The Words of In Jin Moon from 2011
|
|
The Words of In Jin Moon from 2011 |
1. In Jin Nim greeted everyone. She wished everyone a happy Independence Day, July 4.
2. You can't celebrate Independence Day properly without a little Bon Jovi in the morning. She was torturing herself the other day with a stair master to the music of Bon Jovi. She felt, a great way to start Sunday morning, getting us all prepared for the festivities on Monday celebrating Independence Day.
3. For those who grew up in this country, were born in this country, and can call themselves citizens of this country – Independence Day has great meaning attached to it. We know it was the Declaration of Independence that proclaimed the 13 colonies to be free from Great Britain. It was an attempt at self-government and to take destiny into our own American hands, and starting from that time America has grown to become one of the super powers of the world, wielding a great deal of influence in countries all around the world. Therefore it has a great deal of responsibility in its desire to exercise its freedom.
4. Usually on this day, we are contemplating the word 'independence.' The Webster dictionary defines it as freedom from control or influence or determination of another.
5. That word has a very interesting place in all of our lives, in particular for those of us who are young and looking towards our life and the different things that we would like to do. Sometimes the word freedom overrides anything else in our lives. For lots of people freedom can mean, or seemingly mean, you can do whatever you want. But freedom is guaranteed, not because it exists alone, but because it exists in the context of the Constitution of the United States -- which guarantees freedom for all of its citizens. Just because we long to be free, does not mean that we can be free – doing whatever we want, if it infringes on the rights of another individual in the United States of America.
6. When In Jin Nim thinks about or prays about the word freedom, it is made of two syllables, 'free' and 'dom.' And it is a reminder for all of us wanting freedom or seeking freedom, or wanting to express freedom in our lives – that, yes we need to be free and that we have the right to exercise the important decision making ourselves – and in the Divine Principle we call it 5% responsibility, we have the free will to decide what we are going to do, but we need to do that wisely, we need to do that lovingly, we need to do that thinking and living for the sake of others. Therefore we should all be free, but free – not being involved or doing things that might fall under the category of things that are dumb.
7. We can be free, but it is not a smart thing if we tell people that I'm free to hurt you. That is not a smart thing to do. Or, I am free to cause myself bodily harm – that is not a smart thing to do. Or, I am free to inflict misery on myself or be my own prisoner or taskmaster – in such a way that I no longer function as the eternal son or daughter of God – that also would not be the smart thing to do. Those things might fall under the category of things that would be considered dumb.
8. When we are thinking about this word freedom and we are tossing it around in this beautiful hall this morning – one of the things In Jin Nim noticed is that whenever we make progress, for instance in the technological area or the process of modernization – every process forward allows this to be a little more free. For example with the invention of the washer and dryer we became more free with time to do other things. Or, when the state of New York started to implement EZ Pass at toll booths, it's an attempt to free us from having to rummage through our pockets as we approach the toll booth – trying to get all the coins in to the toll booth as we drive away. This process of modernization is freeing us from what we were held bondage to – such as trying to find change and trying to get that change into the toll booth.
9. Or for instance when the Lovin' Life team prepares with the good brothers and sisters at headquarters, the Launch-pad that has been shared with all the District Pastors around the country, it is truly an effort on the part of headquarters and the Lovin' Life Ministry to help the District Pastors create an effective and efficient satellite community to the best of their ability. It's their (Headquarters) way to serve the District Leaders and communities to allow them to own their own programs, to develop their own circles, to develop their own projects, to really make Lovin' Life their own in every state all around the country.
10. What In Jin Nim noticed about freedom is that when freedom is made available, for instance with the state of New York as in the case of the EZ Pass – and we have had EZ Pass for over 10 or 15 years, but there are still a great deal of people who are having a hard time switching over from the habitualized understanding of what a toll booth means – the habitualized accepted form of rummaging through the pockets, driving up to the window, throwing the coins into the toll booth, and then driving away. Even though freedom has been offered – that you can totally forgo all of these processes, you can be free from rummaging through your pockets and from having to get the coins into the toll booth before you drive away – you can just simply glide through the toll booth. Even though that freedom has been awarded it takes a long time for people to change their ways.
