The Words of the Kamiyama Family
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The Words of the Kamiyama Family |
Today is True Parents Birthday. Father was born into this world 66 years ago and Mother is in her 44th year. This day is equivalent to Christmas, which is celebrated all over the world on a gigantic level. I feel that on this significant day all the people of the world should be attending in celebration. Yet so few people are participating that I feel in my core very, very sorry.
Remember that New York has a population of 7 or 8 million people, and in the midst of this many people, just a handful are here. Each one of us must feel sorry before God. This morning in my prayer I felt determined that by the next True Parents' Birthday, many more new brothers and sisters should be gathered in celebration. If we ourselves can make this kind of deep determination, then we are qualified to participate in this day.
While reading one of Father's speeches, "Three Spiritual Children as a Foundation for a Family:' I was struck by one part very deeply. The speech was delivered on May 13, 1983, in Korea.
One thing I am really concerned about today is the decline in religious life. Such a decline tends to occur when practical matters become more important for you. I worry very much about that. If you focus only on external activities, your religious life weakens. If your religious life declines, then you will have absolutely no assistance from the spirit world, and eventually, you will have no relationship with the spirit world, either. It is essential for you to seek spiritual assistance whenever you gather together.
We can see from this speech that whenever we gather together, and whatever we do even in our personal lives, we should always begin our activity with prayer, and end with prayer. Our God-centered religious life should never be forgotten.
From Father's teaching, we can always learn lessons about tradition. The tradition is like a bud on a tree. The trunk, the branches, and all the parts of the tree are like the energy of the spirit world. All the energy of the tree is focused on the bud in order for it to blossom and to bring forth fruit. In the same way, all the good spirit world is focused on bringing the true fruit into the world. But unless we inherit and set up the true standard of tradition, the good spirit world can't assist us. In order for us to progress in our work and develop our movement, we very much need their help.
Father said there are three necessary elements in successful witnessing. First, you need to mobilize the good spirit world. Second, you have to act; you need to reach out, speak out, witness, visit people. Third, you need the word of God, the Principle; you need to acquire the ability to convey the truth. Success in witnessing depends 40 percent on mobilization of the spirit world, 30 percent on action, and 30 percent on teaching the Principle.
The most important of these three elements is the assistance of the spirit world. In order for us to have that, we need to inherit the religious tradition that Father has set. Our religious life is vital and important. If a religious life is not practiced, the assistance of the spirit world will be cut off. Of course it is also very important that we all acquire the ability to teach the Principle well.
In this context I often think about the situation of the disciples of Jesus 2000 years ago. If the disciples of Jesus had had the ability to understand and convey the actual contents of what Jesus said, as well as the tradition of Jesus, history would have gone a different course. As you know, it was not until after Jesus was crucified and resurrected that the disciples became united. Only after that came the gradual spreading of the gospel of the resurrected Jesus.
Paul, who had never even met Jesus, was the most influential person in spreading his message. But before Paul was converted, Jesus already had twelve apostles and 70 disciples. He already had followers who were to have directly inherited and taught others the contents of his words. That was their mission.
I want to make some kind of comparison between 2000 years ago and today, since we are also in the early days of the development of our church. Father went to Danbury and then went over the hill of Danbury. He crossed that hill alive and then entered a sphere of resurrection. We who are sitting here together are the disciples of the resurrected Christ, the ones who are to spread his message.
Even though Jesus had many apostles and disciples, they did not do enough to spread the message of his gospel worldwide. So one man was chosen. Paul was the one who truly accomplished the job of spreading Christianity to the Gentiles. In the same way today, we brothers and sisters here, though believing in and dedicating ourselves to the True Parents, are still not enough for Father to fulfill his task of worldwide salvation. Therefore, God has to summon other people to complete the worldwide ministry. Father needs people like Paul and many, many more.
Today, Christian ministers who have prestige in society, leaders in the political and economic fields, scholars, scientists -- many qualified people -- are becoming interested in our church, and are approaching us, wanting to help spread the message. We have to think about this situation. How do we deal with this? Paul and Jesus' disciples had a big problem -- they couldn't unite. As I study the record of their activities in the New Testament, I can see that the disciples of Jesus had many struggles -- a lot of fighting and disunity. There were very big differences in their understanding of the tradition of Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 11:4-6, Paul states:
If some one comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough. I think I am not in the least inferior to those superlative apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
In talking about the "superlative apostles',' Paul was referring to the pillars of the church -- Peter, James, and John. In 2 Corinthians 10:7, Paul says, "Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that, as he is Christ's, so are we." In these two passages he is trying to defend his position in relation to the other disciples.
