The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983
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The Words of Sun Myung Moon from 1983 |
When a new year begins, an older person will think back with regret about becoming one year older, and a young person will look forward with anticipation because he is becoming more and more mature. A teenager welcomes another year because it brings him closer to adulthood. As young people leave their teens, they feel they are coming into a broader and deeper world of new fulfillment and excitement.
However, as people become older and those memories of youthful excitement begin to fade, they hate to see the years go by. As a person gets older, many things begin to depart from him. First of all, the children get older and move away, leaving the parents at home alone. Then one or the other of the spouses passes away. Loneliness sets in, because of the departure of loved ones. Old people can see the sundown of their lives on the horizon; they know their own day of death is approaching. When a person reaches 60, he usually starts trying to put his affairs in order; he wants to prepare properly for his last days here on earth. Getting ready for death is usually not so pleasant.
God is invisible, and everything about Him is invisible. In order to share in the love of God, people must have some invisible aspect as well. In order to move from visibility to invisibility, some revolutionary change must occur, a transformation that requires pushing the visible world completely behind you. That particular drastic moment when you reach the point of invisibility is what people call death.
This is not a destructive or diminishing activity, but an elevation to a higher plateau in which one can directly receive the invisible love of God. This transformation from the visible to the invisible enables a person to become a direct counterpart of God, enjoying direct give and take with the invisible God.
People are meant to undergo this transformation at some point, leaving this world behind and forgetting it. Therefore, as people get older, they often complain about losing their memory. Actually, this is simply a sign that God is preparing them to forget this world. The diminishing eyesight of older people is another sign from God that they will eventually forget all vision of this world and move into a vision of a husband.
It is part of innate human nature to want to command others and also be commanded by others. According to the principle of changing positions, the upper position goes to the lower and vice versa; the right side will travel to the left. This kind of turning cannot happen based merely upon force or power; only through the realm of love is it possible. Everybody should be able to switch positions freely, from higher to lower. The person who can adjust himself to any new environment, always changing positions and willing to work in lower as well as higher responsibilities, is truly a person of harmony.
The balance sheet of your life is determined by what portion of it has been lived for the sake of others. When American wives go shopping, do you get things first for your husband or for yourself? I think that American women tend to spend almost all their money on themselves, and if there is a little left over, they spend it on their husbands. On the other hand Oriental women will often spend money for their husbands and children, without giving a thought to their own needs.
I have a responsibility to educate American women, particularly you blessed couples. You must come to the realization that you were horn for the sake of others; your physical functions were designed in that manner. Men as well as women must think of benefiting not themselves but others.
Once all of you inscribe what you have heard this morning on your hearts, you are guaranteed of having a good year. To go through certain difficulties and dangers is not completely bad, because then you can create an exciting history. Danger always comes when one reaches the pinnacle or summit. As you go down, you gain momentum to climb up the next pinnacle. Some people only want to jump from the top of one hill to the next, but you have to descend into the valley before you can climb the next hill.
Only the power of love enables a person to move freely up and down, from life's "high noons" to its valleys. As you descend, you can pick up more momentum for your ascent of the next hill if you go together as a couple; even more momentum is gained when your children join you in these cycles.
Do you want to increase and prosper, or decrease and decline? If you want to prosper, you must invest more and more in life. Do you think my life is simple, as I lead people from all over the world? No, I must endure tremendous difficulty. By ordinary human preference, nobody would volunteer to live such a life. Were it not for the power of love, neither would I!
Many members think that as our movement expands, we will no longer need to go down, that we will just begin world, they can enjoy a joint relationship with God.
Thus, here on earth we are preparing for one more "birth," into an ecstatically joyful new life where we can be consummated with God's universal love. The kingdom of heaven in heaven is the world of "high noon," where God and man can meet without any shadow in a total union filled with brightness.
This universe is always moving in wavelike cycles toward and away from high noon. If there is such a high noon in this world, how much more intense it will be in the spirit world! The intensity of a person's love determines his value or virtue, because in the ultimate world, love alone is the criterion of absolute value. Our lives here on earth are meant to prepare us for the awaiting supreme high noon of love.
