The Words of the Lee Family
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The Words of the Lee Family |
Rev.
and Mrs. Chae Hee Lee and members of Region 8 gather for a photo
after Sunday Service
At the June 14 leaders' meeting at East Garden Father told us Jesus was a Don Quixote, and he himself is a kind of Don Quixote. (www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon90/SM900614.htm) He said each one of us also has to become another Don Quixote. Accordingly, this morning I'd like to talk about Don Quixote. Do you know who Don Quixote was?
Don Quixote was a hero in a novel written by Miguel D. Cervantes of Spain in 1605. In the novel, Don Quixote was a middle-aged country land owner in La Mancha. He was tall but very thin and strange looking. He read many stories about the knights of old, and he was always dreaming about becoming a great knight: courageous, brave, and righteous.
Don Quixote decided to become this majestic knight. He renamed his old horse Rocinante and himself Don Quixote. He found armor for himself, and a long spear and sword. He chose Sancho Panza, his poor peasant neighbor, as his attendant. Sancho was small and round in contrast to Don Quixote. He promised Sancho he would make him a feudal lord if he would accompany him into battle.
They left their home and family behind with high spirits. On their journey they encountered several windmills. Don Quixote perceived them as an army of giant soldiers. This was a good chance, he thought, to win a victory. So he told Sancho, "Let's defeat this enemy, and prove our valor."
Sancho said, "Master, they are not soldiers, they are windmills!" Sancho represents realism, but Don Quixote represents idealism. Because of his idealism, he didn't heed Sancho's words, and galloped off to attack the windmills. The blade of a windmill hit him, knocking him off his horse and throwing him to the ground. What a ridiculous spectacle he made!
Further along on his journey, Don Quixote saw a flock of sheep raising clouds of dust. In his mind, they were thousands of horsemen engaged in battle. He imagined two armies confronting each other. On one side were Arabian, Persian, Syrian, and Ethiopian soldiers. On the other side were Spanish, French and Italian soldiers.
Sancho told him, "Master, you fool, you are crazy. Those are not soldiers fighting. You are looking at a flock of sheep!"
"No, they are horsemen," Don Quixote replied, as he charged into their midst. Shepherds of the flock began to throw stones at him, striking him on his body and head. Finally, he was knocked unconscious off of his horse, a wretched sight.
In the novel, even though Don Quixote always failed, he always felt himself to be in the right, and never hesitated to act. Though he was weak, he was confident.
Waldo Frank, a literature critic, wrote of Don Quixote, "He is not a madman; he is a man possessed." Possessed means the concentration of one's mind toward one purpose, to devote one's full attention to one thing. Don Quixote was possessed by his noble dream about a great knight, and therefore, he looked crazy.
In the Bible, we can find another Don Quixote. You may think me irreverent, but let us compare Jesus to Don Quixote by reviewing the life of Jesus.
Mary, Jesus' mother, had to explain the baby in her womb to her fiance Joseph. Nobody knew who Jesus' father was. How shameful and serious a situation this was in the Jewish society. Jesus was born on their journey, not in a hotel, but in a manger, a cattle feed box. He was raised as the son of a carpenter.
Nevertheless, he called himself the King of Kings and the Messiah. He favored poor people, prostitutes and fishermen over the upper class governors, priests, and Pharisees. Jesus appeared to be a pseudo-religious leader.
When Jesus went to the temple, he drove out all those who were buying and selling there, turned over the tables of the money changers, and the benches of the dove sellers. He told them, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers."
On another occasion, Jesus said to the Jews, in John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad." Surprised, the Jews asked him, "You are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." How ridiculous this seemed!
When Philip asked Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us," Jesus answered, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father?' Don't you believe me?"
Even though Jesus declared himself the Savior, he didn't save himself from the cross, a most shameful way to suffer and die. Roman soldiers mocked him, saying, "Are you the savior, the Son of God? You saved others, now save yourself."
