Ep 508 - Peace in the Middle East Part 1
Peace in the Middle East 143-28-13-40 - March 17, 2022 - St. Patrick’s Day
I am so happy to hear your beautiful appreciation and reports.
Today I would like to share some activities. I had breakfast with local ministers of the Los Angeles Family church. They are many powerful leaders. I could hear their reports and sharing. It was a beautiful moment together.
Also, I had a meeting with LA Kodan members. They have great power. They really want mother-son cooperation to support our youth movement.
Today I’d like to talk about “Peace in the Middle East” from True Mother’s Anthology, Book 1.
In the Middle East, Muslims and Jews, who both attend God, are fighting. They are killing one another in a war for their own religious ideologies. The appearance of Parents will solve the problems of Cain and Abel and the problems between siblings. Therefore, through Father, problems in the Middle East can be solved. (2006.06.20, Dushanbe, Tajikistan)
Although I have done several world tours, I have not been able to visit the Middle East very often. I believe that the reason that these areas are hostile and fighting is because they have not accepted God's Will. From now on, they need to stand in a position of attendance to God. In God's eyes, there is no difference between yellow, white or black races and there are no walls between religion, races, peoples or cultures. The path the Middle East should take is to let go of the old and open their eyes to reality. Only when the Middle East inherits God's Will and lives in attendance to True Parents will eternal peace come to its nations. In front of God we are brothers and sisters; thus, we should not forget that God is our True Parent. You will, therefore, need to learn and understand the process of entering heaven. We must advance to God's ideal world of creation. (2006.07.01, Amman, Jordan)
Let's study True Father's words on Middle East peace.
<Chambumo Gyeong, P. 844> We have to teach head-wing thought, God ’s worldview, and Godism to all North Korean citizens. This is definitely the fastest solution to the problem of reunification.
The Unification Principle is also essential in mediating the never-ending, deep-rooted war between Judaism and Islam in the Middle East. Forty core Muslim leaders of Syria, Egypt and Yemen have completed a 40-day workshop. Siblings cannot bring this kind of thing about; only parents can. When it is a parent that is telling them they are real brothers, they can unite. God is that Parent. If you teach about God, all will unite.
<Chambumo Gyeong, P. 1269> Who among the attendees of the IIFWP Middle East Peace Seminar believed in me after our first meeting? I am the person whom all have opposed. How much have religious leaders—Muslim, Jewish and Christian— hated the Unification Church? How much have priests and nuns hated it? The world of peace should go beyond borders. The world of peace will come to pass only when the sons and daughters of enemies can marry each other. The Unification Church is the only group in the religious world that can conduct cross-cultural marriages. Only the Unification Church. If I wed Muslims and Jews in cross-cultural marriages, wars in the Middle East will disappear.
What is True Parents' solution to the Middle East problem?
Since the Middle East is mainly a religious battle between Judaism and Islam, between siblings, this battle can only be resolved if the parents are present.
It can be resolved by teaching that God is the vertical parent of all humankind and that True Parents are the horizontal parents of all humankind through the Head Wing Thought and Unification Principle.
Knowing for sure that humankind are all the same brothers and sisters under one God can stop all fighting.
All problems come from ignorance of God. If they truly understand who God is and that God is our parent, then we can stop any kind of fighting and quarrels.
Through True Parents, the parents of humankind, we can solve the problem by uniting the religions and races of enemies and blessing their children in cross-cultural marriages.
This is the fundamental solution to all issues: race issues, religious issues, national boundary issues. How do we solve these problems? What is the fundamental solution? Father has taught us very clearly. FIrst, the unification principle. Second, based on that, Father really encourages us to do cross-cultural marriages.
Only the interracial, transnational, and interreligious Blessing Ceremony that transcends the barriers of race, religion, nation and ideology can achieve a world of peace.