11. Headquarters initiated the Launch-pad and sent it out to all the pastors across the nation, but the gift of the Launch-pad from headquarters, just as the state of New York provides EZ Pass to provide a more efficient effective and comfortable alternative – that is what the Launch-pad is trying to do – give back the power to you so you can develop your own successful Lovin' Life satellite. But just like the EZ Pass, many of you are not using the Launch-pad. Many of you are not familiar with the thought processes that those at headquarters have gone through and have gifted to us so that when you think about the possible bullet points, or possible phrase that you might want to use as your slogan or banner for the different projects that you will be doing, such as Live Out Loud – it has already been thought out, it's already been gifted, it's been given.
12. But with all freedom that has been given to the District Pastors and communities, the right to exercise the freedom of making Lovin' Life your own – but if you don't own that freedom and receive it and make it yours, that freedom doesn't really award anything to anybody.
13. When we consult the Bible, the good book, there is a wonderful passage in Romans 12:2. It says "be not conformed to this world, but be transformed in renewing your mind, so that you may prove that which is good, acceptable, and perfect – the will of God."
14. When you highlight all the verbs in this passage – be not conformed to this world, but be transformed – how? By renewing your mind. And why be transformed by renewing your mind? – So that we can prove the will of God – what is perfect, acceptable, and that is good.
15. If we are to savor this passage in Romans, what the Bible is saying is, do not get stuck in what has been accepted, do not get stuck in the ways that we have done things before, do not become habitualized to the ineffective ways of doing things, do not become habitualized to the miserable type of living. Some people don't want to get out of poverty because they need to feel the pain every day of their lives. Even when you afford these people a means of getting themselves out, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to seek a better way of life – many people don't leave.
16. It is interesting when Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, issued September 1862 and became effective the year after – there were a lot of slaves who were taught that you no longer are slaves, now you are free men and women, now you can go as you please. They were in a way awarded a freedom to be citizens of this country – they were no longer slaves or second-class citizens. But even though freedom was awarded to these people, a lot of the slaves did not want to leave their masters because they were conformed to the world, they were habitualized in their slavery. They knew nothing else. So, instead of taking courage to seek a better life, they would rather stay in the state of being a slave.
17. This is quite shocking for a lot of people. But slavery takes many, many different forms. Yes, the African Americans have been given their emancipation proclamations, but even in this modern day era there are slaves of many different sorts. For example many people are slaves to drugs. And, even though we want to afford these people the freedom to rid themselves from a life in bondage and enslaved to drugs – they don't want to leave because they have been conformed to their world. It has been habitualized, it has been accepted and they allow themselves to be stuck.
18. The Bible is asking us to not be conformed to the world. And when HQ sent out the Launch-pad to the District Pastors they were asking them not to be conformed to the world as they knew it. We just celebrated the end of the world, May 21, 2011 in Las Vegas with True parents (True Parents) – which was prophesied by many prophets and by the Good Book a long time ago.
19. When they sent out the Launch-pad it was an invitation not to be conformed to the world as we knew it. This is a time in which we can build something new, something better, something that is worthy of our children and our grandchildren.
20. The Bible goes on to say, "Be transformed." It is not saying that God will transform you. In other words the Bible is asking us to be that responsible adult who will decide to exercise that 5% responsibility of our free will and become that agent of change who will determine our own great destinies that await us.
21. The Bible says be transformed. How do we transform ourselves? By renewing our minds. What the Bible is actually saying is, get yourself unstuck from the habitualized way of thinking, way of living, and way of expressing ourselves to each other, and be transformed – meaning, all of us, In Jin Nim, we, all of us – not waiting for God to do the job for us, not waiting for the band of Angels to sing good wishes unto us, but we need to be our own transformation by renewing our minds.
