Sermon Notes, April 3, 2011

In Jin Moon

1) The Sunday message began with a clip from a prime time TV show, "What Would You Do?". In the show they have a hidden camera recording people's reaction to special situations that are acted out. In this case there is a blonde girl (acting) who wants to buy a black doll. The woman caring for her (also an actress) is telling her she cannot have a black doll -- she can only buy a white blonde doll. The show focused on the comments of one shopper -- who happened to be one of our 2nd gen., Emanuel. They introduced him as "a remarkable young man... with wisdom and maturity." Emanuel's comments are profound. He asked the woman what would she do if her girl wanted an Asian doll or a red-headed doll. He goes on to share the perspective of our True Parents, that all people, no matter the color on the outside, are beautiful because they are God's children.

2) In Jin Nim welcomed everyone. She thought she would be in Korea, but True Parents gave special permission for her to celebrate the 52nd True Parents Day together -- along with the fact that this is the second anniversary for the Lovin' Life Ministry.

3) Truly God is with us today because the second year anniversary of Lovin' Life Ministry happens to fall on one of the most profound and significant holidays in our movement, celebrating the meaning of True Parents and who they are and why they are so precious to all of us.

4) In Jin Nim expressed her desire to start the morning with the heart of gratitude towards our True Parents, and she wanted to share with us the fruits that we have harvested over the years. This TV "what would you do?" segment shown on ABC is an example of the kind of fruits that we are harvesting in our movement. Emanuel is called a remarkable man by these journalists. For them to bestow on a young gentleman in this modern-day era the word remarkable is an incredible thing. What they are saying is that our children, God's children, are remarkable -- meaning they are extraordinary divine creations of our Heavenly Parent and our True Parents.

5) One of the most beautiful things about our movement is this emphasis on loving people of all races, from all different backgrounds, appreciating the differences and coming together and making a beautiful harmonious tapestry of love that we call one family under God. Truly, in our movement and here in the Lovin' Life Ministry we don't just experience what it is to an Asian American but we understand what it means to be an African American, a white American, but first and foremost we realize that we are all children of God, born with incredible potential -- because we are divine eternal sons and daughters of God.

6) For many years our movement has been out in the wilderness. In a way, the inspired response that America first gave to our movement early in the 1970s was short-lived and we witnessed and experienced the back lash of being misunderstood. Our movement was the victim of its own success. Hundreds of young people were joining our movement every weekend at workshops across the country. Suddenly, what seemed like a gift to the American people -- this very interesting looking Asian man together with his beautiful Asian bride, coming and encouraging American people, not to waste their lives on sex and drugs and purposeless living -- but really encourage them to be the best Americans, be the best eternal sons and daughters of God. This was the message that changed a lot of people's lives. And so, initially we received great fanfare, we were awarded the keys to every state, True Parents were honored in every governor's mansion, they were heralded as great missionaries, teachers of God, and prophets for the New Age. But in the following decades we suffered the backlash because we were so successful as a movement.

7) In Jin Nim grew up at a time when every day she was ridiculed for being a Moonie. She was told, and mocked, by her classmates that her father was a cultist and that he spent all his time brainwashing the young minds of the American people.

8) We have been stuck in this wilderness course for a long time. In a way, fighting for our survival. Survival was key. We had a wilderness survival mentality and we were accustomed to certain things -- like knowing how to hunker down.

9) In Jin Nim was talking with one of her friends who has done lots of ministerial work in prisons. He said to her, one of the things you realize when you go into a prison is that new inmates very quickly learn how to eat -- protecting their food. Because if they don't protect it, it will be taken from them.

10) So, in a way, many of our habits stay with us because we went through this wilderness course and we have this kind of protective, hunkering down, "this is my family, this is my food" -- but True Parents are talking to us about the Pacific rim era, about the need to settle, to enter the land of Canaan and to not just have suffered but arrived at a point in our life where we can begin to be successful internally and externally. In a way, enjoy the prosperity internally and externally and become the kind of men and women that not only dream about the ideal but actually have the opportunity to substantiate that very ideal in our lives.

