Sun Myung Moon
September 11, 1977
Belvedere, New York
Translator - Bo Hi Pak
I am very happy to see all of you again after being away for 70 days. When you are separated from someone, you long for them the most if there is a common purpose or goal between you. Then you both yearn to see each other and look forward to the day of reunion. I am Korean and you are Americans and we come from the opposite ends of the world. There must be a providential purpose linking the two extremes of East and West; otherwise, you would not miss me and I would not miss you and we would not look forward to meeting each other again.
To the ordinary person it may seem as if the vast ocean is one stationary body of water. Actually the ocean is continually in motion, with cold currents and warm currents running their separate courses and colliding at certain points. All kinds of movement can be found in the ocean. The tides come in and go out twice a day and tidal flows all over the globe are linked together.
Beneath the ocean's surface are a great variety of fish, which are influenced by the currents and the tidal waters. Very often many fish gather where the warm and cold currents collide, creating certain areas famous for fishing such as the northern part of the US near Boston and northern Europe. Different types of fish live in fresh or salt water, but at spawning time certain species go to an estuary, where the fresh water and salt water flow together, to lay their eggs.
It is very intriguing and even mystical to see how the places and times of meeting and coming together are very important to all forms of life. For instance, the ancient cultures such as developed in Greece and Rome without exception began to grow at places where land and water meet. No early human civilization could prosper apart from a river or the sea.
It is universal power that pushes two extremes together for a greater purpose
When the distance between two parts is extreme there is always greater joy, emotion and drama involved in their reunion than if they had not experienced such extreme separation. I came from a land on the other side of the globe, a land that many Americans drink of as being a remote country. In their minds they still envision Korea as being ravaged by war. It is as if the U.S. was on the pinnacle of a mountain while Korea was in the depths of a valley. That is why many people cannot understand how a man from Korea can attract such attention in a nation which stands at the pinnacle of modern-day culture.
In the vast ocean a tremendous variety of things happen when the warm and cold currents meet. When we gather together we are like five kinds of ocean currents flowing into the same area and extraordinary things can happen as a result. It is not my will or your will but some providential will that makes this so. There must be a universal power that pushes two extremes to unite for a greater purpose.
Exciting music is not made with just one or two tones, but with tones which range from high to low and with a variety of instruments. That blending of extremes makes exciting music. At the same time, one instrument alone cannot create excitement. In order to make the drums exciting the drummer has to combine many motions and gestures as well as rhythms. The violin combines different extremes, using thin strings to create very feminine, beautiful sounds. The beauty of the violin is that even though it has only a few strings, it is possible to produce extreme variation in sound.
The union of people from the East and West can be compared to playing the violin; Westerners are like the low notes of a violin while Asians are like the high notes. Americans walk with a long, swinging stride, like King Kong, but the Japanese walk lightly, taking small steps. More excitement is created when the two extremes unite to make one harmonized picture. We do not use the word harmony to describe primarily the unity of similar things. The most moving, beautiful harmony is created when extremes come together. The value of harmony lies in this unity.
What color flowers do you like? Everyone has a different preference. If everyone liked only the color yellow, however, then everything in the entire world would soon be yellow, with yellow clothes and even yellow lipstick. The result would be a mad, mad world of yellow! The blending together of all kinds of colors can be interpreted and understood in many different ways; it is a universal mystery. When you can see your feelings reflected in different ways you never tire of such beauty.
In just one person you can see many different colors; Bo Hi Pak, for instance, has black hair and a tanned forehead and a gray suit. Women always wear ornaments to enhance their appearance, but they don't wear everything of the same color. When they wear red they want to wear some jewelry that matches, something of a different color that harmonizes.
Would everyone without exception like to have blue eyes? How about having a blue tongue or blue skin and teeth? Why did God give blue eyes to some people? The people who have white skin, high noses and blonde hair need some contrast, so God gave them blue eyes, like two little ponds. Because American noses are so high their eyes are very deep; you have to peer in several miles to see their eyes! If they had black eyes at the bottom of such deep wells they would look fearful, almost evil in a way. Having lighter color eyes creates beauty and harmony in a much more dramatic way.
