celebrate together with you the beauty of our Heavenly Parent," how wonderful would it be?

The completion stage of the Unification Peace Temple is an incredible opportunity to take part in the actual building of the temple. This is a wonderful opportunity for each and every one of us to participate, to donate, and to have our names engraved in the peace temple that represents all the world's religions in one place. We will have an Islamic mosque; we will have a Catholic service; we will have the Jewish tradition represented; we will have the Unification Church. How wonderful would it be if we as Unificationists, if we as proud Americans, can contribute in the building of this wonderful symbol of unity?

The Bible says that Christ came to make the word flesh. The messiah comes again to substantiate the promise of God that he made to his people a long time ago. Our True Parents have come, and they have declared that they have come to unite all religions. Right now we are actively participating in the making of that dream. That dream already has an intermediate temple built, and we are well on our way toward the third temple.

Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you participate. Be a positive and an active agent of change in our lives. Be an active and participating agent of change in the world by contributing to the building of this great temple that symbolizes the unity of all religions. Especially when I recite my father's quote that I shared with you earlier, I'm reminded of the date September 11, even though that speech was given in 1972. On our shores we suffered what happens when religions start fighting among themselves, when we start looking at each other as enemies and with eyes of hatred.

When Father witnessed the September 11 occurrence here, and New York was hard-hit, one of the things he said to the family was, "New York needs to be a symbol of unity of world religions." He said, "If you construct a tower in the very spot where the twin towers were destroyed, it will still continue to be a target for terrorist activity because it's not representing anything else than what it was." The terrorist groups see America as a superficial country, as a country that is high on commercialization, having no faith, an arrogant country that thinks it is the greatest superpower in the world.

The higher and the greater America is, the more humble Americans need to be. Imagine for a minute if the building were built in honor of world religions. Imagine if the first three floors were transformed into a museum where a mosque was represented, where Jesus was represented, where the Jewish tradition was represented, as well as all the different religions. Then it would be a terrorist target no longer because everyone would feel represented in some way: maybe not the extremes, but somehow represented, in that America recognizes different cultures, recognizes different traditions, and it aspires to do something great -- to create and substantiate a peaceful world. Such a building would be a symbol of peace, a symbol of united love.

When my family is engaged in the creation of this temple, that is exactly what we are trying to do. It's going to be a symbol and a call for unity, something that encourages everyone to work together because we are all sons and daughters of God.

Brothers and sisters, on this Sunday back with you after three weeks, I am delighted to be here with you once again. But I am here to remind all of you, myself included, that this is not just another day. This is an incredible time. We are walking, breathing, and living at the same time as our True Parents. As they unveil all their plans for humanity in encouraging us to work together, in encouraging us to build healthy, strong families, we need to be right there with them spreading the good news, spreading the breaking news, should we not?

So please have a great Sunday and a great week. Please continue to be that natural witness for our Heavenly Parent and our True Parents, and God bless. 

Rev. Angelika Selle's Appointment as the new Chairwoman for WFWP USA

In Jin Moon
February 27, 2010

NHQ20100227 No. 2

To: District Directors, State Leaders, Blessed Central Families
From: Reverend In Jin Moon - President and CEO HSA-UWC, FFWPU – USA
Re: Rev. Angelika Selle's Appointment as the new Chairwoman for WFWP USA
Date: February 27th, 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May the love and blessing of our Heavenly Parent and our True Parents be with you and with your families.

I am very pleased to announce that True Parents have approved the appointment of Rev. Angelika Selle as the new Chairwoman for WFWP USA. Rev. Selle has been serving our church community in the Washington, D.C. and Maryland area as the pastor of the New Hope Family Church for several years. She is a woman of great passion and prayer, as well as a wonderful wife and mother. We are truly grateful that she has consented to accept this very important role, especially as we enter into the final three years of Cheon Il Guk, under our True Parents' guidance.

We are extremely grateful to Mrs. Alexa Ward who has successfully guided the development of WFWP in America over the past ten years and has served with great commitment and dedication on the international level of WFWP as well. During her time as WFWP Chairwoman, Mrs. Ward built a solid foundation of membership and active chapters across America. Mrs. Ward has faithfully served True Parents in this mission. Mrs Angelika Selle will be travelling to Korea to attend the Special 40-Day International Leadership Workshop. She is very excited to take WFWP to a new level, building on the foundation of Mrs. Alexa Ward, and create a professional women's organization that can support women to fulfill their unique role as leaders in society, as well as in the home.

Please join me in thanking Mrs. Ward and in welcoming Mrs. Selle to her new position as WFWP USA Chairwoman.

May God bless you.

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

True God's Day Ceremony in Korea (1.1.2010 of the Cheon Il Guk Calendar)

In Jin Moon
February 14, 2010

True God's Day and the 9th Anniversary of the Coronation Ceremony of God's Kingship (1.1.2010 of the Cheon Il Guk Calendar)

On February 14, 2010, which is Jan. 1st, 2010 by lunar calendar, the True family and 2500 participants, including leaders and members from all over the world, gathered together in the auditorium of Cheon Jung Gung in Chung Pyung, South Korea, to celebrate the 43rd True God's Day and the 9th Anniversary of the Coronation Ceremony for God's Kingship

Dr. Joon Ho Seuk, the president of the Unification Church in Korea, was the MC for this occasion. Before the event began, Dr. Seuk announced the initiation of a new calendar, titled chun reok, the Heavenly Calendar, which would start this year for Cheon Il Guk. According to True Parents, there is no more use of the solar or lunar calendar, but instead the calendar of "chun reok" should be used. Because of this he emphasized that this was a historical day for the starting of the 10th year of Cheon Il Guk, and the new year (1.1) of chun reok.

