The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1958 |
26 Since you cannot do this very
little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 "Consider how
the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not
even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe
you -- you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you
will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs
after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been
pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to
the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a
treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near
and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also. 35 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your
lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return
from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can
immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those
servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell
you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the
table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those
servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the
middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If
the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be
ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not
expect him." 41 Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this
parable to us, or to everyone?" 42 The Lord answered, "Who
then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge
of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time?
43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so
when he returns.
Luke 12:26-43
Today we have gathered before You again. We are afraid of not being able to return glory to You in Your distress. We are afraid of revealing reckless falsity before Your will. Father, if we are unworthy, at least grant us the sincere heart to be able to humble ourselves and wait for Your mercy. Without Your care, how can we see Your glory on the earth? Without abiding in Your Shim Jung, how can we see the garden granted to us? Father! We have desired from the beginning and pursued the will to become those who can abide in Your heart, harmonize with Your Shim Jung, and live with You.
We sang about You when we first experienced Your Shim Jung. Yet along the way, many of us have been wounded in the heart. Please have sympathy with our plights. We have learned through the process of restoration that the initial determination we made before You must remain in the last garden of restoration. We know too well that the Israelites who did not fall in the wilderness were those whose ardent Shim Jung toward You was unchanging from the time of the departure from Egypt throughout the forty-year course. Those who had the Shim Jung of loyalty toward You received the blessing of the second Israel. At this time, guide us to question whether we are now able to obey Your commands after having pledged and determined before You.
We know that You are lamenting because the last days are approaching, yet there are none who can take responsibility for Your sake. Although we seek You, we behold Your glory, and we call ourselves Your sons, we know that You are grieving because no one appears to take responsibility for any area in Your will, providence and battle course. Father, allow us again to set up the altar of repentance and shed tears of deep regret. We know the Israelites fell in the wilderness by desiring comfort and complaining against You. Since we have gathered here to hold Your hand and not become like them, lead us to participate in Your glory. I eagerly desire and ask this.
Father, have pity now on the thirty million people. Father, have pity on these people. Since the many altars set up for the nation may be far away from the nation and Your will, as long as the providential will is to be accomplished through them, please intervene with them directly. If they do not listen to Your advice, teach them their path even by using whips. I eagerly desire and ask this, loving Father. If there are people who remain to the end, shouldering the responsibility to awaken this sleeping nation, Father, allow even one more life to come into harmony with Your loving Shim Jung. You have mourned for 6,000 years. I eagerly desire and ask, loving Father, that we may become Your sons and daughters who can repent before You, obey You and fight against Satan.
In spite of Your work of the providence, human mistakes brought sighs and grudges. Pacify Your grief with us. Father, we are trying to find Your ideal garden, so please work with us directly and with an eager Shim Jung. I earnestly desire and ask, loving Father, that You will consecrate whatever needs to be consecrated so that we can offer it to You as a glorious sacrifice and keep Your altar clean. As we are now looking for Your sons and daughters who will work hard for the earth, let us not simply hold onto ourselves before You. Loving Father, I sincerely desire and ask that we can feel our own shortcomings for ourselves. Please protect the path of Golgotha to the end. Although we are unworthy to appear before Your altar, let us remain on this course until the end.
Father, although the allowed will and time should be fulfilled and manifested through us, we are worried that if we become unable to serve the will, You will install another prepared people and put us to shame. Father, manifest the day of glory and soothe Your grieving Shim Jung through us. Establish one day of joy, and let us participate in Your joy. I eagerly desire and ask this, loving Father. Although we want to appear before You, we are worried that it may deeply disturb You. Therefore, Father, I eagerly hope that we can go forth for the will of Your desire without hesitation and move according to Your command, so that the day comes soon when we can comfortably trust each other.
Since we are anxious that we may not possess Your Shim Jung and may simply become objects of Your sorrow, let our hearts resemble Your heart. Let our situations converge with Your situation. Let our hopes resemble Your hope. Father, I eagerly desire and ask that You guide us so that in life and in death we live, centered on You, as Your possession. We leave the rest of the hour up to You. Please rule over us as You please. There are righteous people throughout the country who are offering ardent prayers. Please spread over them Your hand of grace and bless them with admonition so that they can experience the heavenly glory. We pray all this in the name of the Lord. Amen.
The title of the speech I would like to reflect upon with you today is "Who Will Become the Friend of Golgotha?"