11) Our True Parents are saying, it's time to move on. It's time to enter a new era. So the whole vision behind the love and life Ministry is to do just that. We need to take ourselves away from this wilderness mentality, coming with a lot of baggage and habits, and really liberate our hearts. As scary as it might be to allow God to work mysteriously in our lives, because God is here to tell us that it's time brothers and sisters, it's time to not just suffer, to just hunker down and fight for mere survival -- it's time to settle, its time to be empowered, to manifest our divinity out into the world. It's time to be that bright shinning light unto this beautiful country of America and truly inspire it to be that providential country that God so desires.

12) When In Jin Nim looks at the example of Emanuel, he is an example of what In Jin Nim has called natural witnessing. Last Sunday In Jin Nim warned a lot of the brothers and sisters sitting in the audience that they are on camera and the camera does not lie. And, the incredible thing about this TV footage, is that it captured natural witnessing at its best -- because Emanuel did not know he was on camera. He was just being his natural God-given self, with an understanding that we belong to one family under God. There is no color when it comes to God's love, and the fact that we are God's children is something we breathe and live each and every day.

13) Unbeknownst to us God is always working with and around us. This is God's gift, not just to America but to all of us in the movement. It's God's way of saying, "brothers and sisters open up and see what you have. See what I have bestowed in your care. Look at how beautiful your children are. Look at how different they are."

14) In the beginning of the TV segment, the woman who was asked what she would do did not have an answer. But the incredible thing about Emanuel, because he was raised in a movement like ours, because he was raised in the teachings of our True Parents and our Heavenly Parent, he could give a very clear answer. He could articulate why a child should be able to have a doll that is different from her -- because we are all God's children.

15) This TV clip is a beautiful gift from God, just to remind us, to let us know what beautiful treasures we have in our midst. When In Jin Nim calls upon all of us to help her build something beautiful, something beautiful that we can leave behind in the form and body of our children, like Emanuel, to leave the world better than when we found it, to leave the world in the hand of those who care, who see no color, who see no barrier, who see no hate, but only want to live and breathe love, peace, and harmony. This is the beauty of our True Parents.

16) On this day, when we are celebrating True Parents Day -- when In Jin Nim was on the phone with Father and Mother, she told them that we are celebrating the second anniversary of Lovin' Life Ministry. She thanked them for their prayers, for their support, and their love. She told them, "The American movement is immensely grateful to be so blessed with your presence." And she told Father, "The Lovin' Life Ministry has been quite busy. We have been doing a lot of work, creating ways for people to participate, contribute, become inspired about who we are" -- the fact that we are God's children and we have a beautiful example in the form of our True Parents here with us, living at this breaking news time when we can not only dream and learn about ideal families, but we have the opportunity to create one ourselves. She told True Parents this is such an incredibly exciting time. And she told them we have been busy giving a lot of birth to new members.

17) True Parents asked, "Lots of new members?" In Jin Nim answered yes, we have been in labor for quite some time, but yes we have given birth. And True Parents asked "how many?"

18) At this point In Jin Nim turned the question to us. She called on one young lady in the audience -- asking her how many new members she thought we have. She answered 1000. In Jin Nim told her she is too kind.

19) Most people In Jin Nim has talked to started with 5? 10? When she asked her husband -- he began with "35?" In Jin Nim had to coach him to go higher. He asked, "40?" When she told him it was higher he would only go up by one, "41?" Asked again, he would only go up in small increments until he reached 50, and finally he said, "it can't be 100, can it?" She gave him a hint -- it's connected to the number two, our second anniversary. He finally guessed 200. Finally In Jin Nim announced that in the period from August of 2010 to the end of February 2011 we gained 222 new members. This does not include the people who joined in March.

