As we approach the historic 19th of July

Nikolaus Beutl
July 17, 2009

My dear brothers and sisters,

Soon it will be one year that the extraordinary helicopter miracle took place. I wrote 12 letters of reflection on this historic event and what we can learn from it, at which you may want to have a second look during these days as we approach the historic 19th of July. You can find them in volume number 5 of the publication Sunshine in the Heart on the pages 4 to 37 at sunshine-in-the-heart.com

At the beginning of my reflection on what we can learn from the helicopter miracle I pointed out that this event was preceded by 3 sermons which Hyung Jin Nim gave according to heaven’s guidance, relating indirectly to the content of what happened on that historic day. As this incident was one of great historic dimensions referring to 4000 years of restoration it is clear that the hand of God was present from beginning to end.

When you take the time to listen again the sermon our international president gave for the worldwide membership just one hour prior to the helicopter crash landing you can see that even the interesting story of Alex praising God for the miracles recorded in the Bible reminded us on that day that miracles do happen in God’s providence as it became once again a reality shortly afterwards.

In the Family Service on July 19, 2008 Hyung Jin Nim shared about somebody being involved in a fatal car accident and being reported as dead to his father who came to the hospital where he was relieved to find out that his son survived -- similar to the sermon two weeks earlier when Hyung Jin Nim spoke about the little child holding up the train which was about to run over that boy -- based on his Father being ready to sacrifice his own son in order to save the passengers on the train which was headed for destruction.

Our international president mentioned in his sermon also Father’s course which he went with a heroic mindset while going through incredibly painful situations, even being thrown out of prison and left for dead -- a path of most bitter trials -- and yet at the age of 89 there was one more to be overcome on that very day just one hour after his youngest son shared with the worldwide membership about Father’s indescribable path.

The topic of Hyung Jin Nim’s sermon centered on being a hero every day and soon afterwards this theme became a serious reality for the ones who were with True Parents on the helicopter flight which seemed to end in death and destruction but was turned into a miracle due to the heroic spirit of selfless sacrifice demonstrated in that crucial hour.

A victorious history was written on that day under most difficult circumstances of imminent death which could be changed into resurrection based on the heart of being ready to risk one’s own life for the sake of saving others. This spirit is an unavoidable requirement for the ones like us who have been called to contribute to God’s providence of restoration.

During Hoon Dok Hae on April 23, 2006 Father defined the three main providential ages corresponding to: “Old Testament Age, form spirit; New Testament Age, life spirit; Completed Testament Age, totally united in heart.” He said: “We should know the difference. Unless you understand this you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” He told brothers and sisters: “If there are 10 members they should be united voluntarily.”

At the time of Jesus the central call was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” while True Father emphasizes unity in order to be able to reach the precious goal of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. He asks that we are totally united in heart. Therefore we have to look at ourselves honestly and ask: With whom am I totally one in heart? How many brothers and sisters are in my life with whom I established a relationship of total oneness on the level of heart?

It is clear for us that after having been matched as husband and wife we are to love each other eternally. True Father put trinities of blessed couples/families together and we know that the ones united in a trinity should support each other wholeheartedly. But are we also aware e.g. that our True Parents organized 172 countries in groups in order to help each other in every area?

In the January/February 1993 edition of the Today's World magazine we find the list of those nations which have been decided to form Four Position Foundations on October 27, 1992, during the Kodiak (Alaska) seminar with foreign missionaries from 72 countries present. The purpose of these groups with 4 (5) nations is stated with the following words: "… to bring the world into one. In practice, the relationship among the countries is to unite and to help each other in every area."

12 central nations in God's providence have been chosen to support four countries each, e.g. for Germany the nations: Namibia, Tanzania, Cameroon and Togo. If I ask now, which are the four countries that your nation should help in every area or with whom you should work together, how many of you could name the other 3 (4) nations and tell me about the ways you are practically fulfilling this task of mutual support?

Nearly two decades have passed since that Heavenly assignment was given, so there should be a long record of international cooperation and support in every field during all those years. But what is the reality? Sadly, such a close relationship among the respective countries of the different groups with the dedication to help each other in every way is rather rare. Who among you knows good reports in this respect?