That is why the Blessing is not only a marriage ceremony. It is the solution for world peace. This is the fundamental solution. You can say, “I love you. You love me. I can even love my enemy.” You can (offer this) lip service. But living together with your enemy through marriage is not a simple matter. That is why everyone needs to understand the Unification Principle, which is really Godism, Headwing Thought. Based on that, everyone understands God is the parent of all humankind. Then we really need to marry together. The interracial, transnational, interrelgious Blessing ceremony transends race, religion, nation and ideology and can achieve a world of peace.
Wow! Only the messiah can do that! That is why we cannot deny that True Parents are the messiah, the savior of all humankind.
Throughout human history many saints and sages appeared. Who (among them) arranged this kind of cross-cultural marriage? Nobody. That is why no one can deny True Parents are the messiah. We are fortunate people. We have True Parents.
LIVING DIVINE PRINCIPLE: Principle of Creation 26 - Family Perfection is the Completion of the 4 Great Realms of Heart
This is the second in the series. Let’s study EDP content first.
• In order to fulfill God's second blessing, individually-perfected Adam and Eve, by joining in loving oneness as husband and wife and raising children, should have constructed a God-centered four position foundation in their family.
• A family or society that has formed the four position foundation in line with God's ideal is patterned after the image of a perfect individual. It thus becomes the substantial object partner to the individual who lives in oneness with God, and consequently, it also becomes the substantial object partner to God.
• The individual feels joy, and likewise God feels joy, when each perceives in this family or community the manifestation of his own internal nature and external form.
• Thus, when God's second blessing is fulfilled, this family or community also becomes a good object partner giving joy to God.
(4) 4 Great Realms of Heart and the Growth of Love
1. According to Father’s words, just as human beings begin growth when they are a baby, love grows together as well.
2. Though a baby knows utterly nothing about love at birth, under the parent’s love, love towards the parents begins to bloom. This is children’s love.
3. At this point children does not mean son or daughter, but two babies or twin babies. It doesn’t include the concept of sexuality of boy or girl, just purely young baby, or juvenile.
As parents raise their children, their love grows as well. In love, when the object becomes perfect, the subject eventually becomes perfect.
True Father said, “After God created Adam and Eve, God's love grew along with their growth.”
We have never heard such an explanation: God’s love grows along with that of their children. It is an incredible explanation given by Father.
When a child turns 5, a parent’s love becomes 5, and when a child turns 10, a parent’s love grows to match that.
Therefore, when Adam and Eve form a family, give birth to children, and attain the position of parents, God will also be perfected as True Parents.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, God could not experience the Four Great Realms of Hearts, so he could not stand in the place of True Parents until the appearance of the True Parents.
When my family achieves the four great realms of heart, God will finally stand in the position of the vertical True Parents centered on my family.
Therefore, completing the four great realms of heart in my family results in completing God's realm of heart and love centering on my family.
Wow! This is incredible guidance!
4. Love between siblings also blooms and begins to grow, and this love between the brother and sister or siblings grows with the parent’s love as its base.
5. Just as with children’s love, siblings’ love, the love between the brothers and sisters, is formed while receiving parent’s love and along with the body’s growth that love also grows. This is love’s inductive effect. When brothers and sisters mature, then brothers are engaged to another family’s sister, and sisters to another family’s brother, where they marry and become couples. The love between the couple is called conjugal love. This conjugal love is enacted from each of their parent’s love.
Children’s love, sibling’s love, and couple’s love come out of parental love, so the completion of an individual and a family is determined according to how much they receive and grow up with their parent’s love.
What are the consequences of children who do not receive the love of their parents? In the family, parent’s love has a huge influence on sibling’s love, couple’s love, and children’s love.
Children who grow up receiving enough of their parents' love eventually lead to sibling’s love, so that siblings love each other as smoothly as a father and a mother love each other.
When siblings grow up well, they will meet with siblings from other families, form a couple, and give and receive well.
Next, when the children mature, they become parents. At that time, the concept of parent is not based on sexuality, in other words it is not the concept of father or mother, but the simple concept of parent toward children. As such, when children complete their growth, they become parents and put into practice their parental love toward their children.