As you well know, Golgotha means the place of the skull and thus is the place of death. To become a friend of Golgotha means to become a friend of death. Christians believe in Jesus of Golgotha. Golgotha reminds us of the cross of Jesus, and the cross reminds us of his internal character. His internal character reminds us that God grieved over his death. With the dying Jesus, Heaven was stricken with sorrow and the earth took delight. Jesus came for the sake of the earth and Heaven; yet only Heaven understood him as he died for Heaven and earth. We should know that this is the sorrow of history.
If the chosen people had understood Jesus as God did, human history would not have become so deviant. Jesus came as the representative of truth, life, the ideal and love. Yet the truth, life, ideal and love he proclaimed were centered on Heaven and not on humanity. They were the truth a fallen person had to find to find hope, the life he had to possess, the ideal he had to find, and the love he had to possess eternally. Although Jesus came with truth, life, the ideal and love, when he died none of these, for which humankind searched, could be found. We should realize that for this reason humankind could not help roaming about.
So far there has been no one who possesses the word of truth which emanates deeply from the Shim Jung of Jesus. No one has the life which deeply grasps the bone and flesh of Jesus. There has been no one on earth who possesses the ideal to which Jesus aspired with his united mind and body and the love which enabled him to bring people together and run toward one purpose. Jesus, who came with the heavenly truth, life, the ideal and love sought to fulfill God's ideal and will of love centering on earthly people and to fulfill the unifying purpose of the Creator God. Because of the lack of faith and the betrayal of our ancestors, however, in the course of history the truth, life, ideal and love God tried to find have vanished.
Thus, buried in fallen ties, humankind has had to wander around looking for the true word, life, ideal and love. Therefore, there should come a time when in the last days humanity can go through the woe-stricken process of battle in history and find one life. In other words, there should come a time when the common purpose is achieved, with a movement of one life directing the world and one ideal embracing all humankind. The sages who have come to serve God's will have hoped that humankind would harmonize into inseparable oneness. In the last days, the unifying movement of love occurs which can melt anything. We are in a desperate time when humankind is living in the last period of history in distress, bitterness and fear. We must feel again how the sages have been struggling, disregarding death, to achieve such a day.
Though Jesus died on the cross, it does not mean complete ruin. Rather, his truth, life and love remain after his death. How then can humankind find this remaining word, life, ideal and love? You should know that this is the final question man should resolve.
What then is the sorrow of Jesus, who came with God's will? What were his mistreatment and anger? What was his utmost pain? You should know that the greatest sorrow for Jesus was the Shim Jung he had when he could not complete what he wanted to say, give life completely, leave behind the joyful ideal, and share heavenly love. He knew he carried the heavenly word overflowing with life, the ideal and love.
Throughout the thousands of years of history, God tried to have our ancestors assist Heaven, but they betrayed Him in every age. Thus, we should feel and know that since we have such ancestors, we in the last days are standing at a great crossroad in which we may easily become historical and cosmic betrayers again. Jesus was sent to the Israelites as a promise, after thousands of years of effort from Abraham to Moses. The Israelites were chosen as the center of the word, life, the ideal and love. Yet the chosen people, who had waited and prepared for the Messiah, standing on their historical merit, were unable to serve him. Jesus was to be served as the hero of history, for whom countless ancestors had hoped. Yet there was no one to serve him.
We should not allow Jesus to be born in a stable. At that time, there was a prophesy that the Messiah would appear in Bethlehem. Yet there was no one who waited for the Messiah, who might appear without warning, with even a small hut prepared. When Jesus was born, the whole of Jerusalem was in commotion. The rumor spread quickly that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Yet no one prepared for his birth in Jerusalem or in Bethlehem.
Today's Christians should think again that Jesus, the prince of Heaven, the Messiah, was pitifully lying down in a stable. Since the chosen people did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah who would speak about and witness to Heaven, today they cannot stand before Heaven. The Messiah needs clothes to wear and a house to live in on earth. Among all the religious believers at that time, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees, there was no one who even prepared one room for the Messiah.
We should be deeply sad looking at the sin of our ancestors, who followed Heaven so recklessly. To not repeat the historical error, we should listen to the worries in our heart and plead with Heaven. After 4,000 years of preparation, who would have imagined that what happened to Jesus would occur! Where did the 4,000 years of effort go? The chosen people and Jerusalem were deep in sleep, aware of nothing, when Heaven sent the only chosen son of the promise. They bragged about their religious order and wished it could replace the sovereignty. The fact that Jesus appeared to such a people is a story that stands between humankind, who has to face God's will, and God, who is carrying out the providence. You may not know this.
