Explanation of Prayer Condition for Repentance and Renewal

Takeru Kamiyama
February 1986
Excerpts

During an outing True Parents look out over the Sol Ak Mountains in the northeastern part of South Korea Circa 1986.

On February 18, Unification Church President Mose Durst issued a memo outlining Father's instructions for a nationwide prayer vigil to begin that day. The main points of the prayer:

1. Let us make a new beginning for the United States Unification movement.

2. Let us create unity with Father and Mother.

3. Let us create unity with our Korean and Japanese leaders.

The prayer condition is to continue until Father returns to America, and central to the prayer should be that Father return as soon as possible. Father emphasized that the Korean and Japanese leaders came to United States as priests. They offer conditions by which this nation can be forgiven by God, and Americans must understand why they are needed.

True Father has given the American members instructions to hold a nationwide chain prayer vigil for reflection and repentance, which began on February 18, 1986 -- the 71st day of his stay in Korea. I'm sure that you are all participating, and that in your centers someone is always praying between midnight and six a.m. every day.

The prayer vigil has been established for the sake of renewal; the goal is for us to make a new start in the movement here in America. What should be the contents of our prayer at this time? We should reflect on our past and find the things that we have to repent for and change. In addition, we must make unity with True Parents in the deepest sense and also with our leadership -- Korean, Japanese, and American -- as well as with our brothers and sisters. The reason for this is that we have not accomplished unity in the way our True Parents desire. We must reflect upon how to reach the level of heart that God wants, and then bring renewed vigor to the movement in America.

Because of the fall of man, God had to begin the providence of restoration through indemnity, through which man could come back to God and restore all that was lost. God divided his fallen object, Adam, into Cain and Abel so that restoration could be accomplished in their relationship. But we know that Cain attacked and killed Abel. Because of this tragedy, human history became one of struggle. Therefore, we have to know the true way to function as Abel and Cain, and how to fulfill this relationship successfully.

You may think of the Cain and Abel story as ancient, but the Principle is a living Principle, and for the sake of restoration we have to participate in this relationship and work it out. When Dr. Durst returned from Korea with Father's instruction, I too had to reflect and evaluate: How much have I done in accordance with the will of God to fulfill the missions of both Cain and Abel?

The restoration of the failure of Adam's family must take place on the worldwide level; thus one nation is ordained as the Adam nation, another as the Eve nation, and yet another as the archangel nation. But the relationship of Cain and Abel, Adam's sons, also has to be worked out on the worldwide level among different nations. For Japan, Korea is Abel; for America, Japan is Abel; for Europe, America is Abel. Korea is divided into North and South as Cain and Abel; Germany is likewise divided into East and West. In the church we have members in the positions of Cain and Abel, and within our individual selves we are divided between Cain and Abel elements.

If I were to ask, "What is your main problem in following a life of faith?" I feel that most brothers and sisters would answer, "My relationship with leaders and central figures." Two thousand years ago, even John the Baptist himself had this difficulty. John was in the position of Cain, and Jesus in the position of Abel. Furthermore, the Israelites and John were in the positions of Cain and Abel respectively. God wanted John to embrace the Israelites and unite them centering on himself; then together they could lay the foundation to receive Jesus.

However these relationships were not firmly established nor executed properly. The relationships of Cain and Abel on both levels failed. As a result, instead of emerging as a victorious Abel, John ended his life in a miserable way. When Jesus lost John, he himself had to come down to the position of fallen man. He could no longer function as the Messiah. He had to rebuild his foundation. That's why he instructed his disciples not to speak about him as the Messiah, the son of God. The struggle between Cain and Abel had been continuing through history up to the time of Jesus, and John the Baptist could not restore it. The historical struggle continues even today, and it is often so difficult for us to overcome that we falter and stumble, thus delaying the providence of God.

Father had to go through 40 years of a wilderness course because Christians in Korea, the few people chosen by God, failed to accept Father and unite with him. They were in the position of Cain to Father, and Abel to the established Christian churches. Because of their failure, Father had to come down to the zero point; he had to pioneer the entire way again from the very bottom, by himself, through 40 long years of struggle. He had to establish the Unification Church in the position of his Cain, and restore the foundation of indemnity.

The Unification Church is in a position of Cain to True Parents, and Abel to the other Christian churches. Our members are closer to the body of the True Parents, and so are in a more internal position. Other Christian churches are in a more external position. As Father has often said, internal victory is what can bring about external victory. Of course we are all Cain in relationship to our True Parents, but we have Abel-Cain relationships among ourselves. Unity between the members is indispensable. If Abel-Cain relationships are not worked out well, there is no way the Unification Church can be established in the position of Abel to other Christian churches. It is utterly impossible for greater unity to come about, or for the providence to expand to the world level. Our position is such a critical one.