20) In Jin Nim spoke to Rev. Cotter, our executive vice president, and to our district pastors -- and she asked them "When is the last time we had over 200 members join in about six months?" They told her it had never happened before. And we have not yet finished the year -- we still have time, until August.

21) When these numbers finally came in all of us were quite amazed and surprised. But this is what In Jin Nim was talking about when she emphasized an example of natural witnessing that we saw in Emanuel. In a way, we had to clean house, we had to clean out our old wilderness mentality of mere survival and understand and re-imagine ourselves as that divine son and daughter -- allowing that confident, not arrogant, but confidence to shine through -- in knowing that we are God's sons and daughters. And that is the kind of natural witnessing that attracts people to want to ask the question, "What is so special about Emanuel? Why is he different? Why does he answer in such a way? Why does he articulate his thoughts in such a way?" These are the questions that will ultimately lead the new members to have a connection with God, our Heavenly Parent, and our True Parents, and become part of our movement, our family, and graft into the original lineage of God for the blessing -- and have this opportunity to build an ideal family themselves, and thereby for the first time truly understand the heart of God, our Heavenly Parent.

22) Only by becoming parents ourselves can we understand how much God truly loves us and how much God has longed for a perfected Adam and Eve -- to be able to stand in the position of True Parents so that God, together with his children, can celebrate this beautiful day called True Parents Day.

23) God, our Heavenly Parent, has been waiting a long time for such a day. Adam and Eve should have been the True Parents that celebrated True God's Day together with God -- liberating God from years of loneliness, allowing Him to experience the love and the joy of being a parent to Adam and Eve. And when Jesus came he was not supposed to die on the cross. He was supposed to find that perfected wife with whom he could establish true parent-ship and become an example of a man and a woman beautifully loving each other, starting to have children, a family, and show the world how to build ideal families. Then the history of Christianity would not have been the one of denial, of loneliness, of constant waiting. The history of religion has been a history where man and woman were constantly waiting, waiting for salvation, waiting for the Messiah, hoping the Messiah would come at the time when they were living.

24) But, the beautiful thing about our True Parents, and they had to come again because Jesus never had the chance to find that wife and become true parents, blessing many many people all around the world, helping them to graft onto God's lineage. But because Jesus went the way of the cross True Father had to come as the Lord of the second Advent and he had to find his beautiful bride. And when they finally found themselves, and finally could stand in the position of True Parents, can you imagine how incredibly happy our Heavenly Parent must have been to finally celebrate True Parents Day with His beloved son and daughter? Can you imagine how many tears of joy must have been shed?

25) For us to be living at this time, with our True Parents, is an incredible blessing.

26) In Jin Nim referred us to the Bible, the book of Philippians, 3:13-14. It was written by Paul when he was in prison under the Roman authorities. He was trying to encourage his brothers and sisters to stay focused on the theme of Christian unity, the true meaning of Christian discipleship. What Paul was saying to his brothers and sisters was that, "you got to know that there are many many seasons in our life of faith." And what God is asking us to do, in this particular passage, is to forget what lies behind. Forget (meaning let go) of your attachments, your old habits, your old wilderness survival mentality. What Paul was asking the Christians of his time to do was to unite in the centrality of Christ and understand that we have to, in a way, rid ourselves of the attachments, the old ways of doing things, and march forward, or press on to what lies ahead.

27) Paul was emphasizing the need for all of us, as good Christians, good men and women of faith, to leave room within ourselves for God to do His and Her mysterious thing. We need to be able to be willing to let go of the old ways of doing things. Perhaps were not going to sing all 30 holy songs that we used to sing. Perhaps we are going to have some rock 'n roll and Aerosmith's version of Dream On -- to inspire us to continue dreaming. Perhaps instead of unison prayer, praying hysterically, perhaps this is the time to meditate on the universal language of love, to allow the music to flow through our veins, allow God to speak to us in many different ways, not just in the ways that He and She had spoken to us before. Maybe it's a call for us to leave our attachment to our understanding that only classical music is worthy of a good hallelujah, perhaps God gave rock 'n roll to all of us for a good reason.