Parental love isn’t formed suddenly when a child turns into a parent, but it is grown unconsciously while feeling the love of the parent in one’s heart while growing up.
Because parental love is grown within the love of a parent, you grow as you feel (learn) what parental love is from the parents who raised you. Due to such a reason it is possible to know that not only children’s and siblings’ love but also conjugal and parent’s love have a growing period.
The completion of parental love is the final stage of the growth of love.
Therefore, if an orphan who grew up not receiving the love of his parents gets married and becomes a parent, many problems arise in raising their own children because they grew up without receiving the love of their parents and siblings properly.
Because love is an experience, love that could not be experienced manifests as is.
All problems stem from not receiving enough love.
That is why we are speaking about parental love. To become True Parents is our final destination. You will have already experienced the love of children, of siblings, of the couple. Finally when you reach the position of the parents, you will have already experienced all kinds of feelings and love. When you finally become True Parents, that is our final destination.
Our internal responsibility is what? How to become true children, secondly true siblings, then a true couple and finally true parents. The purpose of creation is to become true parents.
What is the fall? Loss of True Parents. What is restoration? To restore the position of true parents. True Parents are so precious. How fortunate we are to live together with True Parents. They are our model. Not only Sun Myung Moon and Hak Ja Han Moon have become True Parents. We need to inherit from them; we need to resemble them and finally we also (need to) become true parents. That is our final destination.
TODAY’S YOUTH MINISTRY: Three Kinds of Crosses (Series 2) - The Thief on the Right Who Knew How to Tell Right from Wrong
1. Then let's talk about the thief on the right side. The thief said, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” (Luke 23:41). Even today, there are many Christians who believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. In this way, the faith of the thief on the right believes that we deserve suffering and persecution, but we should understand the Lord's public sacrifice. Jesus meant the same thing when he said, “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27).
Yesterday I spoke about the faith of the thief on the left.
What is the faith of the thief on the right?
The faith of the thief on the right has the attitude of naturally taking punishment for his individual crimes first.
The attitude of the thief on the right’s faith toward their individual crime clearly shows.
In my faith, I bear my cross and pay indemnity for my sins without blaming my parents, my ancestors, or anyone.
I willingly pay my own indemnity. Not only my indemnity, (but that of) my ancestors, for everybody. This kind of mindset and attitude is that of the faith of the right-hand thief.
The faith of the thief on the right had a heart ready to pay indemnity for his individual sins, and sincerely repented.
If you do not sincerely repent for your sins, you will not have the heart to bear your own cross.
The faith of the right-hand thief is really amazing. He already had that kind of heart. If you do not sincerely repent for your sins, you will not have the heart to bear your own cross.
Unless you sincerely repent, you cannot recognize a righteous person. When the thief on the right truly repented, he recognized that Jesus was righteous.
Like the thief on the right, if we sincerely repent of our sins and experience resurrection, our spiritual eyes will be opened and we will see who God is, who the Messiah is, who is righteous and who is good.
However, it was from the moment he heard Jesus' prayer for his enemy that the thief on the right received the most startling and unimaginable shock.
In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
According to True Father, Jesus prayed for forgiveness toward his enemies three times.
According to True Father’s spiritual experience, Jesus prayed for forgiveness for his enemies three times, not only one time. The right-hand thief heard him (pray that way) three times.
The thief on the right, who had heard Jesus' prayer for the enemy three times, had a spiritual experience after realizing “Jesus is really the true Son of God” and “He is really the Messiah,” and experienced a resurrection that completely changed his entire life 180 degrees.
Can you imagine three guys on the cross bleeding from their heads, from both hands, both legs and from their chest. In this miserable situation (Jesus) could forgive his enemies. The right-hand thief was really shocked. “Who is this guy?”
The thief on the right thought, “I deserve to die 10 or 100 times, but Jesus, what are you guilty of? How can you pray for forgiveness for those who kill you? You are undoubtedly the Son of God, the Messiah.”
