The Words of In Jin Moon from 2010
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The Words of In Jin Moon from 2010 |
1) The "reading" was a clip from Youtube "A Lost Generation." (If you read it backwards -- the same passage will give a totally different meaning)
I realize this may be a shock but
happiness comes from
within
is a lie, and
"Money will make me happy"
so
in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most
important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my
priorities straight because
Work
is more important
than
family
I tell you this
once upon a time
families
stay together
but this will not be true in my era
this is a
quick fix society
experts tell me
30 years from now I'll be
celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede
that
I will live in a country of my own making
in the
future
environmental destruction will be the norm
no longer can
it be said that
my peers and I care about this earth
it will be
evident that
my generation is apathetic and lethargic
it is
foolish to presume that
there is hope
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
it is foolish to presume that
my generation is apathetic and
lethargic
it will be evident that
there is hope
it is
foolish to presume that
my generation is apathetic and
lethargic
it will be evident that
my peers and I care about
this earth
no longer can it be said that
environmental
destruction will be the norm
in the future
I will live in a
country of my own making
I do not concede that
30 years from
now I'll be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
experts
tell me
this is a quick fix society
but this will not be true
in my era
families stay together
once upon a time
I tell you
this
family
is more important than
Work
I have my
priorities straight because
My employer will know that
they are
not the most important thing in my life
so in 30 years I will tell
my children
"Money will make me happy"
is a lie,
and
happiness comes from within
I realize this may be a shock
but
A lost Generation
2) In Jin Nim welcomed everyone. It's been a while since she's seen us. They spent a lovely Thanksgiving weekend with True Parents in Las Vegas. She got to meet our West Coast members once again. True Parents gave their hearts in addressing those who attended the world assembly 2010.
3) True Father's heart as a True Parents of mankind is to invest in his children, his eternal sons and daughters, so they can become great men and women of God.
4) In Jin Nim is realizing more and more as True Father visits us more often, and more often in Las Vegas, she asked members, why Las Vegas of all places? Father wants to change Sin City into the shining city on the hill.
5) Why do people come to Las Vegas? They want to win the jackpot. They want to experience their luck. It seems like our True Parents keep bringing us to Las Vegas to remind us that we are all jackpot winners! Are we not?
6) We Have our True Parents with us -- knowing that they want America and our American movement to be great, they want our American sons and daughters to be that incredible son and daughter who can usher in the new millennium. To know that they are here at this time together with us -- sharing the breaking news and encouraging everyone around the world to think of ourselves as belonging to one family, and to let everyone into this family of God through the process of the blessing -- by being blessed to someone who is different, with a different background, race, or religion -- encouraging all of us to respect where we come from, but at the same time learn how to live and love together as a family. This has been the most important message that our True Parents have brought to the world -- and to be experiencing it at this time is incredible.
7) When In Jin Nim got back they had to prepare for Sunday's service -- and when she visited the band after their rehearsal she bumped into Dave Hunter and his wife Mitsuru and their new baby they call Little Dave. This was the first time she had the chance to meet him up close and personal. She asked if she could hold him for a while. The members at love and life are very proud of Little Dave -- they heard that Mitsuru would be expecting while working at love and life -- and it's a beautiful thing that they could welcomed this baby as a part of our worldwide family. Now everywhere she goes Little Dave is with her and he is such a bright spirit and so cute. In Jin Nim thought Dave and Mitsuru weren't bad, but Little Dave is a definite improvement.
8) Little David was so engaging. He is talking his own language, googly googly. He was making eye contact with In Jin Nim and gave her a big smile and looked at others and looked back at her and give her another big smile. Babies respond to a woman's voice because it's so close to what they're used to hearing from their mother. When In Jin Nim was holding him he was a bundle of delight and energy. She held him facing his parents, but when he heard her voice he kept looking back and up at her.
When In Jin Nim was thinking about how precious Little David is and about all the new blessed children that are being born and new members that are being born into the Lovin Life Ministry -- she was thinking what kind of generation are they going to be a part of? And so she wanted to share that YouTube clip (A lost Generation) with us this morning.
