REVEREND SUN MYUNG MOON
SPEAKS ON
Heaven's Sorrowful Heart
Former Church Headquarters
Seoul, Korea
January 3, 1959
Matthew 1:18-2:12
Prayer
We are aware of the facts of history, tragedies and grief no words can
express. We are also aware that, because of the fall of Adam and Eve,
the heart of the Father, who took pleasure in looking at the Garden of
Eden, was transformed into a heart of sorrow. That became the
historical sorrow throughout the long 6,000 years. In addition, we are
also aware of being entrusted with the historical mission to restore
the lost Garden of Eden, clinging to the Father's worried heart,
exerting ourselves both mentally and physically.
Father, we now know that after toiling 4,000 years to regain the lost
Adam and Eve, You sent Jesus to this earth equipped with the image of
Adam. The greater the Father's toil before the time of Jesus' birth,
the greater the pride of Heaven in Jesus being born as a result of
that toil. Jesus should have been the pride of all created things and
of all humanity. While Heaven welcomed Jesus to this earth, in its
ignorance, humanity could not give him a favorable reception. Today,
we cannot help feeling ashamed about this.
As we look back upon the pitiable fact that the toiling Father's
hopeful glance had to linger on the pitiful appearance of Jesus lying
in a manger, we feel keenly that our ancestors were unbelieving and
inadequate. Once more, human beings revealed the fault of the fall of
Adam and Eve. Because we are aware of this, we are deeply saddened
today when we are mindful of this sorrowful fact. I sincerely wish and
desire that You allow us to be able to console You in Your sorrow in
place of the chosen people, the Israelites, who could not comfort the
Father in ancient times.
Although 2,000 years have passed, all too soon, since Jesus came and
left, I understand that the world of heart transcends time. Father,
transcendent of history, please allow us to comfort You in this hour,
embracing the heart of Jesus Christ, who went to Heaven's castle
bearing a sorrowful heart.
Father, I pray from the depth of my heart that You allow this to be
the hour when, getting to know the grief of the 2,000 years since
Jesus came and left, the deeply penetrating, bitter resentment that
remains in heaven and on earth today, we may accept the figure born as
Jesus with all our hearts. Father, please bless this hour when we
commemorate that day. By manifesting the glory of happiness for which
Jesus wished, allow the grief of Jesus to be cleared away. Since we
who know the internal heart are about to commemorate this day, please
allow us to redeem all the past sorrow left by human beings in their
ignorance. I pray from the bottom of my heart that by allowing us to
stand before the Father, Jesus will rejoice and the Father will
receive comfort.
We have assumed the comprehensive restoration mission and are
addressing ourselves to the Will. Now we are gathered here. Today we
are placed in a position where we must seek and minister to a restored
parent. Now the time has come when we attend Jesus as our true elder
brother. Therefore, Father, I ardently wish and desire that You allow
us to liquidate the sorrowful facts on this earth by feeling and
experiencing Your sorrow and becoming true brothers.
There are so many people who seek the path to Heaven on this earth.
However, since they do not know through what kind of will Your life
force will manifest itself, Father, please have direct dominion over
their minds and bodies. By mobilizing all spiritual movements, please
allow them to comprehend the whole intention of the Father, who
forewarns of the last days. Allow them to fathom the Father's internal
heart. By doing so, I pray deeply that You will allow the day of
happiness, when they can be Your true sons and daughters, to come to
the earth as soon as possible.
We know that Jesus, who came to this earth and walked the path of the
tribulation of the cross, is aiding us in this task. Therefore, please
encourage us not to be inadequate. Let those of us on earth accomplish
the Will in which You take delight, exerting all our powers. Father, I
sincerely wish and desire that You allow brothers and sisters on the
earth to continue in unity.
Please allow this which we offer You, bringing our minds together, to
be the sacrificial offering for historical liberation. Father, I
ardently wish and desire that You allow it to be a holy hour from now
on, when we can find the beginning of happiness by liquidating the
remaining sorrow and the lament of heart of the thousands of years.
