True Parents' Expectations are Not Influenced by People

Chang Shik Yang
January 14, 2013
Seoul Korea

Address at his inauguration as chairman of the Unification Movement in Korea

True Father ascended so suddenly that we could not imagine he was actually gone. Our Unification Family has had to confront that reality and is still reeling from the shock. It has already been four months since his passing. Like you, I have felt drawn to True Parents by a very special connection over the past forty-three years. I first heard news of Father during my school days, as a dream-filled young man of eighteen. In Seoul, I was able to meet this "man with the great vision of unifying the homeland." Since there was no convenient transportation at the time, two friends and I walked from Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province to the Central Training Center in Sutaek-ri and met Father in Chung Pyung. It feels like only yesterday that he said, "It does a young man good to suffer a bit in this world."

I have spent much of the past eighteen years in America, the last four in Las Vegas. It was a time in the providence, like others, when a fierce spiritual battle seemed to be raging. Even in the most colorful city in the world, Father's self-imposed living conditions were miserable; his was a life in which he was fully constrained. He ate one or two fist-sized rice balls for breakfast to hold him over, skipped lunch and did not sleep, but words flowed from his mouth day and night. He organized a large convention once a month, following a path in line with the God of Day and the God of Night in the last great battle for humankind.

But, looking back, as a key disciple, one of True Parents' own spiritual children, I feel nothing but regret. True Parents' expectations are never influenced by people around them. No matter what others do, it does not meet True Parents' expectations. On many occasions, the Lord, in a holy rage, struck terror in heaven and on earth.

What's worse is the tragic reality of Father having ascended amidst our constant talk of unification and peace, while we were not even able to solve the divisions and conflict among ourselves. No matter the cause, no matter who is responsible, we cannot avoid collective responsibility; I especially cannot, as a leader who has been with Father from the beginning. We have no choice but to confess that we are perpetrators of the situation facing us today.

Even if we were to properly lead the way in mourning Father by wearing sackcloth and living near the Bonhyangwon, we would still have no choice but to confess. My honest feeling is that whatever mission one may be responsible for, one cannot now feel joy and whatever congratulations one may receive can only makes one's heart heavier. Likewise, whether we have been given a grand task or a small one in the providence, the positions we hold have not come to command an authority that is recognized by society. So when the confident and very holy Father suddenly ascended, from the outside it seemed as if the movement is facing a crisis, and members feel empty, as if they have just been orphaned.

Whenever a core member has a Seonghwa Ceremony, Father would write in calligraphy, always starting with the character clerk MI meaning "congratulations" -- "Congratulations on your entry into the kingdom." Though it is a moment for congratulations, that character did not appear in Father's Seonghwa Ceremony because the founding of Cheon Il Guk that we were supposed to achieve during his lifetime is still ahead of us.

From this viewpoint, now is the time for the Unification Family to firmly move forward by reawakening a sense of impending life or death. From this standpoint, let us think about the path we must resolve to follow.

First, the primary path for us to take in inheriting and completing Father's unfinished work is that of absolutely uniting with True Mother, who has led the providence with True Father for more than half a century.

Just a short time before the much hoped-for Foundation Day, Father suddenly became an intangible being to us. Yet he will be watching over us, day and night, in relation to the providence on earth. At the fortieth-day memorial of Father's ascension, the initial point True Mother made was to confirm that "now Father's thoughts have become my own, and my thoughts have become Father's." In numerous declarations,

Father asserted that in the physical world he was one in heart, body, outlook and harmony with True Mother. Father is not now in some separate place in the spirit world; he is within True Mother, with True Mother and can work directly through True Mother.

In line with the blueprint for building Cheon Il Guk that Father has laid out, she is leading, hands-on, at the construction site. By revising how we address God to "Heavenly Parent" and revising the name of the church to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, she has taken steps to expedite the providence.