Our topic is "Let This Be a Good Year." What should be the contents of a good year? A good year must be filled with love. In order to make 1983 a good year, you must begin with a good state of mind, you must become good men and women. Good men and women live not only for themselves but for the sake of others. Don't look at things selfishly, but with a desire to give love. Look upon a person who hates you with love, and eventually he will change. Begin sending out messages of love to those around. Pull out your old vision and replace it with "new eyeballs" of true love. Change your old nose into one which can absorb the worst odors with forgiveness and tolerance.
Go to senior citizens' homes and take care of them -- bathing their bodies, changing their bedpans -- exhibiting true love. When you were a baby, your parents took care of you, changing your diapers and wiping you clean. They didn't have any feelings of discomfort as they did that for you. You should be able to take care of your grandparents in that manner. That is the beauty of give and take.
American young people want to leave home for selfish reasons. They long for their own freedom and identity. They should be willing to visit with their grandparents and take care of elderly people. When young people start to have that attitude, a new kind of America will emerge. Your grandparents represent more of God's image, so when you serve them, you are serving God. Through them, you can learn how to serve God, because you experience more of God's love through them.
Everybody wants to receive true love, but if we all just stand apart, demanding that others give love to us, nothing will happen. Many leaders have had the attitude, "I'm Abel, so you members should bring everything to me." That is absolutely wrong. The Abel figure is the one who is supposed to initiate the giving action. In particular, the wife of a Unification Church leader should be the one who gives first. She should have the attitude of being willing to carve out her own flesh to give to others; she should give far more than her husband.
It is part of innate human nature to want to command others and also be commanded by others. According to the principle of changing positions, the upper position goes to the lower and vice versa; the right side will travel to the left. This kind of turning cannot happen based merely upon force or power; only through the realm of love is it possible. Everybody should be able to switch positions freely, from higher to lower. The person who can adjust himself to any new environment, always changing positions and willing to work in lower as well as higher responsibilities, is truly a person of harmony.
The balance sheet of your life is determined by what portion of it has been lived for the sake of others. When American wives go shopping, do you get things first for your husband or for yourself? I think that American women tend to spend almost all their money on themselves, and if there is a little left over, they spend it on their husbands. On the other hand Oriental women will often spend money for their husbands and children, without giving a thought to their own needs.
I have a responsibility to educate American women, particularly you blessed couples. You must come to the realization that you were horn for the sake of others; your physical functions were designed in that manner. Men as well as women must think of benefiting not themselves but others.
Once all of you inscribe what you have heard this morning on your hearts, you are guaranteed of having a good year. To go through certain difficulties and dangers is not completely bad, because then you can create an exciting history. Danger always comes when one reaches the pinnacle or summit. As you go down, you gain momentum to climb up the next pinnacle. Some people only want to jump from the top of one hill to the next, but you have to descend into the valley before you can climb the next hill.
Only the power of love enables a person to move freely up and down, from life's "high noons" to its valleys. As you descend, you can pick up more momentum for your ascent of the next hill if you go together as a couple; even more momentum is gained when your children join you in these cycles.
Do you want to increase and prosper, or decrease and decline? If you want to prosper, you must invest more and more in life. Do you think my life is simple, as I lead people from all over the world? No, I must endure tremendous difficulty. By ordinary human preference, nobody would volunteer to live such a life. Were it not for the power of love, neither would I!
Many members think that as our movement expands, we will no longer need to go down, that we will just begin jumping from one summit to another. However, we will always have to descend into the valleys in order to reach higher peaks.
Every seven years, the Unification Church completes a kind of cycle. Leaders become servants and the members become leaders. This interchangeability is necessary. For seven years we go up, for another seven years we go down, and another seven years up. This is why 21 years in the Unification Church is an important factor.
Why do you think I constantly emphasize the importance of unconditional giving? When you give unconditionally, an indestructible nucleus will form within yourself. As you strive to give of yourself, even to the point of death, you reach a supreme, indestructible and unchangeable level of love. That central resolve is your nucleus, and that nucleus has a direct vertical connection with God and eternity.
In American history, there must be an eternal nucleus point, a supreme demonstration of the love of country. That nucleus point cannot be focused on power, knowledge or wealth -- only on altruistic love. As you try to give more and more, that nucleus becomes stronger and stronger, never diminishing.