Father, although this is a quick respectful bow we offer You, please
bless us. I ardently wish that You govern us according to Your Will by
gathering our insufficient minds and bodies. Ardently soliciting that
You allow only the glorious grace with which You can manifest Yourself
to appear here, I pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.
Prayer
Father, please extend Your hands of blessing over the whole of
humankind in this hour. Please extend Your hands of blessing over the
thirty million Korean people. Over the numerous children who remember
Your name, please grant Your grace of love. Moreover, Father, please
lift Your hands of love in blessing over the heads of the children,
who are prostrated to pray from the depths of their heart in a lonely
place in this hour. I pray from the bottom of my heart that You
remember the members who are concerned for You in this hour, wanting
to comfort You in the space of a generation for the sorrow You left
behind on this earth where sin and evil dwell. Please bless them in
this hour.
People on the earth do not know about this day nor do they know about
Heaven's festering sorrow. They know even less about Your infinitely
sorrowful heart. Father, we cannot help being grateful for the
glorious grace with which You granted this day to us, we who were
unaware of the lamentable fact of this day. Now we may celebrate this
day, which none of humankind recognizes as Christ's birthday. Please
remember Your sons and daughters gathered here.
Please allow our celebration this day to be the start for us to be
able to console the heart of Jesus, who has grieved for 2,000 years.
Please allow this to be the hour when, looking back on Christ, we can
inherit his old battlefield as an unfinished work. He cared nothing
about the path of Golgotha, giving his life after having been born in
a sorrowful position. We realize that this must be the hour when we
have to inherit the great achievement he left in his lifetime as our
mission.
Father! Human beings on this earth are not aware that the sorrow and
resentment of Jesus remain on this earth. Please allow Your sons and
daughters gathered here to have their minds and bodies deeply touched
and taken hold of by Your heart. Please allow us to comfort You by
understanding the heart of young Jesus, who was in such a precarious
position.
Although human beings are unaware of it, please allow this to be the
hour when we can feel and experience that Jesus is still working in
the spirit world. Father, I sincerely wish and desire this to be done.
Since we have prostrated ourselves in front of the Father's knees to
celebrate this day, in spite of our deficiencies of mind and body and
our lack of filial devotion, I pray from the depth of my heart that
You will be present, and that You will manifest overflowing grace so
that we can pioneer the new ideology of restoration.
Since I am about to deliver the word, I sincerely ask You to please be
with us in person. Please allow everything we pray for and honestly
desire in this day to remain as the condition to liberate all that has
festered in heaven and on earth.
This precious day is most important. We must leave behind the traces
of victory in sight of the Father, in obedience to the new Will.
Please remember this day. Ardently soliciting that the Father will
manifest Himself in happiness, I pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.
Today is an important day, which could have been the day to which God
was looking forward. I myself also looked forward to this day as I
came forth unfolding the Will. You must remember that this hour, when
we indemnify through the number four and at the same time through a
new number three, is the time of a historical act of providence.
The title of today's sermon is "Heaven's Sorrowful Heart."
I would like to honor the memory of this day with words to this effect.
God's Sorrow, Caused by Man
God created all of creation, in order to create one man. Looking at
all creation from the first day to the fifth, God rejoiced in Himself
with unlimited desire and hope.
God created our ancestors, Adam and Eve, as the central figures of all
creation, the masters who would rule over all creation in God's place.
Bearing an immeasurably happy heart, He then blessed all for their
sake. God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth." (Genesis 1:28) That He gave such words of blessing to us means
that we were created to make God happy. God blessed us for such a
purpose.
However, Adam and Eve could not realize that blessing from God. You
must, therefore, look back again upon the fact that a sorrowful
history has flowed forth without that blessing being realized.
Heaven was immeasurably glad while Adam was growing. Through Adam, all
creation was returning happiness to God. Yet Adam, not comprehending
the Will of the heavenly principles, could not uphold Heaven's Will
and Word. Therefore, he ended up being chained to the sorrowful
restraint called "the fall."