Imagine a person laughing whose teeth were all black. He would look like a monster! When you examine the creation you know that God is really an artist, and that no better harmony could have been created. Everything is interestingly blended, with people having precisely the features which would harmonize with a certain color face.
One action may have two entirely different meanings. Imagine a person whose mouth was always open. You would usually think that something was wrong with that person, that he was out of his mind. But that person might be intoxicated by some magnificent emotion or some tremendous shock. Laughing and crying change your features in similar ways, but one expresses joy and the other sorrow.
Light is always created at the boundary when two things meet in harmony. Why should people from one culture follow someone from an extremely different culture? Why have you Americans come to the Unification Church, which was founded by a man from Asia? You are here to unite the universal beauty of the two extremes of East and West together into one harmonized culture. When two great cultures meet to form harmony, turmoil is inevitable at first. When a flowing stream hits the rocks in its path disturbances are created. It goes through many convolutions, splashing over rocks and churning at the bottom of a waterfall, but that does not alter its destiny. All streams eventually join the mainstream which flows to the oceans. All water is connected to the same source and flows to the same destination. In the same way many parents are currently opposing the Unification Church, but the day will come when they will join the mainstream, just as all running water eventually does.
There is tremendous variety and purity of creation in the mountains, and the water from mountain streams is also very healthy. Mountain water absorbs essences from the varieties of creation found there, but rivers which run through the plains and flat lands, like the Mississippi or Nile, have no clean taste or special characteristics. Every pebble on the bottom of a mountain creek, every weed and every leaf play an important part in harmonizing the entire environment. When looked at from this viewpoint everything becomes more beautiful. The running streams which start in the depths of the mountains will never make you sick, no matter how much you drink. Mountain animals drink the pure water and breathe clean air all the time so they are strong and healthy.
Everything that I am speaking of comes down to one simple word: harmony. The ideal world is not a world of uniformity and regimentation but a world of harmony in which each person plays a distinctive role. It is not one species alone which creates the grandeur of the mountains. They are made beautiful in part by the infinite variety of the trees, some gigantic, some crooked, and of all different shades and hues.
Cultures must partake of both the pinnacle and the valley
Why do we meet here? Why do we need to create harmony? I have a reason for selecting the topic of today's sermon as "The Heart of Reunion." External unity itself has shallow meaning, and I want you to appreciate the fact that there must be deep meaning and love in our gathering together. There are all kinds of subjects to study in our world, but I think the study of harmony is the most important. After being educated in the "Department of Harmony" would you want to marry within your own cultural and racial background?
White and black people live together here in America but have they created perfect harmony in this land? Who is responsible for that lack of harmony, white people or black people? Be honest and frank. I agree with your answer that basically white people have been responsible for that. Even though God meant for harmony to exist when he put two extremes together, there is little harmony among the races here in America. The white people must take primary responsibility for the lack of harmony in this country,
At high noon the sun is bright but even at that moment the sun is moving towards the opposite extreme of midnight. In living you must be willing to go through the darkness of midnight to arrive at the high noon of the next day. The Western culture is primarily a white culture, and in general white people think of themselves as superior to the black and yellow people. Westerners think of their culture as being self-sufficient, but that is comparable to refusing to go through midnight; the sun cannot always remain at high noon. The Western culture will never see broad daylight again unless there is unity. When Westerners can be broadened by absorbing elements from other cultures, a new day will dawn and there will be the glorious prosperity of another high noon.
The cultures which can go from the pinnacle to the valley and vice versa are closer to perfect harmony than those which never change their positions. The Greek and Roman empires thought they could stay on the pinnacle forever. They had no intuition that they would be destroyed, but now their civilizations are gone. Today the Western culture is enjoying being on the pinnacle, but this civilization will also terminate unless it seeks the valley. This is a universal law and no one can escape it.