Unfortunately the record in this central task of nations uniting for the sake of world unification is not great at all. If we are not fulfilling what God asks of us as nations -- for this we are collectively responsible as members -- then how can we say that we are following our True Parents and are united with them? This is just one example concerning how poorly we are doing in general when it comes to really uniting with God's providence.

The key aspect to be realized is the fact that if we were more willing to do concretely what our True Parents ask of us, then God's Blessing would be with us abundantly. The prevailing concept and understanding of leaders is that they do not have enough resources, members and money, and therefore they cannot afford to support other nations while in reality our membership and our foundation would have grown greatly had we been ready to put into practice what we have been told by our Parents.

On April 17, 1995 True Father pointed out clearly the way for us to walk: “True Parents became the embodiment of absolute faith, absolute love, and absolute obedience, gaining victory in the severe battle they faced not only on earth but also in the spirit world. True Parents are bequeathing their victorious foundation to us. We must imitate this tradition of True Parents in practice and resemble True Parents in the way they love the world, all things, mankind and God, so that we can establish the model of an ideal nation.”

The course our True Parents went through was one of going through severe battles and therefore we cannot avoid having to walk a similar course. The more we are ready to do so the more gratefully we will accept the helping hand of a brother or sister. We will be able to go beyond the arrogance which is so deeply rooted in our souls through becoming humble and grateful rather than judging others or distancing ourselves from them internally even though they are like ourselves members of our movement, because we may have heard some bad things about them etc.

An attitude of not being ready to help my brothers and sisters actively in their efforts to support the public purpose is already a root of disunity which Satan promotes and sadly there are all too many who fall into the traps he set up even without their being aware of it. One may do many good things but by not supporting our fellow Unificationists we are sowing seeds of disunity, leading ultimately to more indemnity having to be paid on the side of the True Family.

They have already paid such an incredibly high price and still we are not really united as a worldwide movement. Therefore we really have to stop and ask ourselves what kind of people do we represent? Are we members of an organization or of a loving family? If there is love and unity lacking in our relationships, then it is because I and you did not invest more into this essential aspect.

True Father spoke on October 5, 2007 of the fact that the Unification Church needs to be overhauled and asked: “Don't remain in the midway position… From now on do not get in my way as I move towards my destination. It is God's will that you follow in line with what God desires.”

On the 7th day after a period of 40 weeks had passed from the morning Father made this request, our True Parents had to go through the helicopter crash landing. Have we been victorious in overhauling our Unification Church during this period centered on the number 40 to separate ourselves from Satan so that we will not stand any more (as a hindrance) in the way for God’s will to be fulfilled?

In order to inherit the victory of the helicopter miracle True Parents asked us to establish a new Foundation of Faith and a new Foundation of Substance. They requested that we come together to discuss our plans for the future. In the meantime nearly one year has passed and therefore we are well advised to look back to see what kind of positive changes we achieved in our churches and communities during these months.

At that time our international president also asked all members worldwide to go through a 40 day witnessing period with the motto of transforming our movement through Cheon Song -- through dedicating our love for the sake of a renewal of our church communities. Isn’t it now the right moment to review what happened since that request reached us? Which transformation took place through our investment of heart? Have we become resurrected members who have truly inherited the realm of resurrection which our True Parents opened up?

The task was given and each one of us is responsible for its fulfillment. If we are not satisfied with the present state of our church in general and the spirit of our local church community then it means that we have to dedicate more to improving the situation by investing into the transformation of hearts. This is of course not an easy task, but the more each one of us gives his or her soul for this precious purpose the closer we will grow together as family members and more and more warmth in our relationships will prevail.

In his God's day morning address on the first of January 2007 Father told us to: “take up the collective responsibility of the Unification Church faith, you must become of the same clan, a member and of the same blood. You must become like my twin embryo. The desire of parents, siblings and kings lies in having you seek this out, take collective responsibility, become a guide, open the door for those who pioneer, remove obstacles…”

Such is the way our True Parents are longing for us to go. We are to have the same blood running in our veins as our parents, which means on an internal level that the same desire should be burning in our hearts as in our Father and Mother for the restoration of this world. We are to be similar to our parents like twins with the readiness to take responsibility together with others as we pioneer the establishment of a culture of heart.

May we all make this most valuable goal our own and show through our attitude towards one another that we are indeed children of God whose life is totally centered on true love.

Sincerely yours,

Nikolaus