22. When you renew something – for example In Jin Nim has owned different places, apartments, and now has a home in Boston – when spring rolls around and the paint on the outside of the house is looking a bit flaky and dull – she is thinking about painting the exterior or interior of her house in different colors – to renovate it and give it a brand-new face, a brand-new feeling – on which everyone can be carried throughout the year. In Jin Nim knows that when she decides to renovate something it is a conscious decision. She becomes her own agent of change and she decides for herself that a bit of transformation is necessary to move the house from dull to fabulous, from something that is putrid to glorious, from boring to exciting.
23. Transformation means moving something from one state to another. It predisposes that there is growth, there is movement. Transformation is a wonderful word that promises growth and movement in our lives from one state to another. And how do we do that? Simply by changing the way we think – renewing, renovating the way we think over the way we have been going about doing what we've done before.
24. "Each of the District Pastors around the country, God bless you – we are so lucky to have all of you." But what the Good Book is asking is for us to do something a little bit different, not to do the old method of approaching the tollbooth, rummaging in our pockets and throwing the coins in – it's asking us to try the EZ Pass. And the more people that do – it will make the morning traffic that much better, it will be good for everybody. It is a call to help transform ourselves, our families, our society, our nations, and our communities into something better – moving them from one state to another. How? By renewing our thinking, by changing our thinking, by deciding for ourselves that we are not going to be dependent and addicted children to our God or to our True Parents, but we are going to be healthy, independent children who love and honor God and want to do something great, want to build something wonderful, and by changing or renovating our thinking, constantly on the lookout for new ways to take what is beautiful, which is our tradition and the beautiful brothers and sisters that we have in our fold – and help to bring them up to the modern day era so that we can be more effective as a family, as a community, and as a movement.
25. In doing so – prove the will of God. If we understand that God is our Heavenly Parent, our Father and Mother up in heaven, and we know that when God talks about creating his children, the first thing that He had in his mind was to love and be loved. He wanted to experience love by creating his children. Then the desire of God, as a parent gazing upon his beautiful sons and daughters all around the world, is for them to be incredibly wonderful and beautiful sons and daughters truly loving life. Our Heavenly Parent would like all of us to truly love life, truly inherit the true love of God – meaning that our children, for all of us, will have the chance and opportunity to experience true love, true life, and also true lineage – building true families of our own.
26. In that way we realize that God is not a God that sits on a high throne, casting commands up in heaven, making the children miserable, making them suffer, but what he is hoping is that, if the children are suffering, that perhaps through that difficult time the children would learn something and perhaps become deeper and stronger as a person and become better as a person. But what He and She wishes for all of us is to be happy, is to be healthy, and to be in love – truly loving life. That is what our Heavenly Parent wants.
27. If the goal of our life is to prove the love of God – when you think about the word prove – when you want to prove the truth of something, first of all you have to have a concept of what truth is. You have to be able to conceive what you want to prove – this truth or this particular mathematical equation – and you have to believe in the process, that once you understand what you want to do, there is a process that needs to be played out. In geometry when you prove something you are going to have to explain how you got from one premise to the other. You have to conclude it elegantly.
28. When we are thinking that our goal or mission in life is to truly be that embodiment who proves the will of God, the wish and desire of God in wanting to see all of us as that incredible son and daughter of God – then we realize that once we can understand or have a concept of this in our mind – we have to believe it, we have to keep faith in the process of actualizing it or of substantiating it, or of achieving it in our lives. So when you prove something you make real something that was originally in your head, a concept that was in your head.
29. When God is asking us to prove the will of God, that we, as his sons and daughters, have this incredible responsibility to be that divine being, to be that eternal son and a daughter. Its asking us to simply put into practice the three steps of conceive, believe – keep the faith while you're doing it, and achieve it.