The key to the continuing prosperity of the cultures is harmony but a harmonizer is needed, someone who can bring unity between two extremes. That unity cannot be accomplished all at once, but will require time. It is logical that a yellow man would be the mediator between black and white. Because God needed such a mediator He asked me to come to America to heal the rift between white and black. It is the white people who have been rejecting me while the black people have embraced me. That does not mean that God is showing special favor to the blacks alone, however. That phenomenon will help to save the white people by giving them another chance to transcend the barrier of race.
White people feel threatened by two things primarily: the power of communism and the increasing power of the yellow race. When Western leaders look at me and at our movement they wonder whether I am a communist or the leader of some yellow menace and they easily feel suspicious. But an even more formidable enemy would be the yellow race mobilized by the communist influence. America is obviously fearful of Red China, and the American government policy makers are in effect trying to charm the Chinese leaders.
Why should America, only 200 years old but the mightiest nation on earth, be so intimidated by Red China, whose present form of government is less than 30 years old? Anyone who is aware of world affairs can sense a threat to the Western world from the Asian communist powers.
I may be from Asia but the position I take is opposite the communist stand. The Asian communists say that there is no God, but I proclaim that there is a God and that He is our Father. Instead of supporting communism I have come to the West to educate the young people about God. The communist Chinese declare that the yellow race has unjustly suffered because of the white race and that the oppressed people of the world should now unite under communism to conquer the world. I declare that we cannot allow that to happen and that our solution instead is to unite all the races together under one common parent, God; that will be the governing power of the world.
Two powers within the yellow race are confronting each other in a fierce battle. One, the Asian communists, wants to swallow up the West, while the other, our Unification Church forces, wants to defend the West from that menace. I have come to this country for a purpose which is like filling a container with everything necessary to accomplish that mission. Once everything necessary is gathered, that container will overflow and then nothing will be able to stop us from defending the West. The power that is gathered will certainly not be for yellow people alone but for the salvation of the Western culture and all races of mankind, coming together as one gigantic river more powerful than Niagara Falls. We are building up that stream, starting out like a small creek and building into a big river.
The seasons of history
In what direction should the Unification Church go? We must move to the extremes. If we are in a high place we must head toward the lowest place and work there. If we are in the lowest position we must head toward the highest position. In America, the Unification Church is in the lowest position. We should be ready to aim as high as possible and move America back to God. It is realistically beginning to happen this year. Eventually we will not be on the bottom but will find ourselves way on top.
Where should we go after that? To Moscow! The tropical waters of the earth are slowly fuming toward the North Pole, while at the same time the waters of the northern areas are heading toward the warm areas. The ancient cultures were found in semi-tropical climates-for instance, Egypt by the Nile River and Greece by the Mediterranean. The present nations leading the free world are found in the temperate climates, however. The trend of history is inclining toward the cold weather zone, with a northern power like. the Soviet Union determined to dominate the world and cover it like a blizzard.
The Garden of Eden was located in the tropical zone, which can be compared to spring. Human civilization eventually spread to cooler climates comparable to autumn, and now has penetrated the coldest, most winter-like areas. History has entered the autumn, and just as winter's winds blow the last leaves from the trees, the cold wind of communism is being felt in this autumn culture. But at the same time, autumn represents the harvest when new seeds enfold the promise of a new generation. Now the leaves of the old culture are falling, but at the same time we are harvesting the seeds of a new culture.
I want you to know that this trend of human civilization precisely parallels the patterns of restoration. The seed is protected by its hull and cannot be destroyed by weather. It is protected until the new day arrives. Who will greet spring when it arrives? The seed is the only element that can go through the hard cold winter to start new life in the spring. This is not my theory at all but an historical principle.
The new way of life will not be contaminated by either the communist ideology or democracy. In other words, the seed will not be affected by any of the four seasons. Where can we find the ideology which can be that seed? The Unification Church has the ideology, and you will be the seeds that shall survive the severest weather to meet the spring. Have you ever before thought about yourself as being a seed?