The thief on the right realized what kind of love Jesus had. He realized that it is impossible for Jesus to pray for his enemies’ forgiveness and blessings unless he is the Son of God.
He must be the messiah, the savior. No one (else) can do that. What kind of quality of love does he have? Jesus is really a man of true love. Wow!
Today, if we are in a position of dying with True Parents like the thief on the right, can I, can you, testify that True Parents are righteous? Can you comfort the Lord in the most miserable place?
When anyone is in a difficult position, they change from the faith of the thief on the right to the faith of the thief on the left. And everyone tries to run away from that difficult and hard place.
Why did all Jesus’ disciples run away when Jesus was crucified on the cross? They had not had a real experience of resurrection, experience of rebirth. However, the right-hand thief had that kind of guy(?). It is not easy to testify that “you are the messiah” also.(?) He was going through a very painful experience: bleeding and bleeding from his head, both his hands, from his chest, both his legs (and panting for air). In such a situation he testified that “Lord, you are the messiah. I completely surrender (to) your true love.”
Like the faith of the thief on the left, when difficulties and trials arise in our life of faith, we complain and blame others for everything and try to run away from difficulties.
Just as the thief who was crucified on the right experienced resurrection through Jesus, today's Unification Church's faith must have an experience that completely changes your life through the devoted life of True Parents.
How many of us have had that kind of life-changing experience through True Parents’ life and love?
The faith of the thief on the left is (that of) a person who has not experienced true repentance and resurrection even after joining the church, and the faith of the thief on the right is (that of) a person who has experienced real repentance, total repentance. “I am the sinner of sinners. I was Adam. Adam was I. I was Eve. Noah’s problem is my problem.” Wow! Total repentance. Then we can have an experience of resurrection.
That’s why without a substantial experience of resurrection and rebirth, we can become the left-hand thief any time. According to the situation, the environment, (we can) complain any time. We can run away any time. We are up and down any time according to the situation.
What do you think? Are you the left-hand thief or the right-hand thief? Which one?
2. Knowing God’s Will, we are in a position where each of us carries our own cross, our family cross, our ancestors' cross, the cross of this age, and follow and live for True Parents. Then we today must overcome the cross of the individual, which is the cross of the first step. Discord and resentment with siblings are, so to speak, a position to avoid one’s own suffering. Aren’t there people who believe while doing that these days? If you believe well, what will remain? If you believe, will you become rich? What can you boast about to my brothers and sisters? All those who think this way are believers of the cross on the left.
Everyone in this world is carrying a cross without exception. Some people have the faith of the thief on the left who wants to hand over their cross to others.
However, there are many crosses to bear on the way of the cross of the Unification Church. The first is one's personal cross, and the second is the cross that must be carried on behalf of your spouse.
Third, there is a cross that must be carried for the sake of the children, and fourth, there is a cross that must be carried on behalf of your brothers and sisters, that is, the cross in the relationship between Cain and Abel.
The fifth is the cross to bear for my tribe, the sixth is the cross to bear for the country and the world, and finally, there is the cross to bear for True Parents and God.
What kind of cross are you carrying? And what level is the cross you are carrying? Because there is such a path of the cross, the path for Unification members is not an easy one.
When we know God’s will, True Parents‘ will, it is not a simple path. We came to understand, “I am the one who needs to carry my own cross.” Who will be responsible for my own problems? I am the one who needs to carry my own cross.
Also, you need to bear your spouse’s cross. Whenever you struggle with your spouse, you cannot blame (him or her). “Your fault is my fault. Your lack is my lack. I am the one who bear’s my spouse’s cross.” Is it true? It is true.
If I try to blame my spouse and speak ill of my spouse, your life of faith will be troubled.
What we have learned from True Parents is that we need to bear our own cross, even your spouse’s cross. “Heavenly Father, I will be responsible for my spouse’s problem. I will bear her cross.” This is the right attitude.