30. When In Jin Nim read this passage several times she said to herself, "I need to work on not being conformed to this world." A couple of weeks ago she was dealing with a particular conformity in that she had a great deal of pain on her neck and shoulders. But, you don't have the time or the will to take yourself to the doctor – it's an added inconvenience in your day and all the things that you have to do. So she never took care of it and it kept getting worse and worse. What she was doing was exactly conforming to the world as she knew it. It was an excruciatingly painful world. And in a strange way the pain became her friend and that's how she knew she was in trouble.
31. In Jin Nim had heard about a wonderful acupuncturist. He is a member of our faith. Also In Jin Nim 's daughter has had a pain in her foot for several years which becomes inflamed every time she dances. But like her mother she just grinned and thought it might go away, but it did not go away and it got worse and worse.
32. When In Jin Nim read this passage in Romans, she said, "well the Bible says, be not conformed to this world but be transformed by renewing your mind so that you can prove the will of God." That told In Jin Nim that someone up there was hinting to her, "get your life in gear and fix your problem. Do not be conformed and suffer with the pain. Transform yourself and make your state, your health, better by renewing your mind, by deciding that you are going to do something about it and prove the will of God – meaning prove that God is not wishing or desiring that she suffer.
33. They heard that this doctor was very good but they also heard horror stories. On the internet is says that this is a "no mercy" doctor. If you come to him for treatment you are there to be treated and you are at his mercy. No amount of screaming, Aju, or hallelujah is going to save you from the treatment he will inflict on you once you are in his care. And so they were apprehensive. But the Bible say, do not be conformed – and so they went.
34. They met the doctor -- a tiny man, happy face, very smiley – he did not look like someone who could inflict a great deal of pain. He was very soft-spoken. He asked them to explain what is going on. In Jin Nim explained her pain and her daughter explained the pain in her foot. He looked at them and brought out a metal box. He closed his eyes and opened the box. In Jin Nim has been to many acupuncturist before – they use very skinny short needles. When they poke you, you barely feel it and the needles don't go in so deep, maybe a centimeter. But when this man opened his metal box those metal "rods," they were not needles, they were very long. In Jin Nim looked at her daughter and said, "oh my goodness!" But once they go into treatment there was no way out.
35. When you go to a regular acupuncturist -- the needle usually goes where you feel the pain, but he told them that those acupuncturist don't know the divine principle, they don't understand subject -- object, masculine -- feminine, ying -- yang, heaven and earth, east and west. They are putting the needle in the wrong place. You don't put the needle in the pain, you put the needle where you can excite the nerve to do something about the pain. In the past all of the acupuncturist put the needles where she felt the pain, but this doctor put his metal rods on the opposite shoulder where she had no pain. In Jin Nim was wondering what this man was doing.
36. She asked him to explain to her his metal rod system. He explained it's like when you are falling asleep, such as in Sunday's service (In Jin Nim expressed that she hoped we were not falling asleep) when you are nudged by someone it actually makes you more tired. He said the western style medicine is like someone trying to nudge you awake when you are falling asleep. His heavenly rod method of acupuncture, is not to nudge the person, but to slap him awake, so hard that it shocks the system and starts it up all over again with extreme renewed renovated energy. Because when you're slapped awake your sleepiness suddenly disappears and you are like, "who did this? Come out of the woodwork?" And you are suddenly awake. This was the philosophy of his heavenly rod acupuncture system.
37. And so In Jin Nim sat there as they were tortured. Unlike other acupuncturist, these needles, she could feel them going in and you could feel the circuitry being affected by them. He would drill them slowly in your neck, but you feel it in your lower back, or he treats your shoulder but you feel it in your leg.
38. He told them, "this will be painful." As if it might make it any better, but it did not make it better, but at least he warned them. And he kept on poking them. He told In Jin Nim that she was very stressed out and that it was good she saw him, if it had gone much further something might have had to give. Then he told her she must come back two more times. She thought, "oh no! I was hoping for a one-time miracle!"