Not only did Christians in Korea fail; at the same time the original Eve country, England, also failed. If England had assumed the position of Eve, the providence would have been expedited. In the cases of both Korea and England, it was just a few people who were prepared, and who failed.

Similarly, we have been selected as the few who are prepared to work for God's providence. Never doubt that. We were not randomly picked from the street; nor did we come here by accident. You must know that we were all hand-picked. Therefore, we should find out exactly what the missions of Abel and Cain are. Why does Cain need Abel? Why does Abel need Cain? The principles of their relationship should be crystal clear.

Cain, who is in an unredeemed state, will inevitably arrive at a point where he can be either redeemed or lost. If he cannot be redeemed from his sins through a proper channel, then he has to pay off his debts by himself. He may lose external fortune or position; even his bodily existence may be attacked or completely sacrificed. That's why Cain needs a system through which he can pay off his debts. That is the Abel-Cain relationship.

All of us have inherited fallen nature. In order to restore the original nature bestowed upon us by God at the time of creation, we have to set up the condition to remove our fallen nature through a relationship with Abel. For this, Cain needs Abel.

In a Principle life of faith, everybody has to assume a position with two Abels above and two Cains below. I am Abel to my immediate Cain but Cain to my immediate Abel. My immediate Abel will also be facing his Abel, to whom he is Cain. Everyone should hold both positions simultaneously. We have to go to God through our Abels, and with our Cains.

When I ask members, "Who is your Abel figure?" some reply, "That's such complicated nonsense. I don't bother with it. It's much easier to act on my own." It is easier for you, perhaps, but that is not going to pioneer the path of restoration. Don't say, "I can work by myself. I am a lone star!" It doesn't work that way.

You have to clearly establish your position both as Cain and as Abel. Everyone must stand in a position to relate to Cain and to Abel in three stages. My immediate Abel is like my parent; my next higher Abel is like my grandparent. If I can't work out my relationship with my father and I get stuck, I can go to my grandfather to consult with him, and try to find what I need. If my immediate Abel feels threatened when I go to my higher Abel, then he is going against Father's Principle.

I believe that Father wants us to inherit the tradition of victorious Cain and Abel. Father considers himself to be Cain to God, and through his faith and obedience he tries to show us how to be the best Cain. Father is Abel to us, and through his dedication and sacrificial lifestyle he has shown us the absolute example of the victorious Abel. God is longing for us to establish the true standard of personality as both Cain and Abel. God's plan is to utilize the men and women who are successful in the position of Cain and if the position of Abel to erect the Kingdom of God on earth.

When something goes wrong, we can never blame only Cain, or only Abel. Both missions have to be fulfilled in order for God's will to be accomplished. Never think that you are always only Cain, and blame the leadership when problems arise, because you are also responsible to stand in the position of Abel.

What is the mission of Abel? First, it is to save and liberate Cain. To suppress and kill Cain is not the mission of Abel. We know that at the beginning of history Cain killed Abel, but in our church the reverse has often taken place and sometimes Abel has killed Cain. This is a big problem. We must come back to the Principle. Father taught us: The primary mission of Abel is to save and liberate Cain.

Second, Abel must have the ability to separate from Satan. Satan, invisible and powerful, will try to creep into our external environment and gradually into our internal situation. Abel has to be able to discern what is wrong; he has to be able to detect the work of Satan and cut him off, internally and externally.

Third, Abel must restore the birthright. We know from the Bible that Jacob took the birthright from Esau by a clever trade. This is not a mere story; it is also our path and our mission to accomplish this transfer. Gaining the birthright is Abel's main point of struggle. But Abel cannot just rip the birthright from Cain's hands by force; he cannot just demand it. Yet in order for the gates of heaven to open, he must accomplish it, and Cain and Abel must go together to receive the blessing. To gain the birthright -- in the sense of admiration or respect -- from people who are distant to you is relatively easy; but to gain it from people who are living close to you, like your spouse or your children, is difficult, because they see all aspects of your life. To gain the birthright, you have to set a standard.

Fourth, to complete his mission, Abel must be able to love Cain. Cain stands in the position to represent the archangel, who is the unforgivable enemy of God. Abel stands in the position to represent Adam and God. Abel must forgive the unforgivable, and embrace Cain with love. For that Abel must endure Cain's persecution. Unless you can acquire such endurance and forgiving love, you cannot be a victorious Abel.

We should all follow this path that has been outlined by our True Parents. We should live the way they live, and then we can successfully pass through the Abel-Cain relationship under their guidance. This prayer vigil which Father has instructed us to commit ourselves to is designed by Heaven for all of us, so that we can reflect on our past failures and our achievements, and make a new beginning. Please study and meditate on these points. Let us repent and make a strong foundation to receive our True Parents.