9) It poignantly expresses something that is very important for all of us to think about as human beings. It starts out, we are a lost generation, telling us what we're not going to be and what were not going to do -- it is very pessimistic, how a young person going through a difficult time in their life might look at the world -- a generation that will put work before family, that will not understand the value of the children, that will lead to divorce, all these things that are so depressing. In Jin Nim has often said that when she hears that someone is lost, it means someone who is lonely, someone who is a lonely orphan seeking some kind of understanding or truth.
10) Many times young people feel lost when they cannot find their center or their core, or an understanding or a relationship with God. The interesting thing is that when you see the video clip it's almost like a litany of all the reasons that we are a lost generation. She did not alter the text. She did not alter anything. But just by changing the perspective, by changing the direction of the same message, it becomes empowering and incredibly inspiring and hopeful.
11) Instead of understanding this page of words as a declaration of the lost generation, a generation that is lonely like an orphan, constantly seeking, never satisfied because they don't have the truth, instead of a lost generation -- when we change the direction, a different way of looking at exactly the same thing, we have single handedly turned a depressing and hopeless message into one that is inspiring and promising, that eludes to a generation that is not lost, but one that is found in God and in the understanding that we really are His children and Her children. In understanding what an incredible time this is to be living with our True Parents here -- we realize that instead of understanding ourselves as being a part of the lost generation we can change that way of thinking by simply looking at it from a different perspective and realize that we are not lost -- but in God and True Parents and in each other would become a generation of peace.
12) Over the last year or so at Lovin Life, In Jin Nim has defined what generation peace is all about. She has said over and over, by taking the word peace and understanding it as an acronym -- starting off with the letter P -- understanding who we are as a children of the Heavenly Parent, but not just as children but understanding the profundity of having our True Parents here with us. And the letter E, understanding that we are their eternal sons and daughters. Eternal, meaning that we are divine human beings, that we have incredible worth, and that we have an incredible reservoir of true love that once tapped into we can do extraordinary things with. And the letter A, understanding that our philosophy is that of altruism, living for the sake of others. Not dying for the sake of others, but truly living, truly been empowered, celebrating the life that we've been given, understanding the importance of the letter C, the need for compassion in this cold modern world. The importance of empathy, able to put ourselves in someone else's shoes, and truly loving somebody -- not because we have to, but because we want to.
13) Through the beautiful touch and healing of words of encouragement and nurture that we can share with one another, we can become stronger in our emotional makeup and spiritual and physical makeup -- which leads us to the final letter E, which stands for the excellence of both internal and external -- meaning that we are internally excellent in terms of our life of faith and our understanding of who we are and what we need to do. We are not a lost generation swimming and drifting on an endless sea with no direction. We have a clear direction and purpose in our life. We know what we need to do. We know that we need to seize the moment, to seize each day and make it worthwhile. Because, one step at a time we are going towards that beautiful world that we are going to call our own -- the world of peace.
14) Knowing that we are internally excellent, we need to manifest that internal excellence outward through the different ways that we can affect the people in our lives, in our professions -- through our ability to care for, and our ability to guide or teach and leave a beautiful signature on this world that is uniquely us, that is uniquely you, that is uniquely me. In this process we can go through the stages of perfecting ourselves individually, and then find ourselves in the context as a couple in a marriage, dealing with all the obstacles and issues that arise, but understanding that life is a process of growth, it is an opportunity to grow and deepen who we are -- then we approach every difficulty with a grateful heart and we approach every obstacle with the excitement of learning something new, knowing that, regardless of how painful the process might be, in the end we will be holding a wisdom nugget that we can share with our loved ones and with our children. And it will be something they can share with their children, and so on and so forth.
15) When In Jin Nim thought about this generation of peace and how she would like to see Little Dave grow up to be a member of that generation of peace -- someone who lives their life as part of this One Family Under God, someone who looks at his brothers and sisters of different faiths and still loves them as his own, someone who wants to do good things, not just because he will be rewarded by his mother, but just because he wants to do good things, someone who wants to inspire others to do better, and encourage those around him to grow and to prosper, and, at the same time, become that excellent man and a father and a son of God. This is what In Jin Nim as the senior pastor wishes upon Little Dave, and it is what she wishes upon all of us. This is what our True Parents and our Heavenly Parent want for all of us.