39. Then he worked on In Jin Nim 's daughter. They told her to lie down and he was preparing to put the needles in her other foot. But she refused to lie down, she had to see what he was going to do to her feet. They told her not to look but she was so scared she was clinging onto In Jin Nim. She was kicking In Jin Nim in the process. In Jin Nim told her, "let's give it a go." Then the doctor started slowly drilling in the metal rods, telling them that it would hurt. And Ariana was screaming like a coyote. It was extremely painful, but she sat through it and completed the treatment, and it was extremely painful because it was on the bone.
40. But after the treatment – after two years of pain in which she could often not walk – but after the first treatment the pain went away. She expressed how incredible it was. All the other doctors wanted to treat the foot that was affected with needles and electronic devices, but nothing got rid of the pain. But he treated the opposite foot and the pain went away. He also told Ariana to come back two more times, and she did. They completed their treatment.
41. The interesting thing was, they could have both continued on living with their pain, because it was what they knew, it was what they were used to, it was what they became accustomed to. And the added effort of making that phone call to the doctor, getting themselves over there, or when we make the effort to learn how to use the computer instead of being stuck to a typewriter – yes you have to learn, if we try something new, you have to go from being computer illiterate to computer literate, but in the end that process frees us to do so much more.
42. In Jin Nim realized that going through that process and receiving that extremely tortuous acupuncture session, in the end it yielded the kind of results that allows her to do much better her mission of truly proving the will of God, trying to be that eternal son and daughter of God, really fulfilling all of our divinity and realizing that we are not just dust in the wind, meant to just float around in the air and feel glorious about ourselves, but there is a meaning and a purpose to our existence – and our life is an opportunity to do just that, to actualize what God originally intended for His first son and daughter, Adam and Eve.
43. In Jin Nim realized in this whole experience of going through the acupuncture treatment, there has to be that decision, that defining moment where you say, "enough is enough! We need to do something different. Let's see if we can take ourselves from one state to another. Let's see if we can make ourselves better by changing our way of thinking. Let's see if we can change the course of our destiny by holding the horns of our destiny and driving it ourselves. We're not going to wait around for our parents to do the job for us all the time. We are going to be that independent, that responsible child that exercises their freedom, the freedom to do the right thing, and to do things in the right way. And truly by embodying the philosophy of living for the sake of others we grow to be free in terms of knowing all the blessings that have been given us, and understanding that we are governed by an incredible philosophy, living for the sake of others. We need to exercise our freedom by practicing it in our daily lives, by carrying for the ones that we care about, by helping the community that we care about. District leaders don't just sit on the Launch- pad that was sent to you, and you should have received the second packet last week. Please utilize it in your community. It was created to help you do your job better, to help you own your own ministry, to help you develop your own communities. We never had a system like this before, but that doesn't mean we can't have one now.
44. The incredible thing is, whether the districts are following the Launch-pad as has been recommended or not, the amazing thing about the ministry that our Heavenly Parent has allowed us to experience and partake of – is that every month 30 or 40 members are joining. So imagine how much better that average will be if we really start actually using the Launch-pad – so that people can talk freely amongst ourselves – and do we even know the theme? Are our pastors and youth ministers aware that the theme of the Launch-pad is, "I care." We are using compassion and caring as our theme.
45. But regardless of how much is done at headquarters if headquarters does not have your support, and not just receiving the packet but implementing, sharing, talking about and brainstorming about the packet – inviting your congregation and youth to participate and make the ministry your own – then it is not going to be as effective as we would all like.