Because Adam and Eve fell, God, who set up the laws of heaven and
earth, could not help putting them out of His bosom of love. Although
all creation knew about God's sorrowful heart, as did the good spirits
of the angelic world, we, the descendants of fallen man, have not
really known this until now. You may know this very well.
Today we have gathered to celebrate this day. We have gathered to
celebrate Jesus' birth. What kind of figure was Jesus? He was the
existence Heaven sought and put up in place of the lost Adam.
Therefore, in concurrence with the birth of Jesus, the people then
should have felt and experienced the grief which penetrated to the
depth of God's heart and should have been able to cry in God's place,
holding onto the baby Jesus. They also should have been able to
rejoice in God's place, holding onto Jesus. There should have been
many people like that. However, there was no one who took delight in
holding the newborn Jesus and who also cried in God's place.
Because God's sorrow was caused by humans, God cannot dissolve it
alone. Only through humans can the sorrow, which penetrated to the
depth of God's heart, be dissolved. You must know that because this
sorrow was caused by humans, the sorrow festering in God cannot be
dissolved unless humans can grieve in God's place.
Joseph and Mary were able to cry in God's place, looking at the baby
Jesus lying in a manger. Yet they did not know that God's internal
heart was sorrowful. We must know that, even after seeing Jesus lying
in a manger, Joseph and Mary did not know how to feel sincerely sad in
Heaven's place.
Various people, the three wise men from the East, a shepherd, Anna,
and so forth, at least had the mind to witness and take delight in
Jesus. However, no one knew the sadness that sank deeply into God's
mind.
What then must we do now? We have to feel and experience the sorrow of
God, who lost Adam and Eve. At the same time, we must know how to take
delight in the fact of Jesus' birth. To dissolve the sorrowful
shimjung which penetrated to the depth of God's heart, we must
restore, through indemnity, this world of sin and evil brought about
by our human ancestors. To restore, by indemnity, a world which
abounds with sin, we must have a sincere heart with which we can cry
in God's place, holding onto Jesus. If Mary and Joseph had been like
this, they would have followed Jesus' will. Similarly, if the three
wise men from the East had been people of such a mind, they would have
followed the will of Jesus.
God's Unknown Sorrow and the Desire of Mary and Joseph
However, even Joseph and Mary, who should have toiled for Jesus and
stepped forth pursuing the Will for him, could not relate to Jesus
with the earnestness of God's sorrowful heart. The three wise men from
the East could not look at Jesus as Heaven looked at him, bearing a
sorrowful heart.
Today we must first look back on the shimjung with which God grieved
before Jesus' birth. You must reflect in your minds on the sorrowful
heart of God when He cast out Adam and Eve, because they fell in the
Garden of Eden. You must reflect back upon that sorrowful and pathetic
scene when God watched Adam, his only begotten son, being borne off by
the enemy Satan.
To dissolve this sorrow, God came forth unfolding the dispensation for
4,000 years after the fall of Adam and Eve. God notified all of
humankind of this sorrowful situation by sending numerous prophets and
sages. Yet human beings could not comprehend God's sorrow nor could
they comprehend the grief of the Heaven-sent prophets. For this
reason, the Israelites happened through the historical course where
they betrayed Heaven. Since God will certainly attain His Will, He
toiled without a moment of rest. Eventually, for the first time after
the lapse of 4,000 years, God was able to restore the lost Adam.
In what kind of position were Joseph and Mary? Adam and Eve fell when
they were in the state of engagement. Joseph and Mary were in exactly
the same situation. Having set Joseph and Mary up in such a position,
God unfolded the dispensation. It took 4,000 years before God could
choose and raise Joseph and Mary. You must know this.
If we think about the respective motives of Mary and Joseph in coming
to stand in the presence of God, we see that although Mary was a young
person, she knew God was unfolding the dispensation through her
people. Mary ardently wished for the Messiah to come to the earth,
more so than anyone. Joseph also wished earnestly for the Messiah to
save his people, to guide the chosen people into the Kingdom of
Heaven. He wished for this more than anyone else.