28) This is a time when we should not be prejudice, just like the way the white mother (in the TV clip) told her daughter she could not have the doll because it was black. We must not be the kind of church that, just because throughout history classical music was the only type of music that did the hallelujah-ing, it does not mean that rock 'n roll, jazz, soul, blues, might not have the same effect on people.

29) Just as we need to appreciate all races, perhaps this is the time to appreciate all types of music, after all music is the language of love, is it not? If we can use this media as a means to connect people to God -- to In Jin Nim, that is hallelujah!

30) When In Jin Nim called upon the District pastors to come together, she was not telling them, "I am a young upstart and I can do better, not at all. What I am saying, you have done a phenomenal job -- surviving. Now, let's work, truly inheriting the spirit of unity and understanding that we need our True Parents and knowing that God wants to take us to the next level, not to just survive, but to prosper, to thrive, to be successful, to be satisfied in our life of faith, to really love our life and understand our lives as a gift and therefore this attitude of gratitude is what we leave behind and the philosophy of living for the sake of others is what we practice in our daily lives."

31) Up until now these great men and women of God, District Leaders and all the State Leaders all around this great country of America -- they have done a phenomenal job. So In Jin Nim asked them the other day, "Do you want to be known as these great pastors who did a fantastic job at surviving? Would you want to go out with a bang, or better than that, why not go out giving birth to not just hundreds of new members, but thousands, what about tens of thousands?"

32) When In Jin Nim started the love and life ministry two years ago she remembers sitting in the board room with some people, sitting around the table, and when she gave her vision of what she would like to do with a unified ministry they all looked at her as though she was totally insane. They gave her all the reasons why it would not work. "In midtown Manhattan parking is too expensive." The tri-state area worshiping together in the same location, "impossible, impossible."

33) In Jin Nim expressed, "regardless of what you were thinking, and what you must have been going through, the miracle of the matter is -- that you were willing to give it a go. You were willing to give it a try. For that In Jin Nim is immensely grateful."

34) Even though, we hear at Lovin' Life Ministry have had to go through labor pains and growing pains -- and even though there are those who try to bring down our broadcasts every Sunday morning, things like this can be disheartening at times, but In Jin Nim always tells brothers and sisters, just the fact that so much money and energy is poured in to try to stop what we are doing -- means that we are doing a good thing. It means that we are having an effect.

35) If we could give birth to 222 babies in about six months, with our members barely joining together -- imagine what we could do if we really, totally with our hearts, invested, and believed, and worked to share this breaking news with the world. Can we imagine what that would be like? 222 is only the number of new members -- it does not take into account all the Ambassadors for Peace that have joined and the first generation that have come back, and the second generation who have come back and are now actively participating in the ministry. So the number 222 is just the tip of the iceberg. In other words it's an appetizer with a great entrée to come. So, if the first two years were the appetizer -- this next year, the third-year of Lovin' Life Ministry will be the year that we start serving the entrées. And how wonderful it will be if we can all join in with one heart as one family, really be united and centered on our True Parents.

36) A couple years back one leader came to In Jin Nim and told her, "your idea of boosting up the membership as they did in the 1970s -- highly unlikely, impossible. And let me give you the reasons why." But the great thing about lists of impossibilities -- when someone gives In Jin Nim a list of all the reasons why something is impossible, she is going to spend all her energy trying to figure out how to make it possible -- and not just possible, but to take that impossibility through the realm of possibility and make it a reality.

37) Lovin' Life Ministry is proof that the impossibility, went through the realms of possibility, and is now a reality. So imagine what we could do if we could really truly engage ourselves, being that confident eternal son and daughter of God.

