The Crowning of Jesus - December 22, 2003

Michael Jenkins
December 22, 2008

On December 22, 2003, five years ago, a very special ceremony was held in Independence Park in Jerusalem. It was a ceremony in which Jesus was given honor, acceptance and love by representatives of his own immediate family -- and his extended family -- all the descendants of Abraham.

To address the root causes of the strife in the Middle East and in particular between the family of Abraham, faith leaders, inspired by the vision of love and reconciliation of the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, sought to show the love and full acceptance of one another, the founders of the Abrahamic faiths and the traditions they represented.

Led by Jewish representatives, Muslim, Christian and Druze representatives crown Jesus as King of Kings.

The crowning of Jesus was done with prayer and a deep sense of historical meaning which has set the stage for an ongoing and continuously growing effort for interfaith dialogue in the Middle East. This has produced additional options that compliment and even go beyond the diplomatic efforts for peace of various governments. The interfaith effort touches people heart to heart for it is through the faith leaders that peace can reach into every community and family with a sense of God's healing presence. There was an overwhelming feeling of relief and joy as the ceremony was completed. There was a sense of realization that for 2000 years Jesus' own family has not formally welcomed him. This day changed that and the grief of Jesus was dissolved. All the historic internal conditions that blocked the path to peace were removed on that day. God is now free to bless all the Abrahamic faiths together as One Family Under God.

Since that time 40 Interfaith MEPI's have been accomplished in which faith leaders, youth, service and NGO leaders, members of parliament, men and women of God from all over the world have come to the Holy Land to promote understanding, interfaith service and dialogue and to compliment the local and global diplomatic efforts for peace. Today, December 22nd, the 40th MEPI is concluding in Jerusalem with a delegation of faith leaders joined by youth of the Youth Federation. Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, who has increased the interfaith focus of this effort, was represented by UPF secretary general Dr. Thomas Walsh who led our international delegation.

The current MEPI was supported by our Ambassadors for Peace from Israel and Palestine, America and Europe and all continents. Dr. Abe, Mr. Hod Ben Zvi, Shuki and Eliezar, Ali Birani, Kamal, Baruch, Muhammad from Ramallah, Abouna Hatoum and many more led our Holy Land delegations. Mr. Tajh Hammad and Dr. Kaufmann led the interfaith dialogue with Dr. Dawud Assad, Ray Mas and Imam Jodeh. The work for peace is gaining momentum.

5 Years ago in front of thousands of people of all faiths, Jewish representatives brought forth a crown for Jesus and embraced him and welcomed him home to his original family. Christians honored Islam with acceptance for Muhammad as the "Prophet of God" and Muslims honored their Jewish brothers and sisters by presenting a Menorah. All joined in asking God to receive their repentance for not having truly loved and accepted one another throughout history. At the same time a special moment was given in which Jesus could be honored as the King of Kings and it was proclaimed "Welcome Home, Jesus."

Dr. Chang Shik Yang, who has been asked by Father Moon to continue this effort "until the guns fall silent" has been unchanging in his commitment to bring unity among the Abrahamic Faiths. We sincerely thank Father and Mother Moon who stand as True Parents demonstrating God's absolute love for all the children of Abraham. We thank all who have supported MEPI. We go forward from today with renewed strength and encouraged by the fact since the coronation of Jesus in 2003 one remarkable change has come in the Holy Land. All major players in the peace process have now concluded that peace cannot be achieved without interfaith dialogue and support. That was not the case 5 years ago -- it is a fact at this time. We sincerely thank God on this historic day and pray that this movement for unity between all the faiths will grow even more rapidly leading to the end of violence and the realization of a lasting peace for all the world.

"On December 22, 2003, many Jewish, Christian, and Muslim clergy took each other by the hand, sang the praises of peace, and performed a ceremony to crown Jesus as the King of Kings. It was a miracle performed in Jerusalem's Independence Park before a crowd of some 20,000 people. This was a day when Jesus' grief was resolved and the victory of True Parents could be declared to all of heaven and earth."
Rev. Sun Myung Moon, January 27, 2004