In all sincerity, Mary and Joseph eagerly awaited the Messiah and
believed firmly in their minds that God's Will would come to pass.
They believed that if they made every effort, God would notify them
beforehand of the Messiah's birth. Hoping thus, they made great
efforts. We must know this.
Although Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in ancient times fell
because they could not trust, Joseph and Mary had trustful minds
representing the people, minds that wished for the Messiah to come,
the mind to make every effort and give devoted service. We must know
that this moved God and became the motive for God to be able to send
the Messiah to Israel.
Mary was confused when an angel appeared to her and forewarned her of
conceiving the Messiah. Because she had not come together with any man
until then, Mary denied that such a thing would occur. However, Mary
had an earnest mind toward the Father's Will, and she responded to the
angel's command by saying, "Since I am the Lord's maidservant, please
do according to Your Will." This ran counter to the Israelite law,
which the Jewish people had kept for 4,000 years. For an unmarried
woman to conceive was not acceptable. At that time, Mosaic Law was so
strict that a pregnant, unmarried woman was to be subjected to
immediate death by stoning. Nevertheless, Mary made this sort of final
decision.
In that way, chosen by Heaven as a virgin and betrothed as well, Mary
was placed in a position where she had to face a life or death
situation and overcome it. What was more, she came to be placed in an
important situation where she could exert influence over her blood
relatives and over all classes of society.
Mary's Great Determination Enabled Her to Conceive the Messiah
Mary was of an immovable heart, such that even if she had to give up
everything in this world, she could never give up the Father's Will.
She would take on any matter with gratitude to realize the Father's
Will. We must learn that the very moment Mary sacrificed all her pride
and dignity and her own life on behalf of humanity, the connections
for the Messiah to be born were put into place for the first time.
At the same time, we must know the situation of Mary, who was pregnant
with the Messiah, immeasurably concerned in her mind about the path
she must walk after his birth. That situation closely resembled God's
pitiable one. Her state of concern closely resembled the mind of God,
who worries about the evil earth. For that reason, God commanded
Joseph, through an angel, to protect Mary.
Although Joseph heard the news through an angel, he found it difficult
to accept that Mary, who was pledged in marriage to him, was pregnant.
He suffered from a humanistic point of view. However, knowing that God
raises a man to realize His grand Will and unfolds the dispensation
through him, Joseph took Mary home according to the angel's command.
Mary and Joseph cooperating in this manner became the base to revive
Adam, lost in Eden.
If you, today, were to be placed in the position of Mary and Joseph,
going back to the time of Jesus 2,000 years ago, what would you have
done? If Heaven came looking for you, communicated the heartrending
situation and asked to make connections through you, what kind of
attitude would you take? With what kind of heart would you relate to
Heaven?
If you cannot appear before Heaven bearing a heart identical to that
of Mary, a heart identical to that of Joseph, then your position today
of offering best wishes to Jesus, to whom Mary and Joseph gave birth
with a heart of concern for Heaven, will not be seen as proper in
sight of Heaven.
For that reason, you must now think deeply about whether you are,
indeed, in the position of Mary or Joseph and change your mind. To
follow the Will, believe in it and put it into practice, regardless of
what Heaven commands you to do, you must become people like Joseph and
Mary, who denied all social convention and custom, even the ethics
they previously held. You must stand in a position where you celebrate
Jesus' birth in this hour with the faith to withstand this sort of
problem, having laid down your lives.
Having sent Jesus, God felt concern for things about which Joseph and
Mary could not concern themselves. He thought about things, about
which Joseph and Mary could not think. God wished that Joseph and Mary
would bring up Jesus to whom they gave birth, embracing him with all
their care and protection. God wished them to raise Jesus with all
their devotion, to support him with all their sincerity, until he
could step forth as the person in charge of the battle in front of the
enemy's world.
Being united, Joseph and Mary were concerned about God's wishes, at
least until Jesus was born. However, after Jesus was born, they could
not feel concern commensurate with God's. They looked at Jesus with
their concerns at the center of their thoughts, and according to the
precepts of their environment.