Jesus was a carpenter until he was thirty. If someone has had a holy, spiritual experience, he would know a part of the thirty years of Jesus' life. If there is someone who knows, his heart will be torn with sorrow when he eats a good meal, wears good clothes, and lives in good circumstances. God was with Joseph when he took Mary, according to God's will. Growing up in Joseph's family, however, Jesus was treated disdainfully as a stepchild. As the children of Joseph became many, Jesus became more isolated. Thus, without being able to share his situation and feelings, he spent the thirty years of his life humbly, making other people's doors with a saw and plane. Who knew his situation? No one. At that time, he could not appear as the historical Jesus as you believe in him now nor as the Christ with the historically acknowledged character.
Who are the ones who will receive the Messiah when he appears in the last days? Not the one who serves the historical character of Jesus. You should know that it is the one who serves the character of Jesus of the age. You should know that though Jesus carried the way of Heaven in his heart and worried about the earth, he suffered the sadness of not being recognized by his parents, and brothers and sisters.
Now we should believe in this Jesus. Our Unification members should believe, but believe in this Jesus first, know this Jesus first. We should know that, though we know Jesus as having taken the path of the cross and death, in fact he came to live. We should hold onto the deceased Jesus and cry.
Jesus was in a wretched situation. He could share his feelings in preparing for his death with no one. He could share his Shim Jung, stricken with the worries, sorrows and grudges of Heaven and earth, with no one. If there had been people who could cry with Jesus, understand his situation and befriend him, they would have become his disciples. Why Peter? How could Peter, fishing at the shore of Galilee, become the chief disciple of Jesus? This was to be deplored. What happened to the prepared religious figures and the chosen people? How could Peter and the fishermen, who were not even in God's plan, unexpectedly become the disciples of Jesus? Jesus must become indignant. Jesus grieved because there was no welcome from the chosen people.
Thus, as you believe in the Lord today, do not simply believe in the deceased Jesus. Believe in Jesus as he worked when he was alive. Believe not only in Jesus who died on the cross but in Jesus who worried over the will of Heaven for the thirty years of his life. You should know that the course of his life was one of sighing for the sake of the will. It was one of a sorrowful Shim Jung, culminating in the sadness of the cross. Where is someone, on the earth, who understands Jesus' suffering Shim Jung at Golgotha? Where is the one who can be his friend? Jesus needed friends in his family, friends among his brothers and sisters, friends who could represent all the fathers and mothers, and friends who could represent the church. He needed friends who could carry the cross in his place. Jesus needed friends who could tread the worldwide path of the cross and Golgotha in his place. There is no one now who knows this will and believes in Jesus thus.
Jesus, who appeared in the flesh with the historical will, was brought down after working under adverse circumstances. Those who have walked the historical course following the will Jesus left behind also have found themselves under the miserable circumstances of the ages, and they cried out for Jesus. When Jesus carried the cross at Golgotha, the whole universe was at stake. We should understand the heavenly Shim Jung, which therefore roams around to find a friend of Golgotha. That is, Heaven is looking for the friend who can understand the Shim Jung of Golgotha.
Historically, as evil grew strong, the good became weak. When evil was too strong for the good to guide it, history went on with evil conquering the good. Amid this, however, a small goodness sprouted forth, formed a greater goodness, and proceeded toward the purpose of goodness. You should know, then, that the historical course thus far has moved through the process by which goodness rises. Thus, history flows from the individual through the family, and with a social character. Through the form of the collective clan, the tribe, and the nation and country, it comes to the stage of the world. Furthermore, history will not stop at the visible world. It will extend toward the spirit world of the universe.
Human history has been going through the ages of goodness centered on the individual, the clan, the tribe, the nation, the country and the world. In this way, a small goodness in history has been developing into greater goodness. Thus, the individual battle turned into a family battle, the family battle turned into a clan battle, the clan battle turned into a social battle, the social battle turned into a national battle, the national battle turned into a worldwide battle. If the spirit world exists, there will be a battle between the spirit world and the earth. If God exists, only when the war between God and the countless evil spirits of the earth is over will the age of peace come to this universe. You should realize God's situation, who is working through such a process of the Principle. The age of cosmic peace will come only when God resolves all the problems after a clash with Satan and the evil hordes on the earth.