38) Can you imagine, when Father stresses to us over and over again the importance of 2013 -- and everyone is thinking impossible -- In Jin Nim is thinking, "Mmmm, not only is it possible, it can be a reality." The example of natural witnessing is a new kind of witnessing. In Jin Nim is not talking about witnessing to people one-on-one, she is talking about witnessing to churches. With the great work that has been done with ACLC, now churches are partnering up with Lovin' Life Ministry -- they are worshiping together with us, and all of you are worshiping together with different Christian brothers and sisters around the country.

39) We have to understand that just because, for the last couple of decades, it was business as usual -- the same old same old, does not mean that the floodgates have not opened. They have opened and we have done the impossible. There is nothing that we cannot accomplish if we work together.

40) One of the things that In Jin Nim says to brothers and sisters is, "God gave us, and he has delivered to us, all that we need, to be that great son and daughter. The principle teaches us that God has done 95% and it's only our 5% responsibility -- to own up to who we are, to decide to be that agent of change. That is going to make the difference."

41) At this incredibly crucial time when we have our True Parents here with us, we have an opportunity, to not just think about the floodgates opening, not to just hear about it, but to experience it. We are in the thick of it. This is a time when God is basically trying to say, "My dear child, start connecting the dots. I have given you everything you need." For example, in New York City God has provided for us the Manhattan Center, the New Yorker Hotel, and 43rd St.. Before they were each doing their own thing. But if we understand what God wants us to do -- to connect the dots together, to create this beautiful picture of a common vision, and a common purpose -- relying on the theme, and standing on the foundation of unity, we can do incredible things -- if we realize, if we just step back.

42) Many times we are our own worst enemies in that we don't realize what we have, we don't realize what a treasure a child like Emanuel is. This is our child. Sometimes we are our worst enemies.

43) Many times when In Jin Nim works with artists they tell her -- the whole world has to love you before your hometown can recognize the artist that you are. In a way Lovin' Life Ministry has suffered the same fate. All the different ministers, imams, and rabbis have said that this is cutting edge, this is going to change the world. But it's been our brothers and sisters, still with the wilderness survival mentality, that have been the greatest persecutors of Lovin' Life Ministry. People who are too close to realize that they are standing right next to the light. It is always the place right underneath the light that is the darkest. So let us not be like the men and woman who lived during the time of Jesus Christ, who failed to see that he was the son of God, and failed to see that he was sent to become the True Parents of mankind and therefore never participated in the opening of the floodgates. Let us not make that same mistake. Here we have our True Parents with us. They've given us the gift of the Divine Principle, they have shared with us the gift of the Blessing, and they have taught us not to be afraid of death through the great events like the Seunghwa Ceremony. They have helped us overcome death. They have given these great three gifts to the world. How can we not realize how incredibly blessed we really are.

44) Let us not be the blind, the people who are standing right next to True Parents but fail to see who they are. Let us not be men and woman sitting in one of the most interesting and exciting movements in the world -- not realizing the revolution of heart that is taking place. Let us not wait for new members to tell us how wonderful our faith is, how wonderful and beautiful our community is. Let's start waking up to the fact that we are, just as the journalist said, a remarkable movement.

45) What does the word remarkable mean? It means extraordinary. In a way we are no different from anyone else, we are ordinary in that we are all human beings -- but we are extraordinary -- we have a passion for love, we have an attitude of gratitude, we have a determination to make something -- to give back to the world through our own efforts, something beautiful that everyone can enjoy together. If you think about it, the message of true love that our True Parents share with us, and we have been so fortunate in our daily lives, we have to realize that we are some of the most lucky people in the history of mankind.

46) Our True Father, in one of the talks that he gave in 1969, September 13 -- he said that true love is fulfilled when it's centered on parental love. And the beauty of having our True Parents here is that through them we can experience, not just true love and true life, but we have the ability and opportunity to experience what grafting on to the true lineage is all about. We have a chance to have children of our own. We have a chance to really understand how much God must have loved us and how much He and She loves us still, and must be rooting us on each and every day.