16) If we are going to be members of the generation of peace, and we believe that the most important thing in the universe is true love, and we as human beings have this incredible opportunity to experience true love and to share the love with the rest of the world -- how do we exist as an individual in the context of the family, how do we exist as a spouse in the context of marriage, how do we exists in the context of this community, like our own, and truly practice love in our daily life? How do we go about loving each other, so that each day week can work on ourselves, so that we can hone our skills, and make other people better than what we are? And how do we go about truly being the kind of person that could be the spark of a wonderful imagination, the spark for the source of unity in the family, the spark that excites young people to dream of all that they would like to accomplish in their world.
17) As a mother, In Jin Nim has often thought about this. How do you go about practicing love on a daily basis? We have an understanding of where we would like to be, where we would like to go, but in a practical sense how do we apply what we believe and actually exercise and practice day-to-day what we want to be and how we want to carry ourselves out through the course of the day?
18) One of the things that In Jin Nim realized in her life of faith and also in her family, is something that she calls the three points. Whenever she is confronted with a situation that is difficult, that is pressing, that is crushing, she reminds herself of these three points.
19) The first point comes from her mother, many years ago. Her mother is an extremely elegant woman, a woman of few words, but when she speaks there is an incredible amount of wisdom. In Jin Nim remembers a long time ago they were spending a summer in Gloucester at Morning Garden. Father spent the summer their tuna fishing. While her father went fishing, In Jin Nim would normally accompany her father, but when she was not feeling well she would stay and keep her mother company. She remembers one time spending time with her mother -- at the house there were other ladies anxious to spend time with her mother. There was one lady in particular. She wanted In Jin Nim's mother's guidance.
20) She said to True Mother, "our True Father always teaches about the importance of true love and that we have to practice true love. I really want to practice true love in my life of faith and to my family, but I'm finding it extremely difficult. I have a very difficult relationship with my husband and with my children." She started to talk about some of the difficulties. In terms of character she seemed to be polar opposites to her husband. The wife always felt that she needed to teach her husband, but the husband felt so patronized that he was being taught by woman, his wife, so he'd react more violently -- which made her react even more firmly -- and there you had a major recipe for disaster. When she talked about her husband she brought forth a list, like the list you saw on YouTube earlier. She went down the list reciting all the things that her husband did wrong.
She even put a check on how many times he did something wrong. She was a fantastic record keeper. Her records covered several years of their marriage -- the checks were like a computer digital printout. She remembered to the day, to the minute, how many times he did it, if it got worse. In Jin Nim thought to herself, "She should get a job with the NFL, keeping score." This woman had an encyclopedia of knowledge of the scoreboard of their marriage. Not only did she have a list for her husband, she had one for her children as well. She was reciting to T Mother all the things that they were doing wrong, asking her what she should do. In Jin Nim's mother listened very quietly, very attentively, giving her full attention -- nodding her head, seeming to agree with all that the woman said. And so the woman went on, spurred on by T Mother's nods. When she was done, after about one hour, In Jin Nim's mother was very quiet. She was pushing T Mother with her words -- "you tell me what I should do. You give me an answer. My family has so many problems I don't know what to do."
21) In Jin Nim's mother said something very simple. (At that time In Jin Nim did not understand the full extent of what profound advice it was.) In her family, they used to joke about different music and composers -- they would humor themselves when they would enjoy classical music -- and in her family they would call a shopping list –Chopin Liszt (putting the names of 2 composers together). So, In Jin Nim's mother turned to the woman and told her to put away Chopin's Liszt. And the woman asked what is that -- and In Jin Nim's mother said the same thing, put away Chopin's Liszt. And the woman looked totally puzzled and asked what is Chopin's Liszt? In Jin Nim then told the woman -- put away your list.
22) The woman became angry and said, "Is that the advice you have for me, put away my list? How else can I explain all the problems of my family?" And she took In Jin Nim's mother to task and In Jin Nim's mother again said put away your Chopin's Liszt. This woman was not satisfied because she did not get the answer she wanted. She wanted T Mother to call in her husband and children and reprimand them for the atrocities that they had committed. But In Jin Nim's mother was throwing it back at her, because T Mother wanted to guide and support this woman to be a good mother. T Mother is not going to take the place of this woman, as the mother and wife in the family. By saying, "get rid of the list" she was telling the woman to get rid of all your grief and complaint.