Accordingly, our organization will now attend True Mother as chairwoman and Hyung Jin nim as international president, pivotal points firmly connecting our global missionary organization. We are at a point where the heavenly soldiers, whose intention it is to found the nation of Cheon Il Guk, must regroup before engaging in combat to ensure victory in the battle for goodness.

True Parents actually stand in front of us in True Mother. How surprised must she be when she awakens at night to find that True Father is not there by her side! Mother frequents the Bonhyangwon at one or two o'clock in the morning to talk to True Father. At other times she meditates deeply in Father's office, concerned about the future of the Unification Family.

Based on heavenly instinct alone and without anyone telling her what to do, True Mother knew Heaven's will regarding her wedding day. From the time she was a bride, prepared over three generations, through grandmother Won Mo Cho, and Soon Ae Hong, she has attended Father, and maintained a resolute heart to complete the providence.

The other day, 350 women under the leadership of Women's Federation president Lan Young Moon assembled in Cheon Leong Gung. That was the first time Mother spoke of passing through four life-or-death trials -- including giving birth to the True Children and the course she walked to achieve victory according to certain providential numbers. Everyone present was solemn. The slogan "At the risk of our lives" that we have often shouted out is not an abstract idea. We have confirmed that the path True Mother took has been nothing less than that.

Second, Mother presented Vision 2020, which means establishing the homeland by 2020, the one hundredth anniversary of Father's birth. She has proceeded to reorganize the front line of our movement's leadership. She declared a seven-year course, 2013-2020, in time for Father's one hundredth birthday, Mother's seventy-seventh birthday and their sixtieth Holy Wedding anniversary. On the worldwide foundation of the global Unification Church movement that began in the 1950s, True Mother will now lead with all her might, devoting herself to seeing God's homeland.

Mother is saying, "Let's establish the homeland within seven years." This means that the Cheon Il Guk flag will fly in every Korean city, county, district, town, village and hamlet. To accomplish this True Mother sincerely asks that we invest every ounce of energy -- regardless of who we arc, who our family is, and regardless of our age or position -- into the work of building the homeland. She is saying, "Let's found one homeland under the one God, under the flag of one family church that transcends national, cultural and religious barriers."

Third, building Cheon Il Guk will require erecting a providential foundation that creates the environment. Internally, through Vision 2020, Cheon Il Guk elite forces will be trained through developing our church. Externally, a citizens' movement based on Unification Thought will grow to become the main force for the reunification of our divided homeland. To that end, True Parents have established the Wonmo Pyeonsae Foundation to sponsor the training of capable people and to support the movement for global peace. The unification of our ancestral homeland is our people's destiny.

In order to assuage the pain of families separated by the border and to erect the homeland of faith for 194 countries, the division must be resolved. We know through the Principle that the cause of the division is providential. On this basis, unification absolutely must also be inevitable.

The various efforts to reunify Korea led by the Unification Church transcend denomination and social class. We are to digest and overcome North Korea's Juche philosophy through Godism, which must position itself as the ideology centered on the nation of one unified homeland. The International Federation for Victory Over Communism, the Citizens Federation for the Unification of North and South Korea, the Universal Peace Federation, the Youth Federation for World Peace, and the Association of Religions in Korea, as well as academic organizations, sports teams and providential social groups, will devote resources to effecting the reunification of the homeland. The next seven years will decide the fate of the Korean people.

Fourth, is the personal perfection of one's true self and the establishment of the four-position foundation on a family level. The crux of our faith is the Principle, the force that burns away fallen nature and transforms us, through restoration, into living beings.

The saying, "Serve one another as you would serve Heaven" is correct. We should serve members as we serve Heaven. We must become shepherds through serving, being humble, loving, volunteering and going through all the hardships of life and abundantly feeding the members who seek us out. Tithing is members' blood and sweat being donated. If even better nutrients are not given in return, members will suffer malnutrition and eventually go in search of another shepherd, another flock. There are also the two sayings, "Treat all people and all things as you would treat the Buddha," and "With a prayerful mind, live with reverence, and solemnity."