When you see your children, even though you make an effort and (invest) your jeongseong, trying to do your best, some second generation go here and there and create problems. As a parent, who will be responsible for your children? Who will bear your children’s problems? You need to bear your children’s cross.
Father said, not only that. You need to bear your tribal cross. You have to be responsible for your tribe.
That is why when we have come to understand the Divine Principle, the way of our life of faith is not simple. Christian faith just believes in God and Jesus. It cannot compare.
However, no matter how difficult it is, I am telling you to take up your personal cross, your family's cross, and your tribal cross -- then finally even (that of) our nation and of all humankind, even (that of) True Parents. Furthermore, I need to bear our Heavenly Parents’ cross. I need to console him; I need to liberate him. That is my own portion of responsibility.
We learn such great things from our True Parents. They are incredible teachers. They are really our True Parents. Do you agree with me?
3. During the many years of being in the Unification Church, my circumstances have deteriorated. On the other hand, my older brother has progressed socially somehow, and my younger brother has achieved a certain rank, and all of our relatives have prospered in society. What does this mean? A person who thinks like this can be seen as having the faith of the person on the left cross. But the faith of the person on the right cross knows a little how to tell the difference between right and wrong, so he scolded the thief on the left for criticizing Jesus when he had done nothing wrong. The thief on the right is a believer who can distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness, and has tasted the truth. Seeing that he had already been able to discern right from wrong in Jesus' words, you can know that this man took up his cross right away.
4. The thief on the right of Jesus overcame his own fallen nature. To discern right from wrong means to fully realize what fallen nature is. It means that he fully realized his own crime. Otherwise, it is difficult to distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness. The faith of the thief on the right cross is the faith that can distinguish between righteousness and unrighteousness. If you have such faith, your spirit will grow. As your spirit grows, you will come to know that Jesus is sad. The thief on the right had compassion for Jesus.
5. “Jesus, you are going to the cross like this, but you are coming again. Please look after me when you come.” Asking Jesus to remember him when he comes is also compassion, and it expresses that he knows Jesus is in a really unfair position. The thieves on both sides of Jesus took up the cross because of their crimes, but the thief on the right knew Jesus well because he talked about Jesus carrying the cross without any wrongdoing. When humans can discern right from wrong, we will always have compassion for the other person. In other words, the heart of the person who can discern right from wrong wells up and is heartistically resurrected. The thief on the right had that good point.
The faith of the thief on the right first knew how to discern, to distinguish right from wrong. He sincerely knew that he was a sinner who had committed many sins.
Realizing that you are a sinner results in repentance and the strength and wisdom to remove your fallen nature. Then, your own spirit is bound to grow and develop.
Those who have a real experience of repentance, total repentance can really forgive anyone. Not only that. You cannot blame anyone. That is why those who criticize and blame others have not had a real experience of total repentance. Those who have had the experience of total repentance can embrace any sinner. You can treat their sin as “my own sin.” We need to really understand this point.
As your heart grows, you will gradually come to know the circumstances and heart of God and True Parents. You will experience a life where your heart arises and resurrects.
That is why total repentance is important.
Therefore, we must always distinguish between good and evil and between righteousness and injustice through the Word and through True Parents’ life and love.
This is what we can learn from the thief who bears the cross on the right.
Today we learned many things from the right(-hand) thief. Let’s practice what he has taught us. Let’s have an experience of repentance and resurrection. Finally we can embrace any sinner, any problem guy, as a son or daughter of God.♦
NOTE: This lightly edited transcription may contain errors and omissions. Indecipherable or uncertain words and guesses are tagged with a “(?)” and indecipherable phrases, with an ellipsis “ ...”. First, second and third person pronouns have been left as spoken if the meaning is clear, and other apparently Korean English expressions have been preserved. Some repeated phrases have been eliminated. This text and the powerpoint slides from this speech are available as pdf files at the top of this text and at text.morndev.com & yong.hoondok.com. Audio only is available at anchor.morndev.com, spotify.morndev.com & audio.morndev.com.♦