23) By not getting involved and reforming the family by her own hand -- something that she as a mother should be responsible for -- in a way In Jin Nim's mother was respecting this woman's position as the wife and as a mother to her children by saying "Start by getting rid of all the negativity, start by realizing that you as the mother and wife have a responsibility to turn the negative list into a wonderful shopping list that can supply the family with the necessary ingredients for the family to be a grand and glorious feast." This is what In Jin Nim's mother was saying. She was asking this woman, don't keep score, don't hold onto lists that will bind you to something negative, that will make your family heavy with burdens.
She was saying really rid yourself of your cares, of the burdens of your family, to realize how important you, as the mother, to stand in the role of a true mother and true wife, and instead of going over the negative list -- as the lost generation and youth of our country tend to do -- thinking themselves as lost and hopeless, the world as dirty and ugly -- instead of doing that her mother was saying -- reverse it. Instead of reading your list of atrocities, maybe you should create a shopping list, a wonderful list that can be beneficial to your family. Maybe this shopping list can include a special time with your daughter that is having difficulty in school, possibly hand knitting socks for your son, just to let him know that his mother truly cares and thinks about him, and wants him to be warm and protected against the elements, knowing that he is going to make her proud. This was the kind of message that In Jin Nim's mother was trying to share with this woman.
24) One of the lessons In Jin Nim learned from her mother is that she does not micromanage. She is the True Mother, but she is not going to do your work for you. She will provoke you to think. She'll give you guidance that will provoke you to look at the same text in a different way. She'll be the one instrumental in urging you to read the same text from a different angle. But to read, is something that you have to do, you have to read it. And this mother had to be the mother. This wife had to be the wife.
25) After being married for 27 years, when In Jin Nim thinks back on some of the wisdom nuggets that her mother shared with her and the other sisters in the room, she realized that so much thought and care and concern went into what she was saying. Because, she was trying to humor them at the same time she was trying to encourage this woman, you can do better if you stop reading the negative text. In a way, we are our worst enemies, in that we brainwash ourselves up for failure, to be miserable, in the same way that the youth of the world are indoctrinating themselves to think pessimistically about their world, to be hopeless about their world -- by reading a litany of seemingly factual realistic words -- while at the same time damage is being done to how we think and perceive our world. Instead of being empowered and inspired many times we feel that we are victims of our situations and environment -- and that is something our T Mother was trying to encourage this woman not to do.
26) She would encourage her children over the years, don't keep score. Scorecards are wonderful when you play sports, but when it comes to human relationships, loving relationships, it is not a good idea to tally up points -- who did what and who did not do what.
27) One of In Jin Nim's best friends growing up, her favorite song was the Janet Jackson song, "what have you done for me lately." She used to go around when they went out, and sing to her husband, "what have you done for me lately?" There was never a question. or even a joke, "what have I done for you lately?" All this understanding of entitlement, of what everyone else is supposed to do for you, without asking yourself, "what can I do?"
28) And this leads us to the second point. The first being -- don't keep score if you want to practice love in your life. If you want to invite love into your relationships it is not a good idea to tally points against each other. The other thing that our T Mother would say, is always think of the other first.
29) For mothers who have toddlers, one of the first things toddlers do is to take something with their hand and lead it to their mouth. There is an African proverb that says, " the hand always knows the way to the mouth." We should always be like the hand knowing where to go when it concerns God. Meaning, regardless of where we are in life, even in pitch black darkness -- when the hand has a delicious morsel of food -- it knows how to take it to the lips. But when our True Parents ask us to put somebody first, before ourselves, what they are asking us is -- can we be the kind of people, who without thinking -- takes that piece of delicious morsel, and before it naturally and instinctively comes to our mouth -- he goes to the mouth of our children, and our siblings, or better yet goes to the mouth of our True Parents or to the mouth of our Heavenly Parent, in heaven.
30) In Jin Nim always thought that one of the interesting things about being human -- is that our birthdays are such huge celebrations. It doesn't matter where you're from, birthdays are a huge celebration, and it becomes "your day." If you think about it, the day that you were born, is of course the celebration of your birth, but if you really think about it -- how are we going to honor God and True Parents and humanity with the way we live our lives -- our birthday could be a wonderful day, when, instead of remembering what we want for our birthday gift, taking, or seizing that moment, to reach out and thank our Heavenly Parent up in heaven, "Thank you for this life!" My birthday is the day I thank God that I'm alive, thank God that I'm living at this precious time with our True Parents. A birthday is the day that I have the chance to not just thank my God up in heaven, and thank our True Parents who brought my parents together so that I could be born, in a way, a birthday is a time that we can say thank you also to our parents. It is a day where we should be celebrating our parents, and thanking them for the life that they have afforded us, for the opportunity that was given to us.