Joseph and Mary should have become Jesus' guardians. They should have
become Jesus' shields in battle. Therefore, on behalf of God's heart,
they had to support the newly appeared Jesus, irrespective of life and
death. Risking their lives for the sake of God, Joseph and Mary were
to support Jesus. Although she gave birth to him, Jesus did not really
belong to Mary.
The Sorrow of Jesus, Who Could Not Be Received as the Messiah
Had Joseph and Mary had the same determination while Jesus was growing
up as they had at his conception, they would have been able to block
the path of the cross for him. We are aware that because the mother
and son failed to complete the internal and external circumstances
through cooperation, Jesus abandoned his home and went forth to look
for disciples.
For that reason, when asked by Mary to make water into wine at the
marriage feast at Cana, Jesus said, "Woman, what have you to do with
me?" (John 2:4) When we think about this, we realize that Mary did not
understand Jesus. Neither Joseph nor Jesus' brothers knew. Jesus felt
concern about Heaven and the physical living environment. We must
understand that it was natural for Jesus to feel concern about God,
yet it was a sorrowful fact for him to have to feel concern about the
living environment.
Jesus was born and raised in a sorrowful environment. The environment
in which he was to live, caring and feeling concern only for God, was
lost. Therefore, we must understand the sorrowful fact that Jesus was
put in a situation where he had to feel concern about God and be
concerned about his physical livelihood.
Jesus being compelled to leave his home was equivalent to having to
leave his brothers and the tribe of Joseph, which had 4,000 years of
history behind it. We must remember that Jesus' heart was sorrowful,
as he looked at all the people who did not believe in him. Yet he
could not confide in anyone. Jesus' heart ached, not because his
circumstances were sorrowful and difficult, but because his mother,
brothers and relatives did not recognize who he was. We must
understand that this fact was the grief of Jesus' grief. Therefore,
today we must go back into history and restore Mary's original
position, Joseph's position, the position of Jesus' brothers, his
tribe, and Jesus' position as well. We must be aware that the bitter
historical resentment remains. We cannot help doing this.
Feeling the thirty plus years of Jesus' life on earth, deeply, in your
minds, having been born and having left bearing the cross, you must
feel to your marrow that Jesus felt sorrowful, that he was subjected
to both mental pain and physical pain. You must not celebrate Jesus'
birthday without that. Only when you know about Jesus, who came and
left in such a sorrowful way can you become qualified to celebrate his
birthday.
The scene in which Joseph and Mary were looking at Jesus, embracing
him after his birth, may have been a condition of happiness before
Heaven. Yet because they could not embrace Jesus his whole life and
could not offer their best to Jesus, they concluded by not
establishing a happy condition before God.
As we welcome Jesus who was born, we must know about Jesus who left.
By going back beyond the cross, following Jesus into history, we must
have the mind to offer our best wishes, while holding onto the newborn
Jesus. Since Jesus had to leave under such circumstances and fought in
such a manner, unless you get to know all the shimjung Jesus felt in
his lifetime and inherit that shimjung, you must know that you are not
qualified to offer your congratulations to Jesus.
Deeming Jesus' sorrow as truly your own, Jesus' pain in his life as
truly your own, you must be able to embrace, in your heart, the
comprehensive Will for which Jesus worked for 2,000 years until now.
It must be your will. We can congratulate Jesus only when we get to
know the shimjung of Jesus as he grew up and died on the cross in pain
as an adult. We can then connect with Jesus. With Jesus as the
condition, a relationship then can be formed between God and us. We
must know this.
Jesus' Wish for Man
Today we must represent those wise men from the East who went looking
for Jesus. We must be able to prepare the gifts that they prepared,
gold, frankincense and myrrh, and bow down with them. We must equip
ourselves with at least such preparations as the shepherd, who
happened to be walking the path and who went looking for Jesus with a
respectful bow. The songs the billions of religious people in heaven
sang, taking delight in Jesus' birth, spread throughout heaven. Even
the creation responded with song, centered on the Messiah, when this
one man was born. Although humans are not aware of this, we ourselves
must have the mind to offer best wishes to Jesus in the place of the
whole today. We must relate with Jesus directly, bearing a mind that
can celebrate in the place of religious believers in heaven, a mind
that can celebrate in the place of those three wise men from the East,
the shepherd, and all creation.