Father gave a very simple yet powerful message to pastors: Let us shed sweat for earth, tears for man and blood for heaven with the heart of a parent in the body of servant. The church leaders' position is a parental position, but with a servant's body. For as long as I can recall, we have been hearing from members about the difficulties presented by the aloofness of church leaders. We must walk the fundamental path of true pastors that Father showed us.

Let's consider members as precious and create a climate that respects senior members. In the old days, if someone had joined only a month before we did, we treated that person as Abel and were even afraid to crowd that person's personal space. First, regarding senior blessed couples, we should serve those members as we do Heaven. The beautiful Unification Family tradition of younger members loving and serving older ones, and older members caring for and leading younger ones must be brought back into our midst.

Beloved brothers and sisters, Jesus could not build a four-position foundation on earth. In the end, he did not have disciples to follow him to the death, and he went to heaven without having built a church. Tens of billions of other people have come and quietly passed by without a trace. But, today Christianity has nearly a billion followers, and Christianity is the foundation of European and Western civilization for no other reason than that Jesus was the Messiah. All those in authority denied it, but because Heaven planned for and sent him, he was able to display the power of resurrection (despite having given up his body as a condition) and this resulted in the Christianity we see today.

On August 12, Father came out of the hospital and before he returned, this time to the intensive care unit, he forced out his last prayer, the content of which we have heard many times.

At the end, he stated, "I have accomplished everything. It is all finished." Upon earth Father lived a turbulent life. How many times did he say, it is done, it is accomplished, it is completed, it is over, it is through? There is not a verse in the Bible that Jesus wrote himself nor is there a single photograph of him.

Father has left us a waterfall of his teachings, and we have armed ourselves with the powerful weapons of the word and the truth. Now we must take an interest in watching when and where the amazing phenomena of Father's dynamic spirit will appear. We have already begun to witness the reality of such works here and there around the globe. Among them are the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in the Philippines. Father is manifesting himself in one place and another, appearing to leaders and encouraging them personally, directly leading the providence from behind the scenes.

I attended the Blessing Ceremony of 13,000 couples in the Philippines before returning to Korea in the early hours of this morning. The Segye Times carried lengthy coverage of this event. Fifty thousand couples have received the blessing on over eight occasions. Those blessed couples all received some Divine Principle education. During the congratulatory message, Jose de Venecia Jr., former Speaker of the House in the Philippines said, "Father Moon is here!" He delivered a fiery congratulatory address that turned the place into a crucible of the Holy Spirit. "Father Moon! Look! Look at this great scene!" he shouted excitedly as he touched the hearts of all the people who watched him attending Father through this expression of loyalty. He received a standing ovation.

Beloved brothers and sisters, the seven years remaining until 2020 is not a long time. Father is aware of all of our passion and sense of urgency. Take note of this point: When we attend Father properly, and make the right relationship with him, startling works that are ten, a hundred or 1,000 times greater than what we were expecting can occur to bring decisive momentum toward the unification of our homeland.

So, separate from evil and raise the standard of goodness. Our Unification Family is a proud family; True Parents are the saviors of humankind and the Lords of the Unification Family, so go out into the world with confidence. Lead and command the world giving your entire body and soul when there is the need.

It has been a long time since I last returned to Korea; there is much that I am not aware of. I feel very humbled to be here, but I am passionate. That is what I learned from Father. I think of Father's tendency to set a goal and forget the time of day or forget to eat or sleep until the goal is achieved. I reflect on how such great effort disperses darkness and erects a flag of victory. Our youth must mold themselves after that temperament.

I would like to return to the state of purity and cleanliness I experienced when I walked those many miles to see Father and to the passion that Heaven inspired in me. I will willingly accept reprimands from older members. Colleagues and young members, we will once again march toward the fearsome battle line, and we will surely fulfill our responsibilities on earth before we meet Father in heaven with confidence. I hope you all can become providential warriors centering on Mother, who has stepped forward to take on this great task.