Father Sets the Pace

Hyung Jin Moon
October 14, 2009

This blessing was a huge victory. It's all faith-based in the sense that we are here to celebrate True Parents, receive the blessing and give gratitude to True Parents. That can only happen in a community of faith.

Everyone paid the registration fee. Everyone became an owner -- I did it myself, I paid everything. Kook-jin hyung did as well. So we were real owners when we went in. And because of that, we were ready to receive True Parents.

We are standing up for our faith. When I gave the welcoming address, I made it clear that Father is the Messiah. We are declaring that now. We are declaring what we believe in, in that atmosphere of faith.... Father was so happy; he was on fire.

This was a great victory and success; it was as if Father were dancing up the stairs afterward. We were so grateful. It was just such an electric, faith-filled event. It was so different, like going to a revival. We purposefully put our faith at the center of everything. Our action plan is: "We are proud of what we believe, and this what we believe. And you should believe it too!" [Hyung-jin nim laughs]

We are being honest about what we believe. They all know we declare Father is the Messiah. But at our events we would beat around the bush. Yet when we just declare it, people just say "Yes, that's what they believe." And for us to stand up and say, "This is what we believe, and it's our right to believe it" is an important change in our mentality as a culture, as a movement. Because we are a spiritual movement, we have to declare our faith. We are not here to promote a peace activist or an educator. We are here to promote the Messiah, the returning Christ. All Christians and all the world must understand Father's messianic role. It's a return to faith.

I was so happy because the Two Rivers Choir was up there, young blessed kids. And I have seen them grow in their own faith, just being in the Two Rivers Choir and being at church. When they saw True Parents, I saw some of them were crying. They were bowing to True Parents; they really had a reverence that they hadn't had before, and which I love. I love seeing that development of faith in them.

Mother was also delighted. She kept praising Kook-jin hyung. "Well done!" she said, "Very well done!" He had reported to True Parents that the organizers had asked for a certain budget to hold the event, but that he had sent them away, saying, "No! Take this out of my office. Return it to me in realistic terms." He did that a couple of times, and then that whole event was done for a 20 percent of the original amount requested. We are not going to use more money than we need. This is money representing the faith of members.

All the musicians and singers were members. This is the culture we wanted to bring. If you felt the electricity of faith there, it was more wonderful than previous events. We also received international media coverage the likes of which we have never seen in the movement. May we ask about your personal experience of the Blessing Ceremony and rededication of your marriage?

We loved that. We weren't actually standing next to our spouses because the True Children were seated right at the front to support True Parents. I don't know if you could see us? We were shouting, "Abonim!" "Omonim!" All the VIPs were looking at us, wondering, What are they doing? They're like kids!

And I thought, "We are kids! We're their children! Who cares if we are the international president and the foundation chairman! We're their children first and we're proud of our parents." So we were up there hollering at them, "Yeah! Abonim, Omonim, you look so handsome!"

I think that culture of playfulness with True Parents that the True Children maintain is based on our relationship of love.

We can say, "Abba, you look beautiful!" -- these kinds of things. We're not trying to stand in our positions.... I think that rubs off on the community, and rubs off on the atmosphere of the event.

So we were up there and Shin Myung was getting blessed, and we were shouting at him, "Hey Shin Myung, you look good!" and so on. It was great!

Can you give us all a little background information on Shin Myung nim's engagement?

It was wonderful because this time Father said he absolutely had to bless three generations. One of the purposes was for the three great kingships to be blessed in front of True Parents, in one event. Even in the True Family, Father wanted three generations. He asked other True Children to receive the blessing but I think for some of them it wasn't yet the right time. But Shin Myung was courageous. He stepped forward. And he said, Grandfather, if you want me to go I'll go. If Omma is happy about it, I'll go. And he stepped up and he was the representative for our third generation at this event.

Krista is a wonderful sister. Her dad is Finnish and her morn is Japanese. So we have the first Japanese-Caucasian member of the True Family. It's great! We're excited about it. They look beautiful.

Krista is eighteen, Shin Myung is twenty-three. She's in college. She was actually working at Lovin' Life Ministries as a volunteer. They are not a wealthy family, but they are real people of faith. That's the most important thing. For people who come into our family, the most important thing is their faith. Not what their political area is in the church. It is best when they come from families of faith. They just love True Parents. That's the key. Krista came from that kind of family. They never thought in their wildest dreams that she would be blessed to a True Family member [Hyung-jin nim laughs joyfully]. But that's God's blessing and grace.

So In-jin nuna had worked with Krista; she is a wonderful blessed child. She is a good example. She has an excellent standard, she shows integrity in her work. She's punctual, she always gets things done on time, she has enthusiasm for the church. And so In-jin nim said, "Hey, this girl is wonderful." Shin Myung, I think, had already met her. While he was helping support the ministry there, they met. And so In-jin Nuna could feel they have a good connection.