In Galatians 1:11-12 Paul makes it very clear that the gospel he taught was not received from men: "For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ'
There is certainly no doubt about his revelation. On the way to Damascus to persecute Christians and have them killed, he saw a light coming from the heavens. He was thrown down to the ground and became blind. At that moment he realized he had been persecuting the son of God. He was converted instantly.
Paul should have united with the disciples
But instead of bragging about the way he received the truth, instead of emphasizing that he received his understanding from the spirit world and not from any man, and instead of insisting that the way he received the truth was superior, he should have gone to the center of activity among Jesus' disciples, who had actually lived day to day with Jesus for over three years. He should have united with them and learned the tradition of Jesus and received the truth from them.
A big difference exists between the theology of the Unification Church and the theology of most other Christian denominations. The biggest difference is that most Christians refer to Jesus as God Himself. They don't feel that Jesus is just the son of God, but that Jesus is God. We believe Jesus is the temple of God; we can see God through him, but we don't believe Jesus is actually God the Creator.
The second difference is the belief in salvation through the cross. Most Christians believe that the cross was the will of God, that God became man in the flesh to save us from death and hell by being crucified for our sins. We understand that the cross was not the original will of God. Why do these big differences exist?
As you know, Christianity today is divided into Pauline Christianity -- Paul's theology -- and Petrine Christianity -- the theology of Peter and James, those who actually knew Jesus. There's quite a difference between the two branches.
Christians today fight over some of the books of the Bible. Some Christians denounce the letters written by James and Peter. They refer to the Epistle of James as "the epistle of straw;' and they think it should be taken out of the Bible. That kind of dispute is going on. I can't go into detail here, but through this we can see that there were many struggles among the disciples and apostles of Christ 2000 years ago; their disunity resulted in such theological disparity today.
Paul is, I believe, the first Christian theologian. He preached his own understanding of Jesus. Why did he say that Jesus was God and that Jesus came to die on the cross for our salvation? Just suppose that Paul, as a newcomer to the faith, had united with the other disciples. Then he could have learned that that wasn't really the purpose of Jesus' coming, that Jesus didn't come to die, and that he was not God Himself.
Today, we are the apostles and the disciples of Christ. How are we going to deal with the people who will be coming into our movement? Even though Paul was not a trained speaker, he had knowledge. The disciples did not have so much knowledge. Theologians, doctors, Ph.D.'s, politicians, scholars, leaders in the economic field, and many other people who are well trained and capable, may join by the hundreds and influence the world by telling the world about Father. What do we do about preserving and teaching the tradition to them? These people can only learn the internal tradition from us.
The number one tradition is understanding the Principle -- not only understanding it but also conveying it. That has to accompany the second tradition, which is action, and practice. In the Bible we read what tremendous ordeals Paul went through in practicing and spreading the gospel. In 2 Corinthians 11:21-26 Paul says:
But whatever any one dares to boast of -- I am speaking as a fool -- I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one -- I am talking like a madman -- with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I have received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I have been beaten with rods; once I was stoned. Three times I have been shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brethren....
And so on. Today we can see that many worldly, qualified, and capable leaders are coming closer to our movement, in fact even dedicating themselves completely to True Parents. Some may be willing to go to great lengths such as Paul did to preach the truth. God needs these capable people to restore and save the world. God needs their hands.
As the apostles of Christ today, what must we do? The CAUSA Worldview is good to teach as an introduction, but that won't be enough. After teaching CAUSA, we have to teach the Principle itself. Not only the words of the Principle, but also its practice. Even if we do not have as much knowledge or capability as they do, we should be able to lead the prepared people to a very deep level.
Try to imagine that, in the future, some very capable person approaches you. Suppose he finds that you are one of the 6000 couples blessed in Korea, for example. He might say, "Oh, you are one of them! I am so honored to meet you. By the way, I myself didn't join at that time. I was rather negative then. But I have found the True Parents now. I'm really completely committed, but I don't know anything about those early days. I really want to know. You were there. How was it? Especially when Father was in Danbury, when he was suffering on the world-level cross, what were you doing then? I want to know your feeling and heart and your spirit of attendance as a disciple. I want to learn the spirit of attendance from you!'