When this happens, the whole universe will shed copious tears. After
shedding tears, we will be able to celebrate in joy. We must know that
this is the mission of humankind today, having sent Jesus away.
What kind of heart does Jesus want you to embrace? With what kind of
heart does God wish you to commemorate this day? If there are things
Jesus calls upon us to do, they are that we give recognition to the
heart to which no one gave recognition when Jesus lived on the earth,
that we give recognition to the heart that has endured in spite of the
massacres and persecution of the many religious people he sent during
the 2,000 years since his death. We must know this. We must also know
that Jesus wishes us to take his place and restore, through indemnity,
what he could not fulfill on this earth, the responsibility to realize
the purpose of God on this earth, substituting for God.
Holding onto Jesus' impassioned mind, holding onto Jesus' bleeding
body, we must seek the heart of Jesus, who shed tears for the sake of
heaven and earth and humankind. He invoked blessing upon his enemies.
We must feel his pain through our minds and feel his weariness through
our bodies. Only when we are able to say, "Please dissolve Heaven's
sorrow through us. Please dissolve Jesus' historical grief through
us," and have the feeling well up from the bottom of our hearts will
God seek us and form bonds with us.
Jesus pioneered spiritual salvation after he died on the cross. This
was not accomplished on a smooth road either. Jesus pioneered a lonely
path, enjoying immortality on death's path. Jesus was this kind of
man. He has been going through a history of tears, without a day of
rest until today.
We are now faced with a common fate whereby we die together and live
together holding onto Jesus. We must feel that Jesus' death is my
death, Jesus' sorrow is my sorrow, and Jesus' vexation and
mortification are my vexation and mortification. Jesus' marrow-
piercing vexation and mortification still exist on this earth.
Therefore, we must not forget, even for a single moment, that the
person who has to dissolve this is not Jesus, not God. It is we who
must do this.
If you want to bow respectfully to Jesus and look at him with the true
meaning of celebration, you must now continue toward the fortress of
bitterness Jesus left behind, that bitter land. Only when we come to
congratulate Jesus, after fighting and taking responsibility, can
Jesus relate to us. The objective Jesus was to achieve after coming to
this earth was not realized as he wanted, but has remained until
today, after the lapse of 2,000 years of history, as the objective yet
to be accomplished ahead of numerous descendants.
We Should Become Jesus Incarnate
We must attain Jesus' objective, even if we die on the cross, even if
God says He does not know us. We cannot abandon this objective even if
all the people turn against us, including the person closest to us
upon this earth. Having understood this, you must stand before Heaven
in place of Jesus to accomplish this objective.
You must fight on, even if something turns against you and blocks you.
You must stand in a position where you feel you have taken charge of
what Jesus left behind in ancient times and accept it as a natural
thing to do. Unless you can do so, you cannot succeed in attaining the
objective Jesus left behind, and you have no way to resolve his
suffering love.
We must understand that if we do not fulfill the objective Jesus left
behind and resolve the suffering love he left, we cannot attain the
Will of God, who has sought us for 2,000 years. We cannot dissolve His
bitterness.
God has left behind the heart that wishes us to know that although we
are individuals today, "I" am not a private individual. Although "I"
am an element, I am connected to the whole universe. "I" am to
represent the historical heart of the whole, who wishes us to
represent Jesus' whole objective. Furthermore, God wants to entrust us
today with the responsibility of attaining His desires for the future
as well.
You must become those who are able to call on Jesus and God, knowing
that each of us is placed in a very important situation historically.
In addition, you must know that the heart of Jesus exists, born
through ties which were formed between God's heart of 4,000 years and
the hearts of Joseph and Mary, who ardently wished for the birth of
the Messiah. Now that the long history of 2,000 years has flowed down,
these hearts are acutely making demands upon us today.