31) Just as we can read the same text, The Lost Generation, from different viewpoints, forward and reverse, but something as simple as a birthday -- if we are truly living for the sake of others, putting others first, our birthday, something that belongs to us, becomes the most precious day when we can use our most precious moment to give something back -- by giving back a heart of gratitude to our parents.
32) Can you imagine, teenagers in the audience, what you would do to your father and mother -- if on your birthday you got up and the first thing you did was to say "Good morning to your father and mother, I love you, I am so grateful for this life you've given me, please accept my appreciation and gratitude." Can you imagine what that would do? What that would do to other people, even those outside our community, if their teenage boy, their son or daughter came back to them -- and said to their father and mother, I did not get to greet you this morning because I was in a rush, but today is my birthday, this is my day to honor God and to honor you and to thank you for my life. Can you imagine what that would do to that family? Just that simple, small, gesture of putting others first? A simple gesture and action that expresses what you're feeling inside in such a short snippet of time, but can you imagine what that would do? That would be like a nuclear explosion in the family, it would be the beginning of the revolution of heart that we're talking about.
33) These small gestures, of taking the same family, the same text -- we are not talking about a major recall here, we're talking about a repositioning of our mental ability to see and understand what we are in the context of our families. It is basically deciding to see things, not negatively, but in a positive way.
34) And to see things in a positive way doesn't mean that everything is "Oh Hallelujah!" It doesn't stop us from dealing with our families. We are still on our way to creating "I deal" families. Positive thinking does not mean that will not suffer disappointment, or pain, or be miserable. Positive attitude or way of thinking is like a guide or environment that we create for ourselves. So despite stepping on a nail, we can cleanse our wound, get up and continue on and think, thank goodness it wasn't my leg or my buttocks, thank goodness it was not my right hand that I need to write with -- and so on. It's the way we approach our lives that determines what kind of environment, what kind of family, and what kind of country we are going to have.
35) These examples, what In Jin Nim calls the wisdom nuggets from her mother, are incredibly important because it is that simple difference in wanting to look at things slightly from a different angle or perspective that vastly changes our human experience. A simple thing as a birthday, where the individual becomes king, you take that precious day and turn it around and you say, before I celebrate my awesomeness -- I celebrate the awesomeness of God and my parents and our True Parents and thereby change your world.
36) Another point our True Mother would say to her children over and over again -- do not just not carry around a scoreboard, and to make sure we put others first, she would always say try to find a way to serve -- discreetly without much fanfare.
37) She asked them to do things for people you love without seeking reward. Without -- "Good job you vacuumed the apartment! Oh how wonderful you clean the bathroom!" It's not waiting for things like that, is not waiting for congratulations, it's not waiting for the carrot which tells you that you are awesome and wonderful. It is finding ways to do something discreetly, not expecting any reward, but doing it just because.
38) Not taking out the garbage because you know your mother will be so happy if you do it, not pulling the door open for your father and mother just because you want to hear your parents say, "what a fine gentleman, what a fine young lady you are", but doing it just because. This gives you an innate sense of pleasure knowing that you are caring for the people you love, knowing that you are serving the people you love, and knowing that even if they never realize how much you love them, maybe not even in this life time. One day they'll realize, maybe in spirit world when we have a chance to review our life here on earth, then they might realize, "wow my mother really, really loved me, or that brother really cared for me but he never wanted recognition, he never wanted accolades or fanfare." It is that kind of serving, living for the sake of others that is truly beautiful.
39) In Jin Nim remembers growing up in a big family with many brothers and sisters. Because True Mother was so busy she was given responsibility to take care of her siblings younger than her. That was an incredibly difficult responsibility -- and she fell short so many times. How can you be a substitute mom to your siblings who are in dire need of parental love. You are never enough. You'll always be in the way. Many times the resentment that is heaped up, because your parents are not there, is thrown at you because you are the substitute mom.
40) Being in that kind of environment was richly rewarding in a sense -- In Jin Nim felt having gone through taking care of her siblings prepared her to be a mother to her own children. Despite how difficult it might have been, she was able to garner bits of wisdom nuggets here and there that helped her on her journey to be a mother to her children.