Your ultimate goal in hitting that nucleus is to unite with the almighty God, making yourself a minus before Him. As your nucleus has give and take with God, together you will create a brand-new nucleus. From that point on, the kingdom of God on earth will emerge.
The numerals of 1983 added together equal 21. Twenty one means three cycles of seven: one up, one down, and another climbing up. Anyone who only wants to remain on the highest level will be demolished; he will inevitably have to endure another seven years of downward course. Generally, when people who have a great responsibility that was shifted to another person, they feel offended or resentful. However, we must remember that we are living for the altruistic goal, from the individual level all the way to the highest level. Always there is a greater purpose ahead of us; the family is greater than the individual; society is greater than the family; etc. There is one altruistic way of life, but there are greater and greater levels of living it.
This year, whatever your physical body may dictate that you do, you should do the opposite. You may have a tremendous urge to eat lots of good food; therefore do the opposite and eat humble, even tasteless food. Satan's way is always to seek the seat of honor, the place of prestige. This year, when you feel that urge, take the humblest possible seat instead. Wear fresh, clean clothes, of course, but at least prepare someone else's clothes before you clean your own. Wives, make sure your husband's clothes are clean before your own.
How many of you really like home church? From the satanic point of view, home church is the worst thing; within the Unification Church as well, it is the toughest job. People say, "The Unification Church is very good; however, I don't like fundraising. I don't like witnessing. And I certainly don't like home church!" Throughout your whole time in the Unification Church, you have never heard me tell you to go off and take a rest. The secular world has the decency of giving you at least a few days off now and then, but you can say, "I have been in the Unification Church for ten years and Father has never given me even one day off!"
A good year is our goal, but remember that our environment is satanic; therefore, whatever this world encourages you to do, do the opposite.
Are you confident that you can make 1983 a good year? That means those who are fond of sleeping long hours should deny themselves that pleasure. Those who have never wanted to go fundraising should see this as the year to go fundraising. You women who enjoy jewelry should take off your rings and earrings. If you like to wear colorful dresses, why not resolve this year to wear only gray and black? Someone who is very fond of soft, hot breads should determine to eat only cold, tough bread.
If you decide to stop eating your favorite kind of bread, first buy a big basketful of that bread and eat the whole thing. Stuffed like that, you will feel terribly full and unable to move freely. You will find that being hungry is preferable because then you can at least move! You need to experience both extremes of living.
This year we must go opposite from the way Satan is leading. You know your own mind; you like certain things and dislike others. It is important to have good friends; friends affect your love. Knowing your own weaknesses, you should seek out friends who can advise you well and a leader who will give you correct guidance.
People want to be prosperous and have dignity and status in society. Therefore, we must go the opposite direction and humble ourselves, doing things for the sake of the world. Resurrection is possible only when you go the exact opposite direction from Satan.
Normally, nobody wants to go through suffering and death; therefore, God provides you with added impetus: persecution. Persecution places you in a position that gives you no choice but to suffer and be willing to die. Faced with persecutors, you may feel the need to respond aggressively. Far greater is the attitude of willingly looking forward to that persecution and suffering. When you receive suffering voluntarily, you are not only paying indemnity but also moving forward and making progress for heaven.
Your way of life should not be just to pay indemnity passively. Once you have made up your mind to voluntarily travel the road of tribulation, asking for difficulties, the greatest indemnity condition is accomplished. All the tribulation will become the means of your receiving more and more blessing.
Do you get up early in the morning to pray? You have to know the taste of prayer and prefer it to your body's desires. You should be longing for that hour of prayer. In prayer, you can feel the taste of the presence of God. Then when you go out to work, you can maintain that sense of God's presence. The world may treat you very harshly, but when you sense God's presence and go the opposite direction from Satan, you are living the best way of life. By doing the opposite of your body's desires, you fulfill all the indemnity conditions; once you make up your mind to live your entire life that way, you will not have to meet any other requirements.
