Attending the Messiah

Matthew Huish
July 9, 2010

I'm at the departure gate at In Cheon airport, waiting to begin my journey home after 2 nights in Korea. It's pretty crazy to think that I invested a lot of time and effort just to be in Korea for a couple of days. I did this kind of visit only because True Parents invited us; otherwise I would have stayed at home.

I knew that coming to Chung Pyung, I had to be ready for anything and to expect the unexpected. This paid off, as the originally planned visit to the Cheon Bok Gung on Friday had been suddenly canceled (according to the announcement just before the big event on Thursday morning) and True Father wanted all international visitors to participate on a 2-day Original Divine Principle workshop. It's a good thing my flight home is tonight, after the workshop finished.

The workshop was intense. There was a lot of Shim Jung expressed, although not always logically conveyed. I caught myself thinking, "I don't have to be here -- I can do whatever I want, relaxing or resting somewhere else, instead of enduring the difficult environment of this workshop." Nevertheless, I quickly rebuked such thoughts: "I'm here to attend True Parents. True Parents want me to receive this content. So I will invest to receive this content as sincerely as possible."

As you can imagine, it wasn't comfortable. I was sitting on my bottom almost all day, listening to English translation through my mobile phone radio. When my mobile battery died, I had to quickly find a socket to plug in my charger. It was especially hard staying focused (OK, I mean awake) when the climate was hot and humid, and especially yesterday when we had very little rest and had had a long, hard day. I had a beef with some of the statements (e.g. "The argument between creation and evolution is finished!") but nevertheless, I took things with a healthy pinch of salt and tried to digest as much as possible, without getting information indigestion. Rev. Yoo poured his heart out and made me think about who True Parents are and what they have accomplished.

If there's anything I'm taking away from the past couple of days, it's to take the word more seriously. Rev. Yoo explained that the ODP isn't something to be memorized, rather something to become. Of course I should still study the word, as understanding the content will help me to embody the content. Thus I will strive to study the word more -- especially the 8 designated scriptures bequeathed to us by True Parents -- and pray to embody it more in my life.