46. Despite, whether you use this or not, growth will take place. But how much faster and more effective would the growth be, especially considering that we are looking towards the date of 2013. There is a whole lot of breaking news that needs to be shared – the news of our True Parents, the news that we can finally live as one family under God. And how do we become one family? Everyone thinks Rev Moon is crazy about mass weddings. But it is not just to people getting married with thousands of other couples, it is really their testament and their wanting to share with the world that they are going to transcend the barriers of race, religion, and culture to come together in this common denominator, understanding God as our Heavenly Parent and ourselves as the eternal son and daughter, and that son and a daughter that proclaims that they will live a compassionate life, an altruistic life – living for the sake of others, raising up others to be better than ourselves, and in the process not being just internally excellent men and women but externally excellent men and women.
47. The internal knowledge of who we are, as that divine being, is manifested in all the different things that we do, be it as lawyers, ministers, teachers, nurses, or chefs – it doesn't matter. If we are beautiful on the inside and we are strong in the knowledge that we are here for a purpose and that we have a mission and that we have this incredible gift of life, that we should unfold as part of our myth making – then we realize that we have been gifted an exciting, an engrossing, and compelling ride called our life. So we can approach our life with gratitude, with excitement in knowing that we were meant to leave something beautiful behind. And what is more beautiful than our children, the next generation, who are better prepared than we are to usher this world into the next millennium.
48. As the world continues to come together, in this promise of building a peaceful world – you cannot have peace without truly understanding how to love, and the way you understand how to love is by understanding how relationships work in a family. This is why Rev and Mrs. Moon teach that building the ideal families is the cornerstone, the building block, of building a peaceful world. If we don't learn how to love we will not know how to be peaceful men and women, we will not know how to be harmonious men and women.
49. These international blessings are an effort to see our world as one family. Not that one race is better than the other, not that one culture is better than the other, not that one economic class is better than the other – we are all children of God. That is what our True Parents and our Heavenly Parent want us to concentrate on.
50. When Jesus was healing the sick in the book of Matthew 9:29 Jesus was saying to the people who came to him to be healed, "according to your faith be it unto you." Meaning that the healing Jesus provides will be according to their faith. The healing that our True Parents and our Heavenly Parent brings to the world is according to our faith, "be it unto all of us." If we can remain vigilant in our faith to our Heavenly Parent and in our faith and loyalty to our True Parents, there is nothing that we cannot heal, that we cannot accomplish.
51. There is an incredibly profound saying that comes from a tribe in Nigeria; "The small pebbles are the strength in walls." All these small pebbles are you and me. You and I become the strength in the city and the walls that we are building. We need to make sure that these little pebbles, you and me, are inspired, that we are not conformed to the world, but that we are transformed by renewing our way of thinking so that we can live the rest of our lives proving the will and the desire of our Heavenly Father and Mother in heaven.
52. "So brothers and sisters, on this beautiful July 4 weekend, celebrating Independence Day, please have a safe weekend. Lots of young pyromaniacs in the audience, please take care and have a great time, have a great family sharing, and all throughout the weekend please keep the faith. Thank you"
1: I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2: Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3: For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.
4: For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
5: so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;
7: if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching;
8: he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
9: Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
10: love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor.
11: Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord.
12: Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
13: Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.
14: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
15: Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16: Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited.
17: Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.
18: If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.
19: Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
20: No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head."
21: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
By the President of the United States of America:
A
Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary
of State.
1: And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
2: And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."
3: And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."
4: But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5: For which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise and walk'?
6: But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- he then said to the paralytic -- "Rise, take up your bed and go home."
7: And he rose and went home.
8: When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
9: As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
10: And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.
11: And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
12: But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
13: Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."
14: Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
15: And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16: And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.
17: Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
18: While he was thus speaking to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."
19: And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples.
20: And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment;
21: for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well."
22: Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.
23: And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult,
24: he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him.
25: But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
26: And the report of this went through all that district.
27: And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David."
28: When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord."
29: Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you."
30: And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it."
31: But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
32: As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him.
33: And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."
34: But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."
35: And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity.
36: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37: Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
38: pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."