As Jesus gave up his life on the cross, he cried out, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" God did not respond. God was silent. Who could believe Jesus was the Son of God? He looked crazy, just as Don Quixote looked crazy.
There are many ridiculous and tragic events in Jesus' life. Even though Jesus' heart was internally very serious, externally he looked ridiculous or even comical. Among these events was his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. One day, Jesus told his disciples that the time had come. He said, "Go into the village and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it to me. If anyone asks what you are doing, tell them, 'The Lord needs it." Frankly, how absurd this was! This colt obviously did not belong to Jesus.
So the disciples brought the colt to Jesus and threw their worn out cloaks on it for a saddle for Jesus to ride on. No doubt Jesus' feet dragged the ground on this baby horse. Do you think this was a wonderful sight? Did Jesus look triumphant? Please imagine the scene in your mind. Indeed, Jesus looked like another Don Quixote.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem, his disciples welcomed him with high spirits and loud voices. They shouted, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest." A crowd of people watched curiously, but nobody could understand the meaning of this. The Pharisees in the crowd complained, "Teacher, why don't you rebuke your disciples?"
Jesus replied, "I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones themselves would cry out." He gave a vague and incomprehensible answer to the Pharisees.
Jesus came to this world, and made his best effort to let the Jews believe in him as the Messiah. None of them, however, believed in him. He was serious until the time of his death, because he could not fulfill his mission. His entry into Jerusalem was not a real triumph as the King of Kings, but a last effort to make a conditional triumphal entry.
Even though externally Jesus looked ridiculous, internally he cried and cried. His heart was so serious and painful. Even his disciples did not understand what Jesus' last action on the cross meant, that he was sacrificing himself to spiritually save all mankind from Satan.
It reminds me of Father's recent words: "The baby does not know that the dawn has come; the new day breaks and the baby is sleeping. Like babies, none of you know how precious the new era is that is dawning now. None of you comprehends the value of the proclamation, of True Parents. Even in Korea, the Unification Church staff there had the meetings proclaiming True Parents through the force of my instruction. They are just like Jesus' disciples, who brought the colt and shout._ d, not by themselves, but by Jesus' instruction." That is why Father is always sad and lonesome. Father's life reminds me of Don Quixote.
Father really looks like Don Quixote, doesn't he? He is much too idealistic, and sometimes seems absurd. But he is completely possessed to accomplish God's Will.
Every time Father tells us his idea, it seems absurd. For example, Father told us in a mud but in 1952 that he would send missionaries to 120 countries and bring about a unified world. In 1960, Father told us his idea about owning the highest level of machine industries, when all we owned was a poor air gun works.
Father declared the end of communism in 1968 through grass roots education by our humble VOC organization. The name of the organization was very grand, but the reality was very humble in 1968. Father's vision for the International Highway was also incredible, beyond our imagination. Many people thought that Rev. Moon seemed like Don Quixote. In 1976, Father told us his idea about going to Moscow, to liberate the communist countries. We were all amazed, and it was difficult to believe it was possible.
Today, we can see that Father's words have become reality in this world. Now Father has announced another tremendous idea: The International Federation for World Peace. This time, we can be confident that this will become a reality.
Now we have seen three Don Quixotes: Cervantes' Don Quixote, the Don Quixote of 2,000 years ago, and the Don Quixote of today. Let us compare these three.
Their common points are: 1) excessive idealism, 2) great vision, 3) denial of reality, 4) no hesitation to do what is right, 5) boldness, 6) they appear absurd, possessed, and crazy. Their differences are that the first Don Quixote was a dreamer, and mistook reality. At last he was brought back to his home town as a crazy person. The second Don Quixote was Jesus Christ, who tried to restore God's original ideal, but failed to convince Israel. He did succeed, however, in setting up a foundation for spiritual salvation through his resurrection. The third Don Quixote is our True Parent. He was persecuted severely and overcame tremendous hardship, but he made unimaginable effort to help people understand him. Sometimes he performed like a one-man show. Other times, he dashed into the world to fulfill God's Will. Because no one understood him, his heart was painful, but he is serious, and has been successful.