In anticipation, attendees began to sing Holy Song, "Blessing of Glory", which is also known as the Cheon Il Guk Anthem, as they waited for the event to start.

True Family entered the room exactly at 8am, and only a few minutes later True Parents entered, wearing han-bok (traditional Korean robes). At this moment, everyone in the room rose to their feet and greeted True Parents with applause.

After True Parents lit holy candles and the cake was cut, everyone present on this occasion offered official bows to True Parents. After this, Dr. Seuk declared the start of the event.

The family pledge was then recited, followed by an opening prayer given by Hyung Jin Nim, Unification Church International president. After his prayer, a video of the 43rd True God's Day and 9th Coronation of Kingship ceremony held on Jan. 1st 2010 (by solar calendar) was shown to the audience. Everyone reverently watched the video that was shown. Next, a Japanese sister Kiyo Irasawa offered an opera song (don't know the title).

Next, Hoon Dok Hae began, which was shared by Peter Kim who read True Father's words from the 1st True God's Day ceremony held at the Korean Headquarters church in Cheong Pa Dong, Seoul on Jan. 1st 1968(solar).

After Hoon Dok Hae, True Parents awarded those who were able to distribute 430 of True Father's autobiographies. The awardees were Jin Hyung Lee and Eu Jin Go (husband and wife). Each of them had distributed 430 of True Father's autobiographies. True Parents gave their family a calligraphy which said "Congratulations on the completion of the distribution of 430 True Father's autobiography" along with an award certificate, crystal, and a copy of True Father's autobiography signed by True Parents. The family was also honored with the opportunity to take a picture with True Parents on this morning.

After the award, True Father's speech started, which was a video shown of True Father speaking at the Palace of Heavenly Harmony in Las Vegas, Chun Hwa Gung, on Jan 19th-20th, on an airplane ride on Jan. 23rd, and during Hoon Dok Hae in Chun Jung Gung on Feb. 7th.

Next, True Parents asked some True Family members to sing a song for the audience, and then finished by singing a song together with them at the end.

To conclude the event, attendees did the three cheers of Eog-Mansei and offered a bow to True Parents. 

Celebrating the 43rd True God's Day on February 14th

In Jin Moon
February 8, 2010

NHQ20100208 No. 1

To: District Directors, State Leaders, Blessed Central Families, all Members
From: Reverend In Jin Moon, Dr. Chang Shik Yang, Reverend Joshua Cotter
Re: Celebrating the 43rd True God's Day on February 14th
Date: February 8th, 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

May God and True Parents' blessings and love be with all of your families.

In accordance with our True Parents' direction, we will be celebrating the 43rd True God's Day on February 14 (1st day of the 1st month on the lunar calendar) and True Parents' Birthday (True Father will be 90, True Mother will be 67) on February 19 (6th day of the 1st month on the lunar calendar). In Korea a number of events to be held over the course of six days (including the Holy Blessing) are being prepared by the staff at Cheon Bok Gung and the Korean Headquarters to commemorate these occasions. Many among our national leadership and Ambassadors for Peace will be attending from America.

During the 43rd True God's Day celebration on January 1 of this year, True Father spoke about 'uniting the solar and lunar calendars and using a single calendar.' On January 8 True Parents gave instructions to celebrate the eight Holy Days and all church holidays according to the lunar calendar, starting from January 1 on the lunar calendar, which is February 14 on the solar calendar. On January 8 True Father also spoke about this 6-day celebration period from January 1-6 (lunar calendar) saying, "This period will be a time for a festival to celebrate and commemorate True Parents' Birthday. It represents the 6-day period that was required for God's creation of the heavens and the earth and a period that completer the providence of re-creation through which Cain and Abel can be reconciled centering on the True Parents of Heaven, Earth and Humankind, the King of Kings. A new beginning will be made on the 7th day, following this 6-day period."

Brothers and sisters, this is a time for all of our families to make a new beginning, offering conditions that can bring us closer in heart to our Heavenly Parent and to our True Parents. I would also like to ask you to pray about and consider making an offering from your family, in the form of a financial donation, in honor of True Parents' Birthday. This donation should come from your heart (with the amount to be determined by you) out of your desire to honor and attend our True Parents on this great occasion. I expect and hope that every family would want to make some offering at this time.

You may make your offering through your local church, making your checks payable to HSA-UWC. We have just a over a week before the celebration of True Parents' Birthday, so I urge you to act quickly. You may let your local pastor know the amount that you want to pledge to give, in the event that it is difficult for you to give your donation this week.

Let us earnestly pray for and lift up our True Parents, honoring them for all that they have done and continue to do for God, for humanity and for each of us. And let us truly bring joy to them by celebrating True God's Day and True Parents' Birthday with our whole heart, as one family.

May God bless you.