Now that the battle is growing from the individual to the clan, the tribe, the country and the world, what will happen to the world from now on? If there are a spirit world and Heaven, we must fight against the spirit world. How can you avoid the fear that creeps into your mind in the last days? There will come an age where you will feel greater fear than that of the atomic bomb. That is, not only the external terror of the atomic age will attack you, but a wave of dread will come in your mind. Thus, people these days have much fear. Mental patients are growing in number. This is because they are faced with spiritual combat with Satan. We should finish this fight, become one with God, and take responsibility for the Father's war, sorrow and pain. The day on which to assign the responsibility for the Father's pain, sorrow and mistreatment is the day of the returning of Jesus and the day of the great judgment upon man. This is the way of God's providence.
After this historical process, what will happen then? Now the age of the national struggle is passed. It is the time when democracy and communism are waging a worldwide struggle. They will eventually become one. Why, then, has Christian history gone through this process? The form of the right-hand and left-hand thieves at the time of Jesus' crucifixion is making a worldwide appearance today. The right-hand thief appeared in the form of worldwide democracy representing God, and the left-hand thief appeared in the worldwide form opposing God, centered on man and material. What will appear next? The crisis of resurrection with the death of Jesus will come. That is, the left-hand thief started as an individual, and this led to a family and a clan. It formed a tribe, a people, a country and a world. On the other hand, the right- hand thief also formed a world. The result of Jesus' being sown as a seed in the ground has come down to this in the last days.
Now what we should be worried about is in what position democracy stands. You should understand Jesus' Shim Jung at the time of death so that you will find yourself and rejoice upon the arrival of the kingdom of God. We should know what the conclusion of this democracy will be, since it does not possess God's ideal, which can represent Jesus' Shim Jung. Today, those of us on the side of democracy should at least become like the right-hand thief, who could cry for the death of Jesus while taking his own death as a matter of course. Now is the time you should become like this.
To examine worldwide phenomena from the Christian viewpoint, they are a result of history. You should pray to find out what historical process God has gone through to cause this result. This way you should realize that the prayer you inevitably came to offer, "Father! Let this nation receive the worldwide blessing as the chosen people. Send judgment against those who failed in the past and punish the unfaithful rebels," was also an option for Jesus.
Yet, what anger did Jesus harbor upon death? The chosen religion of Israel tortured his heart and the chosen people nailed him to the cross. This was his anguish and lamentation. Though Jesus personally had great sorrow, however, he could forget his death and pray for them. He thought about the situation of God, who had walked through blood and tears for 4,000 years and about the people of Israel, whom God had chosen and raised for 4,000 years. Today's Christians of the world should think about this again.
If Jesus had not prayed for them, the chosen nation and the religious believers would have received the judgment first. You should know that Jesus gave them blessing because he thought that if only there were some room granted by Heaven, they would follow in his footsteps and come over to his side. When I see Jesus' words about the right-hand thief, tears unconsciously come out. The people did not know that God's sorrow of 4,000 years was embodied there in Jesus. Only a thief recognized it. This was a sad scene. There were countless people in front of Jesus. It was the religious believers and chosen people who were to move and halt with the blood and flesh of Jesus, but they failed to do so. They should have shed blood together at the cross with Jesus. How preposterous that there was no one, but a murderous thief, to accompany him! Although Jesus was the Savior of all, he was in a pitiable position. It is extremely shameful that the only one who accompanied Jesus in his death was a murderous thief.
Had Peter been a friend of Golgotha or any of the twelve disciples, God would not have had any grudges. Jesus would not have died. If the twelve disciples had united and resolved to die with Jesus, a miracle would have occurred and Jesus would not have died. Jesus grieved for 33 years looking at the chosen people, and he shed tears for the three years of his public life, for the sake of the people of the earth. Yet where did the people who had put their hopes in Jesus go? Where did the religion go which had been watching? Where did the disciples go, who had shared joy and sorrow, and followed Jesus for the three public years? When they saw advantages to it and joy, they said that they were friends and disciples of Jesus. They tried to stand in the position of Jesus more than anyone else. At the end, their path had nothing to do with that of Jesus. As this formed the root of the beginning of a new history, history developed in this shape and has reached its end today.