Now, do you have the mind that wishes for salvation, lifting your
hands to Heaven? Do you have the mind that repents facing Heaven by
bowing your body? Do you have the mind that can run toward Heaven with
all four limbs in motion? Do you have the heart, having made all due
preparation in your mind and body, to take responsibility for the
magnificent fight of Jesus, who fought having thrown down the gauntlet
of the cross? You must fully realize again in this hour that, by
reflecting upon what kind of heart you have, on your own accord, you
must take responsibility for the movement that dissolves the grievous
historical resentment.
What would Jesus forewarn us of today? Jesus came looking for true
sons and daughters to whom he could truly unburden himself and speak
about Heaven's situation. However, he could not find them. Although he
went around seeking and striving for thirty or more years, he could
not meet even one person with whom he could share his fate, to whom he
could pass on Heaven's unfinished business. He left without being able
to do so.
By knowing this heart of Jesus, you too must experience calling Heaven
"Father," bearing the same responsibility as Jesus, standing in the
same situation. You must experience crying out in repentance, looking
at all humankind on the earth. You must have a sincere heart with
which you can look at all creation and say "congratulations" aloud to
Heaven. You must think again that unless you feel this kind of impulse
in your mind, you cannot save your honor in front of the numerous
prophets and sages who fought in the face of death, coming through the
past 2,000 years, upholding the will of Jesus, who is still making an
effort even today.
Now we must make an earnest request and vow, lifting our hands before
the Father. We must earnestly request and pledge, saying, "Father, we
solicit in this hour that You will please allow us to represent the
body of Jesus, who came to this earth 2,000 years ago. Please allow
this body that we offer before the Father's altar to represent Jesus."
Now you may lay down your heart and make a vow before Heaven. The
heart and the will we embrace must be able to represent Jesus' heart
and will. Our whole body must be able to represent Jesus' body. We
must become Jesus incarnate, who can dissolve in our generation the
heart and situation of Jesus, who tried to grasp Heaven with his heart
and tried to grasp the earth and all humankind with his body. By doing
so, we must become those who can fight holding onto Heaven with our
minds and holding onto humanity with our bodies.
Jesus' True Wish
Jesus did not eat for his good; he did not live for his sake. He did
not feel sorrow on his behalf or fret for himself. Even during times
of sadness, Jesus looked at the Father who grieved and felt rebuked.
We must emulate the virtues of Jesus, the son of God, who would then
feel his responsibility more strongly, bowing his head, thinking that
Heaven's pain was greater than his, no matter how great was his own.
Jesus appeared with the responsibility to save unbelieving humankind.
Therefore, even though there were many paths of tribulation, toil,
lamentation and pain during his life, Jesus did not care. We must know
the heart of Jesus today, who felt keen regret, even in his dreams,
thinking how the Israelites were unable to stand before the Father.
As we become more and more sincere in relation to the Will, we must
hold onto Heaven with our minds and the earth with our bodies. Even as
he walked the path of Golgotha, even as he shed blood and felt bone-
and flesh-melting agony, Jesus held onto God and comforted Him. He
held onto all humankind and worried about them. We must know this kind
of heart today.
Jesus was a man to be pitied. Although he had parents, he did not have
true parents. Although he had brothers, he did not have true brothers.
Although he had disciples, he did not have true disciples. By
restoring such historical matters, each of us should be able to become
Jesus' true parent, his true brothers, his true disciples and
followers.
When young people see old people, their minds should overflow with the
impulse to minister to them and support them as their true parents. In
turn, when old people see young people, the mind to love them with all
their heart, embracing them ardently from a parental position, willing
to be sacrificial offerings for them, must spring up from within.
Although Jesus wished to have true brothers, he could not gratify that
ardent wish even once: to go forward in sight of Heaven with true
brothers at his side. That was Jesus' suffering love. If we are to
dissolve this for him, we must be able to love all people from the
true brother's position. Only then will Jesus' suffering love be
comforted.