You are just starting to think that way. If you are absolutely convinced that you can cultivate that seed then this is an historical event. This concept is so gigantic and the reality is so soaring that once you deeply realize your position, you would feel as if you have been struck by lightening. I know you have never imagined that such gigantic things are happening.
Like seeds forming, you must absorb elements from all races and cultures
Today's Western culture is equivalent to the autumn season. No matter how much you may want to delay winter's arrival, its coming is inevitable. Even now winter is knocking at the door and in order to be a fruitful seed, the Unification Church needs a shell of discipline and training that will enable it to survive under any circumstances. In the summertime people go to cool places on their vacation and in the wintertime they go to warm places like Miami Beach, trying to escape the cold weather. But Unification Church members do the opposite; we meet the seasons head on and conquer them. That is our way of life. Your living that way is a manifestation of formidable spiritual power. The degree to which the American people say you are brainwashed is a measure of your conviction.
You know you will go through winter but you must also envision spring's coming. Your job is to make yourself a solid seed so that when the spring comes God will cast you on very fertile ground and you will be fruitful. Are you ready to be tested by the cold weather of communism? Could you withstand torture by people who want you to recant your faith? If you are that strong, the fallen world will call you a problem child because no one will be able to bend you; but in studying the trends of history it is obvious that people like us must inevitably appear. The existence of the Unification Church is not an accident but the fruit of history.
We are thankful to be chosen for this job because we have the hope that after the cold weather of communism passes a new world will be born and spring will come. That is the day our hope shall be realized. The winter is never permanent. By gathering together people from all races and cultures we are trying to exchange each other's indestructible elements in order to arm ourselves to overcome any circumstance. We can never be destroyed if we are trained for survival.
In order to become one solid seed, you must draw energy and nutrients from all elements: the soil, water and sun's rays. All year round a seed is gathering the elements it needs. Do you white people still have some feeling of separateness from black or yellow people? Do you black people feel resentment towards whites, even after learning the Principle? Unless each of you can draw good elements from the others you cannot survive to grow in the springtime. The whole point is how to create one indestructible seed. When the spring culture of the ideal world comes I would like to name it "choon wha," which means "one central harmony" or "central peace." Are you ready to become the essence of the central harmony?
Our contribution is to knit all mankind together with the love of God
History is advancing toward one spring culture of the Kingdom of God on earth. That is the ultimate goal of human history. You are supposed to be the seed that will grow in that springtime, but where does a seed come from? God is the ultimate origin or root from which each seed grows. You are the seeds of God, created through the process of love, and two gigantic loves are essential for your life and must be harmonized within you-love of humanity and the love of God.
Love must always freely move into the center and then back out to the world. Love is not stationary but flowing all the time. The center of that circling movement is the Messiah; in occupying that position he channels the heavenly love so that you can transmit it on a horizontal level.
Throughout history man has thought that the ideal society with perfect love between man and God and man and man was only a dream, but the Messiah shall make the dream a reality. The Unification Church is born for that purpose and we can attain that goal. The greatest contribution we can make to the world is to knit all of mankind together with the love of God. Throughout history there has always been conflict between North and South, East and West, not just between nations but within families and on every level of society. Historically unity has proved to be an impossible task but I am striving for that today.
Even on the small peninsula of Korea the Southerners and Northerners have a sense of different identity and have had animosity toward each other throughout their history. Even in our church, when a southern man and a northern woman were blessed together they were like two knights ready for battle. When they initially confronted each other with animosity their families were also hostile, but as their relationship became happier their joy naturally influenced their surroundings and their relatives. Now their hearts have been melted and they are united as one family.
Initially there was a great deal of criticism of our mass weddings in Korea, but now many Korean young people anticipate becoming part of one such wedding. Even non-members feel a great deal of excitement. There was also violent opposition in Japan when our members were married apart from the usual traditions, but now the parents have seen how happy their sons and daughters are and how beautiful they are together. Parents have even said there must some magic to those mass weddings to make those people so happy.