As I mentioned, Father told us, "Jesus was a Don Quixote, and I myself am another Don Quixote in this age. Though I look crazy, I have pushed this world in order to realize God's ideal, with boldness and perseverance. I am completely possessed by God. At last I made impossible things become possible. Each of you go and do likewise, as Jesus said to the young lawyer. Otherwise you will become a failure and will drop out of the group."
At the beginning of our life of faith, each of us looked like Don Quixote. We were possessed by this new ideology. In order to possess this new ideal, we left our parents and families, and moved away from our home towns. We told ourselves that we did not need family, fame, college, money, or success in this world. We denied our former reality, and sought for a new world. What a revolution! We looked crazy; we looked like Don Quixote. Even though the world called us crazy, we were stubborn and didn't listen. Thanks to our Don Quixote lifestyle, the Unification Church has developed. Do you agree? Each one of you has had some good experience in your life of faith through the Don Quixote spirit.
For example, in 1954 in Seoul, Professor Yang heard the Divine Principle. She realized Rev. Moon was the second coming of Christ. In her dreams she received many revelations; spirit men told her to go and witness to her friend immediately. She couldn't sleep, even though it was the middle of the night. She got up and went to visit one of her friends who was the president of the law school at Ehwa University, Dr. Tae Yong Lee, a devout Christian. She knocked on the door, shouting, "Dr. Lee, the Lord of the Second Coming has appeared in Seoul! Please wake up and follow me! You need to meet him right now!"
"Who is that?" replied Dr. Lee. "Is that Professor Yang? What are you talking about? Jesus came back? Are you crazy? What time is it now? It's 4 a.m.!" Professor Yang was another Don Quixote.
On July 20, 1960, we had a 40-day witnessing mobilization throughout Korea. At that time, our members were telling people, "The Heavenly Kingdom will be realized on earth in three years! Please, join the Unification Church. Otherwise, you will go to hell." At that time, church members looked very poor and miserable, but our speech was completely idealistic. People asked us, "Who on earth are you?" The answer was, "Please pray and try to recognize who we are." In this manner, we were all like Don Quixote.
How about our present situation? Are you still Don Quixote? Regrettably, most of us have forgotten the Don Quixote spirit. We pay too much attention to the satanic reality. We are not idealistic anymore. Everyone is focused on reality: I need money, I need my family, I need my house, I need my diploma. We have lost the revolutionary spirit. Without the Don Quixote spirit, we cannot meet mayors and governors and ask their signatures for the founding of the International Federation for World Peace. Without the Don Quixote spirit, we cannot bring new guests to our center.
If we lose our Don Quixote spirit, we will become like Lot's wife, who became a pillar of salt because she disobeyed God's Will. If we do not have the Don Quixote spirit, we are the same as Sancho Panza. He was just an attendant: weak, poor and cowardly. That is why Father said to us so many times that as Don Quixote we have to be strong and bold.
The Bible also teaches us to be strong and bold. God told Moses, Moses told Joshua, and Joshua told the Israelites, "Be strong and bold!" Bold means to have courage, and sometimes, it even means to be impudent, self-confident, imaginative or boastful. Look at Father in detail. He looks strange, doesn't he? But Father is bold. Sometimes he looks impudent. He is self-confident. Also he has a strong imagination. In fact, he is overflowing with God's ideal, and he is really fruitful. Internally, he is completely possessed by God.
How about you? Please restore your spirit of Don Quixote, which you had when you first joined. At the risk of looking impudent, please be strong and bold. Use your strong imagination and have self-confidence in order to restore God's original ideal on this earth. Don't look back at your former reality. Let's have the spirit of Don Quixote. Let's follow the spirit of the third Don Quixote, our True Parents, as our model, and become another Don Quixote.
Thank you and God bless you.