There was no one who was a true disciple, who could stand eternally in
the position of being united into one, not separated into two, who
received Jesus' love in the realm of God's love. Jesus had no disciple
to whom he could give all his love. This became Jesus' suffering love.
To dissolve this suffering love for him, we must become Jesus' true
disciples.
Who is the true disciple of Jesus? He is the kind of person who is
connected to Jesus' heart and is in kinship with Jesus. Although 6,000
years of history have passed, and there have been numerous followers
of Jesus, Jesus could not have a follower whom he could truly love
until today. We who know of such a fact must become true followers who
believe in Jesus and know how to minister to him.
Going further, by realizing that there was no true tribe or race Jesus
could truly love, no nation or world he could love, we must seek, for
him, the race, the nation and the world, holding hands, with minds
united and situations brought together. We must accomplish this in the
position where we can truly receive Jesus' love.
We Must Realize Jesus' Wish
If all of creation and the billion believers in heaven were to appeal
to us on the earth, what would they ask? They would ask us to fulfill
Jesus' wish. What was Jesus' wish? It was that, after coming to the
earth, he could have true parents, true brothers, true disciples, a
true race, a true nation, and a true world. This was Jesus' wish.
Since Jesus has been fighting until now, unable to rest, to become
God's true son or daughter today, each of us must be able to become
Jesus' parents, his true brothers, his true disciples, followers and
representatives. We must become Jesus' brave soldiers who realize a
true world. Only when we become like this will Jesus' wish be
fulfilled for the first time.
Today we must become the throng of people who stand on the side of
Jesus, embracing this kind of heart. Jesus came with this kind of
heart. Therefore, we also must become the people who feel the joy of
meeting by going back to look for Jesus at the time of his birth. With
a mind filled with emotion, equipped with this kind of heart, we must
know how to congratulate Jesus after meeting him. Only then can we
become qualified to congratulate the Lord of the Second Coming in the
future.
What does Heaven demand of us now? Heaven's happiness and the
fulfillment of Heaven's wishes must be brought about by us. Each of us
today is placed in this kind of important historical position. For
that reason, our words must represent Jesus' words; our activities
must represent Jesus' activities. In receiving persecution, you
represent Jesus taking rejection. Therefore, even if you become
lonely, without friends, you lose your brothers, your parents and your
disciples, you must be able to feel and experience Jesus' situation.
Only when you stand in such a position, will you connect with the
situation of Jesus at the foot of Mount Olives in ancient times. Only
then will you connect with the heroic heart of Jesus who went up to
the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed.
What must we do today? We must seek out the true family Jesus sought.
It was the wish of Jesus to have brothers who attended one set of
parents, formed a tribe and then multiplied to form a state, a race,
and a world.
We too have parents and children in our respective families today.
Yet, by establishing a true order of love, we must create true
brothers, true parents and relatives, a true religious order and a
race. If you see Jesus born on this earth and have this kind of mind.
Jesus will be happy, even if he lies in a manger. I ask you to
celebrate this day today with this kind of heart.
Prayer
Father, individuals have come down in history not knowing why You sent
Jesus to the place of death. Please allow us to know, today, the
sorrow of the Father who lost Adam and the grief that resulted from
the loss of Jesus. We know that poor believers must come forth who
believe in this pitiable Jesus. We know that religious people who
understand the Lord's Will have to come forth.
Please allow us to know that people who followed the providential path
wandered about in search of the true path, striving in the face of
death. Please allow us to know that they wandered about seeking true
parents. By understanding that this became a matter of great regret,
please allow us to examine closely whether we have true parents, true
brothers and sisters, true disciples, true followers, a true race and
a true world.
We cannot but feel that, even today, Heaven's sorrow has penetrated to
the depths of the earth and heaven, and all of humankind. We who are
celebrating this day today have gathered to become true parents, true
sons and daughters, filial sons and true loyal subjects.
Even though we are insufficient, please comfort Jesus who was
sorrowful in the past through us. Please allow us to fulfill Your
desire, constantly staying at the center of the Father's heart.
Entrusting You with everything, I pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.
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