Americans think you are just foolish young people but wider acceptance of our movement will come when people see the fruit of the Principle. The quickest way to unite mankind into one family is by intermarriage of the different races. The movement which can elevate such marriages will inevitably bring harmony and unity to the world, without war or conflict. In the future more and more Americans will seek international marriages uniting the different nations and races; these will bring honor not shame.
To accomplish this gigantic historical task, you must discover the extraordinary power of love, love that does not become the circumstantial victim of society. Supreme love transcends every national, racial and cultural barrier. People have always talked about love but human love alone will never accomplish the task of universal unity. Therefore, the Unification Church rallies around one love, the love and heart of God. We are the first group in history to talk about the heart of God.
If it is really true that we know the heart of God then we are like the sun rising in the morning and no one can ever stop us. Furthermore, the brightness of that morning sun shall brighten the entire world. There will be one center of heart here on earth, linking all mankind to the heart of God, spreading all over the world and constantly pulsing through the action of give and take, unable to stay in just one place.
Love is the best of everything in all the universe
Your whole purpose for reaching the center is to meet the heart of God. That experience is so overwhelming and exciting that you cannot disappear there forever, but must emerge again to embrace your family, society, nation and world. As you touch each of those areas you will always leave a bit of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is the joy in the heart of reunion. The East and West are meeting here today, not merely because we want to see each other for personal reasons but because the heart of God is linking us together into one. Words cannot describe that heart too well for it is beyond words. Intuitively you can understand; that something is what warmed your hearts and brought you here today.
If the heart of God is not moving within your heart then you feel empty, even though you may be a member of the Unification Church. Once the invisible but powerful axis of the heart of God is moved out of you, everything becomes empty. Once the heart of God dwells within you, no matter how lonely you may be you will be filled and the universe will be filled. A person who is completely filled is a joyful person because he lacks nothing.
Once you have felt the heart of God you feel that you cannot survive if it should ever leave you, and until you are reunited with God's heart you feel lifeless. Often a child will dearly love his mother and want to be home just to be with her. If he runs home one day and finds all his brothers and sisters home but his mother gone, then he will grumble and say, "Nobody is home." Everyone else may be there, but if his mother is gone then to him it seems that nobody is home.
If there is a center of love then you can give love unselfishly and without limit and you can become a subject of love. When you give out of the fullness of this love, you multiply love and can realize the ideal. Love transcends distance and time.
The speed of light is nothing compared to the speed of love; you have no idea how fast love travels. Love is fastest, brightest, fullest and sweetest. Love is the best of everything in all the universe. Only through the power of love can this miracle occur, not through bullets or threats. The Unification Church's philosophy and conviction are connected to the center of the universe &-the heart of God. We shall become the shining examples of that love and heart. I want you to realize that each of you can possess the highest thing, the brightest thing, the sweetest thing and the fullest thing.
What kind of mood were you in when you carne here this morning? Did you want to get here quickly or did you grumble that you needed more sleep? Why did you miss my ugly face? I didn't bring you any gifts from Boston.
You came because you can feel a special power of love when you are around me and you want to receive it. But you can manifest and give that love too, right? Love cannot be seen but it can be felt. When the True Parents are not present it feels as if nobody is home, doesn't it? As soon as I walk into a room, the room is filled. Although I am the same kind of person as you, this is true because I devote my entire life to receiving the heart of God.
Anyone who is strongly connected to God can become a life-giving object, even though that life is not visible to the human eye. You may not become a sun, but you can at least become a lighthouse in the dark. When you first started selling newspapers I'm sure you were scoffed at, but now if you don't appear in your area each day there are people who miss you. You have become a lighthouse already.
You must have the faith and conviction that you are a lighthouse lighting a dark world. The lighthouse will shine forth even in the worst kind of weather because that is the time ships need the lighthouse most. When you are surrounded by the thickest fog you must shine forth all the more. The more adversity, the greater must be your light.