Think about your situation. At that time you may have been filled with troubles, complaints, or resentment. Maybe you spent a lot of time in your room, or in the coffee shop, or somewhere else. How, then, could other people learn the standard of tradition from you?
At this time I feel very strongly that, first of all, it's time for us to recommit ourselves to unite with the truth, to eat and digest the Principle of God. And secondly, this should be a time for hard work, so that we can store up goodness in heaven. Thirdly, it's a time once again to ask ourselves, 'Am I inheriting the tradition that True Parents have set?" I feel this year is a very precious, critical, and important year for us to accomplish these things.
Therefore, I feel that those of us who are participating here should make up our minds that by next True Parents' Birthday we will bring many newly born brothers and sisters to attend the True Parents on their birthday, which is far more significant than Christmas Day. We should make this kind of resolution internally.
As you know, February 14 is celebrated in America as Valentine's Day. It's a day dedicated to love. Holy love? Not really. The date 2/14 contains two numbers signifying the top of the growth stage, the time when Adam and Eve fell. This is a day when words of fallen love are whispered, and people express their fallen love through gifts of chocolates or flowers. People even go to great lengths on this day to express their love. Well, we too are in the position to express love on this day -- the true love of God.
On this day, heavenly love and human love are colliding. While most people are whispering words of love centered on Satan and excluding God, we are obliged to pledge that we are going to whisper the true love of God. That means witnessing. If we can pledge to do this, then this day can be acceptable to God.
Last December 1985, just before our True Parents' departure to Korea, Father said something very important to me. He asked me to rekindle in the brothers and sisters in America the spirit of a traditional religious life, a life of dedication in reaching out to people and witnessing the truth. He asked me to help rebuild that spirit, starting with New York as a central point and then radiating out all over America.
Because we are involved in so many programs, missions, and businesses, we often lose that religious spirit in our day-to-day lives. Our religious life is put in second place. As Father said in his speech in 1983, we need once again to revitalize ourselves and rekindle the spirit that swept through our movement at the time of the big campaigns in 1973-1976. Even while Father is physically in Korea, thousands of miles away, I know he's praying for us and is eager for us to be able to carry this out. We need to spread the fire of spirit nationwide, starting from our headquarters building on 43rd Street, the central point of the nationwide movement.
When Father first talked to me about this, I wanted to convey Father's message immediately, but I felt it wasn't yet the right time for me to say anything. I wanted to first concentrate on restoring the headquarters building externally, and on preparing an internal foundation for brothers and sisters to receive this new direction.
At that time, I realized there were quite a few brothers and sisters suffering from resentment in many areas. I was glad that we, as a family, were able to talk things out and deal with some of those areas significantly. Now some time has passed, and I finally feel able to convey Father's desire at this moment -- his desire for us to rededicate ourselves, no matter what our mission, to rebuild here in America a righteous spirit and the tradition of attending our True Parents. The leaders in administrative positions in the church are not the only ones responsible to do this; every one of us is responsible to fulfill True Parents' desire.
We should be able to learn something from the situation among Jesus' followers 2000 years ago. Those people who knew Jesus personally, prior to the appearance of great men like Paul, actually became a bottleneck for the spreading of the gospel; they became stagnant. Paul, who was gifted and knowledgeable, had a burning determination: he was willing to suffer and die for the sake of the world, for the people, for his Lord Jesus. Today, we must not create a bottleneck; we must not become a hindrance to the people who may be more capable, more filled with zeal, and more dedicated to God's call and True Parents' direction to restore the Kingdom than we are.
When Father went to Israel many years ago, he visited the areas where Jesus' disciples had lived. He saw that they had lived like cavemen. They were men who worked at the seashore; they were common laborers, very uneducated people. They didn't know anything about the Torah or the spiritual tradition of Judaism. But we, the modern-day disciples, can be better than that. We should not remain ignorant about what is happening on a larger, providential level.
I would like to emphasize once again the three important points. First, we should acquire the ability to teach all the deep aspects of the Principle, so that we can convey the truth and bring the people of the world back to God. Second, we must engage in witnessing activities and dedicate ourselves to rekindle the heart of the whole nation. Third, we must inherit the tradition of a true religious life, so that we might have the assistance of the spirit world. Let us understand and inherit Fathers' heart, and make a new start in our witnessing. If we can do this, we will become like powerful fireworks for God. I pray that we can all recognize this in our deepest hearts.