Who received the blessing of Jesus? It was not the twelve disciples who had followed him nor the religious leaders, who had believed in Heaven, nor the Israelites, who had been chosen through blessing. The right-hand thief, who shed blood with Jesus and died on the cross with him received the historical blessing and went to Paradise before the chief disciple. This is the tragedy of tragedies. If both of the thieves had failed to participate in the death of Jesus, the providence of salvation would have been thwarted. You should know that Jesus could resurrect to appear again on earth and meet the unfaithful people again because the blood of the thief could establish with heavenly fortune the condition for building Paradise on earth.
Since there was one person who received Jesus as the bridegroom in the place of death, through this foundation, the fruit of goodness will surely appear on earth. It will appear for Jesus. No matter how strong Satan's power is, he cannot demolish and eradicate the seed of goodness. If there is a faithful person who not only stands in the situation of death and sacrifices for goodness, but also collapses while holding onto goodness, goodness will multiply many-fold simply because of this. This is the ironclad rule. Those who opposed Jesus thought he would be wiped out once he was put to the cross. Since there were no followers, they thought that Satan took away all. Christians do not know that the history of resurrection arose with the thief on the right as a condition.
Satan struck Jesus and the right-hand thief. After the death of Jesus, he struck the twelve disciples. Heaven gave even the twelve disciples to Satan. Why did he have to hit like this? Though the course of Jesus was an individual course to Golgotha, because of it the twelve disciples, the chosen people and the nation of the Israel also had to go through the course of Golgotha. Today all the Christians of the world and all humankind must also go through the course of Golgotha. Today's democratic world does not know that it has to go over the worldwide hill of Golgotha, centering on democracy. Jesus tried to go over this worldwide hill of Golgotha. As you know, the reason Jesus prayed, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) was not because he mourned his own death but because he was worried that if he died, humankind would have to go through the course of Golgotha. That is why he prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)
If Jesus had not gone through the course of Golgotha, there would not have been the worldwide course of Golgotha. However, once Jesus went through this path, carrying the worldwide and cosmic mission, the individual course of Golgotha remained to his followers. The family course of Golgotha remained in the age of the providence centered on the family. When the providence expanded from the family age to the stage of society, the social road of the cross also remained. In the providential age of the country, in which a national providential will is served, the paths of the family cross, the social cross, and the national cross had to be trodden. Thus, if the worldwide Christ comes on the earth, he has to carry the crosses of the world, the country, the society, the family and the individual. Today's Christians do not know that such a hill of destiny remains.
What kind of Lord do today's Christians want to receive? If there is Heaven, where would they meet Jesus? They would meet him in the place of resurrection after going over the hill of the cross. This is the resurrection of the second advent. For this reason, in the historical course after Jesus up to now, the path of Golgotha has been followed by the individual, the family, the society, the country and the world with many struggles. Now is the age when the democratic camp gets smitten by the communist camp. How, then, can we go over the worldwide Golgotha? Just as Jesus did, one must have a desperate Shim Jung for this nation, and the whole nation must be able to move as one body.
Until we become such a people, the tough worldwide path of Golgotha is blocked for us. Therefore, only when we find and establish one root or fruit of goodness in an extremely evil situation does the road open in which sinners and good people can become one. We should restore the twelve disciples relying on the authority of the risen Jesus. At that time, individuals and the twelve disciples should have received persecution for Jesus. Most of the twelve disciples were killed, however, because they could not do this. When the twelve disciples took the road of death, there was one person they pushed out, and this was the apostle John. One thief stood in the position where he was pushed out by the religion and people of Israel and the rebellious twelve disciples. Among the chosen people, God installed Jesus, and after his resurrection, He established the twelve disciples again. Furthermore, in place of the disciples, God installed a controversial figure. This was Paul.
Today Christians say that Paul loved Heaven and knew the will of God. At that time, Paul was being persecuted by the twelve disciples. Though he conveyed the gospel as an apostle, he was persecuted by the twelve disciples. Paul met the risen Jesus and received the heavenly mission. Thus, in the position of an apostle who did not betray Jesus, Paul went to a foreign country, Rome, and spread the gospel under persecution. Since Paul sought the Lord in place of the martyrdom of the twelve disciples and the death of John, the focus of the providence shifted to a foreign nation. Do you understand? In this way, Paul entered Rome and received persecution alone.
Just as Jesus had gone the way of Golgotha with the cross of humankind, according to the one will of the providence, Paul persisted, no matter what persecution he received from Rome. His attitude of proceeding for the sake of Heaven, regardless of death, resembled that of Jesus. Thus, Christianity moved, centering upon Paul, and developed through the forms of the family, the tribe, the nation, the country and the world. Just as Jesus took the way of Golgotha, Paul volunteered to take the path of Golgotha for the twelve disciples, against the world of Satan. He went through the extreme persecution of Nero and was killed.