I have now set the fishing tradition
I have become a legend in the Gloucester area; the newspaper there wrote several articles about our fishing and we were a topic of conversation for the whole town. Hundreds of boats come every year from all over to fish in that particular area; when the New Hope put out to sea and dropped anchor then often many other boats would follow and anchor in the vicinity. When we had a tuna strike then other fishermen would bring out their binoculars to watch what I was doing. At first the negative people would want the tuna to break loose and escape, but after a few days of successful catches they began to change their thinking and the rumor began that I have something good working for me.
I was always the first one out to sea. Some of the seasoned professional fishermen would go out early to outdo me but no matter how early they got out the New Hope was already there. The fishermen were not only inspired by this but when they tried to compete with me they had to work so hard that they had no time for their usual drinking or laziness. By the end of the summer a rumor was going around that declining town that I am the only one who can save Gloucester.
Without any exception I got up every day at 3 a.m. The New Hope went out in the moonlight and in many cases returned home with the stars and moon shining. Do you like to get up early in the morning? The staff members working on the boat were never told what time to get up but since I arose at 3 they followed me, no matter how sleepy they were.
This has been my tradition for four years in America. It is not easy to follow me because no one can outwork me. My crew knows what I would do, and if I tell them to be out by 1: 30 on the Atlantic they get up and go out with no grumbling. I have even set the tradition of staying out and working all night. All night.
This summer I did not earn much in terms of money, but in terms of tradition, I earned billions of dollars worth. By following that tradition, the fishing industry in our movement will blossom and contribute much to America's entire fishing industry in days to come. Because I have now set the fishing tradition, no one will hesitate to go out to sea, even the women. If I were a coward then no one would go seriously but now people will be eager to go. There is a record of when and where I caught each fish and how big it was. In the future fishermen will be trying to challenge that record.
Even though fishing is incredibly hard work, I wanted to give myself without any reservation to set the tradition for the posterity of the Unification Church. That has been my work for the last 70 days. What would you do if I were to go out selling the News World 24 hours a day? Would you be selling 24 hours a day also? I might bring the victory if you do not.
You don't know how hard I worked in witnessing. For seven years in the early days in Korea I slept only two hours a night and day after day I spent preaching the word of God and teaching the Principle myself. Sometimes members would become drowsy and sleepy and then all of a sudden be chastised by an angel saying, "How can you sleep like this when he is working so hard day in and day out?"
I'm sure this is the first time you have heard these things. The things I ask you to do I have already done many times in the past. Now I am asking you to do the same. You have no cause to complain.
Throughout my entire life I have accumulated a wealth of experience and spiritual power and now I am bringing it all to America. When visitors come to America they usually try to take something back to their home country, but I am doing the opposite. Everything I have accumulated I want to freely give to the American people, but instead of welcoming me, America is rejecting me.
If you were not here giving me love and listening to me then I would have no more interest in America and I would leave this country. You are the ones holding me in America and you represent 240 million people. You are the hope of this country; without you America will be lost. While you are alive and strong you must let 240 million American people know that the Unification Church is a movement of reunion centering upon the word of God. Once you harness the power of the heart of God, you will have the energy to be a lightning bolt, lighting up all of America. The important thing is whether you have that explosive power in your hearts. You are now like living bombs, just waiting to be ignited and then explode, not for destruction but for salvation.
Today is a new day of reunion and this is the reunion place for the East and West and heaven and earth. The implications of this unity are vast; with this kind of heart New York is much too small to be our stage. When you reach out you must feel that New York is not large enough to hold you. Have you felt, "I am the harmonizer of heavenly culture and earthly culture. I am the focal point of love. I am a messenger of the love of God, having the infinite energy that will bring springtime to this nation."
When you live with the heart of reunion, with the heart of God and the heart of parents, constructive and creative power is generated. By having this nation as our center and all coming together as one we can truly become dynamos to create a new world culture.
There must be purpose for having reunion because otherwise no one would want to meet a second time. We must be ready to meet again after creating some achievement. This morning you should be different, making a new beginning with your heart of reunion and marching forward to the ultimate fulfillment of your goal. Those who can be different this morning, raise your hands. God bless you. Let us pray.