You must make one showdown, one true confrontation with Satan. Without that, you will never succeed. Is the heart you put into your home church work stronger than that which you put into your studies? Is it stronger than your heart for your job? You should chase after home church work even more strongly than you pursue your own lover. Anything less than that standard will be a condition for Satan to infiltrate.
Perhaps you have very little time because you must earn your own living and take care of many other things. If you pray earnestly for God to accept even one hour of work in your area and you do it with great sincerity, God will look at it as 24 hours of work. Many people put their outside jobs first and home church second, but that is not acceptable in the Unification Church. If your church mission prevents you from doing home church, that is unavoidable, but if you are trying to earn a lot of money in an outside job and cannot do home church work, that is not acceptable.
Home church is the place for you to meet God and love Him. Therefore, it is most logical for you to devote more time to home church than to your school, your job, your beloved. If the intensity or our love for home church is at that level, God's protection will be added to you and Satan will have no way to infiltrate.
When I first open my eyes each morning, I think about God's providence. There is no moment, even during my sleep, when I am not thinking and concentrating upon the providence. That is how my life has been conducted. That is why God has blessed everything I have done. Sometimes when I have a seemingly impossible task from God, I feel it may take a longer time, but I put my whole heart into it. I want you to understand that God cannot bless you and your work until you demonstrate a higher standard than any satanic standard.
Jesus said people had to love him, the Christ, more than they loved their own spouse, parents, children, etc. Otherwise they were not worthy of him. You have no idea how impenetrable the indemnity barriers are and how difficult they are to dissolve. For six thousand biblical years God has been working to restore one single person, one pure Adam. Think of it. If I can restore during my lifetime one Eve, children, and all mankind, what a great accomplishment that will be in the sight of God and history! I have broken down that incredible indemnity barrier and created an altar before God.
In the United States, everyone will be able to welcome Rev. Moon on the foundation of the home church tribal messiah. Then the national messiah will emerge. When that foundation is accomplished, the worldwide messiah will emerge. Jesus Christ came as the messiah, but his fulfillment was thwarted even on the level of family; thus the higher levels were out of the question. The position you are inheriting -- to become a tribal messiah -- is greater than the level which four thousand years of Judaism anticipated.
By receiving the position of tribal messiah, you are automatically receiving the right to exceed the accomplishments at the time of Jesus. The victory of the tribal messiah is the equivalent of the victory over Rome, two thousand years ago. Therefore, after that victory, you can claim the victory over the entire world, including the communist world. This is why I can immediately set the goal of the Moscow rally.
Your victory in home church as the tribal messiah is indispensable. Upon that foundation, the national messiah will come, and then the worldwide messiah. In order to inherit the tradition of messiahship, you must begin at the tribal level -- the ground level. It is an incredible privilege and honor. This is the time for which many millions of martyrs and religious people and saints shed their blood.
I have been receiving direct persecution from the United States for ten years. Now the time has come for you Americans to vindicate me-1983 is the year to do it. The place for that vindication is home church. By vindication I am not talking about destruction or violence. I am talking about saving America, restoring this nation. Our only form of revenge will be to return love for the hate we have received. I came to America of my own volition and have endured the persecution for ten years. Now you American citizens must march voluntarily toward the home church providence and win the vindication for the sake of the world.
This is the year for you to make your victory in home church. I would like to make this year unforgettable by organizing a home church demonstration -- by creating victory in home church. Make your showdown this year. From that point on, new leaders of this nation will emerge. Through the mobilization of righteous religious people, this nation can be restored.
What kind of member of the Unification Church do you want to be? One who only believes in the Principle, or one who can also actively bring results? The kingdom of heaven on earth can only emerge by the actions of believers, not by belief only. Go ahead and expand your influence of goodness as widely as you can. Once your foundation of self-discipline is strong, there is no need for Rev. Moon to be here in America.
If you have been only a believing member of the Unification Church, begin from now on to be an action member. When Unification members follow my instruction to the precise letter, I know the end result of 1983 will be one of goodness. When December comes, we will be able to say, "It was truly a good year."
You have been listening for a long time; the message boils down to one simple statement. Those of you who can say, "I have made up my mind to follow your direction and bring the success; I will not let you down: please trust me," raise your hands and say Amen. We are marching on that road. Amen.