The individual sacrifice of Paul aroused groups such as the tribe, the twelve disciples and the Israelites. Since they united and fought beyond death, they could conquer Rome. Therefore, for the next four centuries, Christianity prospered. In the Middle Ages, centering on the Pope, Christianity had its heyday. The whole world was dominated by Christianity. The Roman Catholics had the mission to go beyond the national course of Golgotha and explore the worldwide stage. However, when they neglected this and preoccupied themselves with the desire for the national ideal, God struck them. This happened through the Renaissance. Through the Reformation, the stale consciousness was shattered and the papacy was fundamentally challenged. It gradually went downhill.
Among Christians, a new force of renovation appeared. This was the Protestants, centering on Luther. While attacking the old faith, those who were being persecuted formed a new faith centering on Luther: Protestantism. The Puritans, who inherited this spirit, went to America and created a new continental culture. They built the worldwide Christian kingdom. Although world history has moved this way, from now on, God will strike the world. We should consider where are those who are being hounded among people. We should find those who are most oppressed and the nation that is most miserable in the democratic world. Just as the thief became the friend of Jesus on his bloody cross, in the worldwide course of Golgotha, there will appear one group and one nation who differ from the betraying Israelite nation. Considering the historical providential viewpoint, it is right that such a group and nation must appear.
In today's world, however, there is communism, which does not believe in God. They claim that God does not exist, asking where He is. The right-hand thief appeared and befriended Jesus at the time of his death when Jesus was being smitten. Communism today commits massacres to fulfill its ambition. You should know that this massacre serves as a conditional sacrifice for being on the side of the democratic camp. Now that all humankind is driven to the course of the worldwide Golgotha, what should Christians who should go over this path do? They should first volunteer in front of the world to take the path. There have been those who were oppressed on the front-line of Christianity: Paul, who was persecuted by the apostles; the thief, harassed by the people; and the Protestants, denounced by the Papacy. Today we should always look around to see whether a people will appear who are being persecuted as a worldwide reformist movement. This is proven by history.
Now our Unification members should be oppressed by all the twentieth century ideologies and philosophies as a new reformist religion. We should be persecuted in this world of democracy and religious sectarianism. If there also is a country with the worldwide ideal, it should bleed before the world like the thief. Thus, Korea shed blood when the right and left clashed, with the fate of the world at stake through the June 25 War [the Korean War]. Considering this, it cannot be said that the Golgotha course of today's democracy is dissimilar to the situation of the thief.
If the Korean people have sorrow, what should they hold onto? It is not time to fight with the ideology of the Lord. Carrying Jesus' Shim Jung of Golgotha and the Shim Jung of being betrayed by the people, history and the world, we should be willing to take his part lest he suffers again. It seems that if this nation has a Shim Jung like the right-hand thief's, who wanted to praise the glory of Jesus, this nation will meet Jesus who resurrected from death at Golgotha and enter the glorious age of resurrection.
So, Unification members, do not be distressed. You receive blessing. As you receive more persecution, you will understand Jesus' Shim Jung. As you meet Jesus, you will understand his Shim Jung at the time when he eagerly prayed at Gethsemane, faced with Golgotha and death. As Jesus, at the extreme of persecution, united with Heaven and brought the grace of resurrection, a new history can start at the place of your persecution.
As we possess the worldwide ideal, only when we persevere through the persecutions of the world, the country, the church, the society, the family and the individual can we become the original heavenly sons and daughters who will pass beyond the cosmic trail of Golgotha in the age of universal resurrection. We will receive the power of resurrection as a bride before the coming Lord. You have been wandering to find a true friend, a true family and a true teacher. You have been looking for the true ideology, the country and the world, but in vain. You should know that, from the standpoint of Jesus, you have lost the position to achieve the purpose. Thus, if I want to find a true friend, I should be a true friend during my friend's Golgotha. If I want to find a true family, I should take responsibility for the family's Golgotha. Furthermore, in the national and worldwide course of Golgotha, you should take responsibility for the path of Golgotha with a Shim Jung like Jesus'. You should clearly know that to be a friend of Heaven in the worldwide course of Golgotha, you should be able to handle the eternal questions of life if everyone entrusts you with them. You should be able to handle the problems of the world.