41) As a mother we always encourage our children to think about service, serving other people, doing things just because -- not because you want to be rewarded. In Jin Nim remembers her daughter, she only has one, so she is very precious. When she was a little girl True Parents wanted her and Justin to travel with them around the world. So they were gone a good chunk of the year. They were enrolled in kindergarten in Korea so In Jin Nim did not see them for a long, long time.
42) She remembered her daughter -- she does not know if this was spurred on by her teacher or nanny, but she continued it after she left kindergarten -- she would write, whether or not it was her birthday -- but especially her birthday -- she would write notes to her Oma (which means mother in Korean) -- but many times In Jin Nim was not there to receive it -- but nevertheless she kept on writing letters and making pictures for her Oma. So, even though In Jin Nim was not there and did not know how much her daughter loved her, and missed her, and wanted her there -- when she went to Korea to bring her back she found all these drawings and notes that she wrote to her mommy, who she could not see for a long time. This is something that In Jin Nim did not ask her to do.
She did it because it was in her heart. Even though she was a little girl -- all the words and language were "mother I want to take care of you, I want to make you yummy food," all these words of care and nurture. She seems like a mom even though she was a kindergarten student. In Jin Nim remembers how that made her feel -- when it was not spurred on by her, she did it nonetheless. She never knew when she was going to get them, but it did not matter, she seized the moment to do something beautiful because it was an expression of her heart -- and when In Jin Nim thinks about that, it reminds her of how many times she fell short, how many times she wanted to say something to her parents, but did not write it down or turn it into a beautiful card. When In Jin Nim thinks about her daughter and what she did, it makes you want to be a better mommy and a better daughter.
43) These little acts of kindness and service were not done -- to be told "you are such a good daughter" -- it was something which came naturally out of her. She naturally wanted to take care of somebody. In Jin Nim realizes how life altering it was for her as a mother -- so can you imagine, if we as a community, as members of our own individual families, started expressing a little bit more, or started expressing, even in a discreet way, by a note or card to let each other know how much we matter to each other. Can you imagine what that would do to a family, to a couple, or to a community?
44) When In Jin Nim thinks about our True Father teaching that we have to have this experience, this revolution of heart -- when we think about the word revolution, it sounds so huge, so incredibly out there, so aggressive, a mighty force to reckon with -- but when he talks about the revolution of heart what he is talking about are those wisdom nuggets, simple shifts in the way we view ourselves, the way we view our lives, the way we understand our family to be.
45) So, if In Jin Nim were to get all grief stricken and create a complaining list as to how difficult it is to be a public person, that litany would be endless. It takes a simple shift in her way of thinking to say that public life is incredibly difficult, but if we approach it with a grateful heart and understand that you as an agent of change make the change in yourself and thereby change other people, you realize what a gift it is. What is initially seen as burdensome, as something that is troubling and too painful to overcome or to work through, actually becomes an invitation for us to be a little more creative and perhaps to read it in reverse, to take a fresh look at the same situation through a different angle or through a different perspective.
46) When Chris Allen sang, "a miracle called us" -- we are always waiting for the miracle. But it is Rumi who said, the joy of being human is uncovering the call, the treasure within that you already are. It's we, as divine human beings that have incredible potential, incredible potential to change our lives simply by deciding to be that agent of change and to look at the text in a different way. Our lives, that we go through on a weekly basis, and sometimes it is tough, but sometimes it is wonderful, but all of these are exercises in helping us become that great human being that God would like to see all of us become.
47) In Jin Nim asked the brothers and sisters in Las Vegas and on the West Coast -- you know many times people look to In Jin Nim as the senior pastor and ask her to solve all their problems -- but just as True Mother threw it right back at this woman and said "You stand up, you deal with your problems, but I will be there with you every step of the way." That is In Jin Nim's job as the senior pastor. It is not to do your job as the parents of your children or as the spouse to your spouse, but to stand here together with you telling you and sharing with you that we can do it together.
48) A community like ours affords people who come to Sunday service a lot of advantages -- we have a social network, we have lots of different groups, seeing old friends is always wonderful. But our church is not just a social network, it is not just a time to gather together and feel good about ourselves. It is really the chance for us to share the breaking news with the rest of the world.