47) We have so much to look forward to, and we must value this time as something sacred, and holy, and the most precious gift that God is allowing us to share together with our True Parents. In Jin Nim knows that in Korea True Parents are saying blessings, and giving their prayers for this great country of America. How wonderful it will be if America can truly be the great nation -- not just a superpower that wields its might and strength onto the world, but what if America could be a country that ushers in this new millennium with a new understanding that we are all God's children and that we all belong to one family and that we must really honor and live with God, as if He and She is our common parent -- and therefore overcome the barriers of hatred, overcome the difficulties of war, overcome the difficulties of poverty, overcome the differences and the difficulties of religious dissension and realize that it is within our hands, if we can determine that we are going to live our lives differently, from the way it has been before. We can decide today to love. We can decide today to want to build that peaceful world, to want to seek and strive for harmonious living.

48) Here at Lovin' Life Ministry, every week, we invite a member from a different faith to come and bless our congregation. And the brothers and sisters in the audience -- In Jin Nim hopes that we can open up our hearts and accept the blessing as a gift to us -- the gift of interfaith dialogue, the gift of really communicating as if we truly belong to one common parent.

49) As difficult as it might have been for the Lovin' Life Ministry team to get up so early every Sunday to prepare for the Lovin' Life Ministry -- they have truly done a phenomenal job in providing such a fine, fine worship for all of us. In Jin Nim asked us to give them a round of applause.

50) They are too numerous to name, but you know who you are -- people like George Kazakos, David Eaton, Robert Carvell, Roy Clark, all the different men and women in the band Sonic Cult, all the choir members, and all the unseen people -- the engineers who work behind the scene to make Lovin' Life Ministry what it is. When In Jin Nim says that Lovin' Life Ministry gave birth to 222 members, she is not saying that she did it -- she is saying that we and her together did it.

51) In Jin Nim has heard it all. You name it, she's been called it, from a saint to a whore and everything in between. There are numerous obstacles we have had to overcome, and we are still overcoming each and every day -- but she wakes up in the morning because she is inspired by us, she wakes up in the morning because she is inspired by the unsung heroes that we do not see every Sunday, but are putting in the hours and the effort to make this ministry what it is. So be grateful that God has prepared this beautiful Manhattan Center for this ministry and that God has prepared a beautiful hotel like the New Yorker, and the beautiful building that we have turned into a learning center at 43rd St.. This is a Trinity of sorts. It is the beginning of something great.

52) We can be the engine of something great. Regardless of how beautiful the exterior of a Ferrari is, without that fabulous engine the car is not going to go. The Trinity that we have going here at the headquarters in New York City is that engine. The Lovin' Life Ministry is the engine for our movement. And not only are we touching our movement but all of you are touching brothers and sisters all around the world -- in Europe, Asia, Africa, and everywhere. Be proud of who you are. Be proud of being a member. Be proud of being a Unificationist. Be proud in knowing that you are God's eternal sons and daughters and we are here to do great things. And what is better than to leave something behind in the form of new people who have come to realize the beauty and majesty and glory of God through our good works? There is nothing more beautiful than that. What you have done together with In Jin Nim is good work, it's phenomenal work, it's wonderful work.

53) Continue to be inspired, because this is just the tip of the iceberg. As we continue to do good work please encourage those within our fold, who did not quite get it, that something good is taking place. Something phenomenal is taking place -- and our kids are being empowered and inspired to be those great future leaders who will take our world to a much better place than how we found it. Isn't that the greatest gift that we can leave behind?

54) "Be grateful to our heavenly parent. Be grateful to our True Parents. And be grateful to each other."

55) In Jin Nim's final comments (with tears) were: "And from one senior pastor to the congregation I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity to learn, to grow in ways I never thought I would find myself in. But as difficult as things might have been, the rewards have been much sweeter. And truly having had this opportunity to work with all of you has been an honor for me -- I can only look forward to next year with great inspiration and great encouragement. God Bless You!"