Mother first met Krista when Krista came to True Parents Hoon Dok Hae at East Garden. Krista was asked to come upstairs s to meet True Parents. Mother asked her, "Will you go to the blessing this time?" And I loved Krista's response: she said "If it is God's will, I will go." What a beautiful attitude of faith.

And Father came up and saw her, and this time Father also greeted her parents. It was really wonderful.... Her father is blessed with a Japanese missionary. One of their other daughters was here today at the service. They are such a nice family, and they look very good and happy together. As the AP news video said, "happy and pleased with each other"!

Note: Father spoke at a congratulatory banquet on the day following the Blessing Ceremony to an audience that included ILC participants and Won-gu Peace Cup winners. Hyung-jin nim was introducing Father when suddenly Father interrupted him, instructing him to speak in Korean. We asked Hyung-jin nim about this event too:

It was funny how Father told me to speak in Korean when I was introducing him, and then started speaking in English himself! [Hyung-jin nim laughs] Father started speaking in English and then he changed to Korean. It's a delight to be with Father. I was not embarrassed at all. I might have thought, "Come on Father, what are you doing? I'm trying to introduce you as the Messiah!" Kook-jin hyung and Sun-jin nuna said that Father started speaking before I had finished because he got excited by what I was saying.

The point is that we have to understand the role of the Messiah. That's what I am trying to make clear to our community of faith. The role of the Messiah is not to be an encourager, not to be an inspirer of faith, so to speak. He is not someone who is just encouraging us be positive. This is not his role.

He comes to bring the sword, judgment. Jesus came and judged the false interpretation of the laws. He came to bring the Gospel. Father as well. He comes to test faith, to test who has real faith.

It is so hard to serve the Messiah day to day. If Father speaks six or ten hours at an event, it's physically draining for him. We only experience it once every couple of months. But every day, it requires superhuman stamina. Father has superhuman stamina. Kook-jin hyung and I were talking about this. Father is superman... It's incredible.

Most people would worry about someone Father's age.

I have done a lot of exercise in my life. I've trained myself. I cannot keep up with Father. It's incredible.... I have a hard time speaking for thirty minutes. My sermons are relatively short, right? Father can speak for hours. Before the Washington event, he spoke for twelve hours and thirty minutes at Hoon Dok Hae. Then, he came and did a five-hour event. That's when he was pulling people up to the podium and smacking their cheeks! When we see this from any normal person's perspective, it looks crazy. What is this person doing? They don't understand what the Messiah comes to do. He doesn't come to be just like Mother Theresa, to be that holy person that inspires everybody. He comes to test. He comes as himself, a living test of faith.

Does he test people so he can find those with faith?

To find those who can become one with him. Look at the prophets of the Bible: Noah got drunk; Abraham was a polytheist; Moses murdered a man; Jacob was a criminal; Joseph was imprisoned. Look at Jesus. He was a social rebel. When you look at the people whom God uses, when we look at the Bible, the people that God chooses to work through, we can really understand Father. This is real! Father is not here to please the public. He isn't living in order to please men. He is here with a mission. He is the living test of faith, so that we can all have greater faith in God, and in the one whom he has sent.

Father spoke for six hours. Wasn't he exhausted?

He wasn't exhausted at all! We were saying "Father, please go and lie down." And Father says, "I'm fine, I'm sitting down." Then he sits down and has a little lunch. Then he says okay, is there some football on TV? It's as if it has been a normal day.

Mentally it's stressful. Father puts you through an incredible spiritual battle. When you see it through the eyes of faith, though, when you see it with your spiritual eyes, you see his passion for God. You see his incredible energy for God. You see God working in him; you can't deny it. Ninety years old. I don't know another ninety-year-old man who can do that. Everybody is floored when they hear that he is doing this at ninety.

Two or three hours into the banquet, we heard people behind us saying, "Oh my goodness, what is this? He is speaking for so long!" At four or five hours, we heard the same people saying, "Come to think of it, it is kind of hard for someone to speak that long. And he is ninety!" They had a change of heart.

The Messiah comes to totally challenge you. When we can understand this as a community of faith, we can see Father with spiritual eyes. Then it's a joy to be there. Of course, when you're in it, it's taxing. But when you think about it, reflect on it and pray about it, it's so inspiring.

The next day, when we had morning service here at the church, everybody was crying. When we reflected on it, and prayed about it in the morning, I was crying; everyone was crying. It was so moving because we could see that, even at this stage, True Parents are still dying for us, going on the path of the seven deaths. They're still going on the path of death for their children. When you understand that and you see it, you realize, my goodness, that parental heart is what is going to change the world.