49) Instead of looking at In Jin Nim as the senior pastor, asking "please solve our problems and fix everything for us." In Jin Nim would like to ask us, "Please think about what you can do for the sake of the community and not always what the community can do for you." We need a good reciprocal relationship on all different levels -- and that needs to exist between the congregation and the minister, between father and mother, between brothers and sisters, and even between the best of colleagues. There has to be a sense that we're all breathing, not just inhaling all the time or exhaling all the time. We as a movement need to breathe. "I need to exhale you need to inhale, you need to exhale I need to inhale." We have to work together.
50) What In Jin Nim would like to do in her life is to leave behind a beautiful generation, a generation that can call itself Generation of Peace. That is the desire of every parent, to leave that beautiful generation behind knowing that the world is in good hands, that our children will not kill over racial differences, over religious differences, over differences in economy, and so forth. We need to know that our children will reside in and experience true love. We need to know that they are here to substantiate true love, true life, and true lineage. We need to know that they will go on to try their best at building the ideal families and we need to know that we are going to leave behind a community that is supportive, that empowers each congregant to try their best to be better than who we are, to be better than our neighbor.
51) We need to know that we are a group of people that is willing to put service first -- meaning, even if we are never acknowledged for our good works we are satisfied and we are grateful simply because we could do the little act of love that we have the opportunity to share with others.
52) So, brothers and sisters this is an exciting time -- and for In Jin Nim, as a mother and as your senior pastor, she feels like our True Parents desperation in wanting the world to recognize the value and preciousness of the blessing that is being shared with all of them -- is something that we should not hold just within our own community, it's something that should be encouraged and something that should be shared.
53) Many great men and woman have lived great lives, honorable lives, waiting for the Second Coming, for Jesus to return, waiting for an understanding of how to live their life, the life of faith, but you and I we are the lucky ones, maybe because we had great ancestors, but we have this opportunity to be like the disciples of Jesus Christ -- and unlike the disciples of Jesus Christ who were not there when Jesus was crucified on the cross, who could not give up themselves to save Jesus, we need to be the kind of people to protect our True Parents, and not just protect them but celebrate them with our lives every day that we live.
54) Brothers and sisters our True Parents are back in Korea finishing up the third leg of the World Assembly, celebrating God's providence of universal peace and the Abel UN. True Parents are calling all nations to think of themselves as belonging to one family under God.
55) Just as Chris Allen sang "Miracle Called Us" -- when In Jin Nim hears the word miracle, with an Asian understanding of things -- it sounds like "Me" "Rocker" . Once we decide to be that agent of change we need to be our own rockers, our own miracles and be that shining example for our country and for the rest of the world. And when we gaze upon the mirror, instead of seeing our own unworthy reflections we need to be looking at the face of God. The reflection we need to see back through the mirror is the reflection that God would see when he gazes into our eyes. When God gazes into our faces God sees love, life, and lineage. These are the precious gifts He wants us to experience in our lifetime. And God, as our Heavenly Parent, wants us to be successful in everything that we do.
56) If we can unleash ourselves from our own bondage that we put upon ourselves -- keeping ourselves feeling hopeless, worthless, riddled with fear, so that we cannot accomplish what we need to do -- well, the only thing we need to say is that I am that agent of change, I am that eternal son or daughter of God, I am going to decide to be successful, to be that person who dares to read the text backward and realize that we want to be a generation of peace.
57) Brothers and sisters, instead of waiting for God to do all the work, we have in our hands the ability to create our own miracle, to be the reflection that God wants to see when he gazes into our faces, and it is within our hands to set our hearts on fire. Because, it is the fire of true love that is going to blaze across the universe and really bring about the millennium of peace that we waiting for, that we are so wanting, and have been dreaming about.
58) Brothers and sisters, let's go and start the week with a heart of gratitude, with our hearts on fire with the revolutionary spirit of true love and in the small things that we can do, let's think about becoming that spark that can be the start of something extraordinary just as the re-shifting, or understanding how powerful we can be when we see our own birthdays at the day when we can honor God and our True Parents and our parents. It's that simple re-shifting or repositioning of our minds that can totally change the outcome, the kind of life that we are living and that we will have.
59) Brothers and sisters the miracle is within our hands! Have a lovely weekend a beautiful Sunday and God bless!