Hyung Jin Moon
February 23, 2008
Headquarters Church
Chungpadong, Seoul, Korea
Transcribe by: Maryannie Hapeman
Edited by: Bruno Klotz
Hyung Jin Nim's Welcome Message:
Bothers and Sisters, it is a wonderful Saturday. I want to share this with you in Cheon Song Gyong, Book 8, pages 12-16. Father said, "Let the satanic world persecute me as much as it wants. Let it strike me. I will capture them all. With what? With the power of love. God's creative power. If I do so, God will be with me. In such a position God acts with me".
Brothers and Sisters, I believe that we are acting in that way, that even though there may be voices against us, or even opposed to us, we know we are doing good things. We are going to be a blessing to this world. And it's so important that when we look ourselves, we see ourselves as appealing in this very important mission and task, that we look at ourselves from the viewpoint of God, seeing ourselves in His image, seeing ourselves with that kind of value, divine value, cosmic value, unique value, always remembering the internal value, and meaning that we have.
We believe that our family members will continue to be the greatest blessings to this world. We believe that every one of you, everyone of one of us, has within our hearts a champion inside, a greatness inside. Never forget that it's so important, whatever we may hear, to always return back and meditate on that reality.
Brothers and Sisters, let's always remember, and see ourselves in that light, as we are now gathered here before True Parents and before God on this wonderful Saturday. We really want to welcome you. Let us really have a great celebration today.
Yeon Ah Nim's Message:
A couple of days ago, one of the ministers told me that many members have expressed their struggles in teaching True Family Values. Particularly, one sister came up to him and said that, she doesn't feel that its right for her to teach True Family values, especially when her family is falling apart. She even said, she felt ashamed when she saw the level of family building programs in other churches. So she said to him seriously, "I went there to witness, but I was almost witnessed to".
I feel that having faith as an Unificationist is like running a marathon. When running a marathon it is essential to pace yourself. If you try to sprint from the start, you won't be able to last for the long course of the marathon that is called blessed family life.
It is important to do providential work, but I believe that it is also important to build a family, having an ideal family in each one of our homes. I saw too many families that assume that everything will be okay, including kids, as long as we do providential work. But we saw that this is not true.
We believe that now is the era for us to actualize this important teaching. The important and core teaching of our tradition, we all know is having an ideal family. This is our core teaching. As Unificationists, it's essential to have an ideal family. Let's not forget this. Let's remember this. I believe we can all do this. Brothers and Sisters, we love you so much and we believe in you. AJU!!!
Interesting Story:
I heard a story about a little boy named Joey, and he was walking home from Sunday school, having a big candy bar. He was eating it. He's so happy, and really enjoying eating his candy bar. And his mom came and said, "Hey Joey, where did you get that candy bar? I thought I gave you money for a donation." And so, Joey said, "Well, Mom, yeah, I used the dollar that you gave me." And she said, "Honey, that was actually for the Sunday Service. And Joey said, "I know, but the minister got me in for free".
Main Sermon by Hyung Jin Nim:
I would like to share with you a brief quote from "The minister's path" from one of True Father's Hoon Dok Hae readings. It says, "We only live for just 70 or 80 years; just once. Our life is just a moment, a breath, even when you think that your life's effort seems unending. When are we going to start living a true life? Life is just one day at a time. There is no true life that is not linked day to day. No one can attain victory without living a life of abundant worth, and desiring abundant victory." True Father says that in his Hoon Dok Hae reading.
Today I would like to talk with you about having peace while we are in motion. It's so important that, when we are living the blessed life and are really fulfilling the goals that we are setting up, that we are also able to keep our peace. These two things should not be mutually exclusive. Many people get into the habit of thinking that I have to choose either or. So maybe I have to choose between faith or family, working hard or having fun, success or doing what I really want to do. But the blessed life answers to us: "No, we have to choose both."
It's a very important thing that we are able to choose both, family and faith, that we're able to choose both, working hard and also enjoying time with our family members, enjoying the fun times -- that we are learning to have success, and at the same time matching that with things that we really have a calling to do. When we have peace while we're fulfilling those goals and moving on, it actually helps us to become effective in fulfilling our goals.
And let's remember True Father's quotation, "Life is really, really short." If we think about it, every year 15,768,000 seconds pass. Every time we live one year longer, 15,768,000 seconds have passed by. Life is too short, brothers and sisters. In our life, it is important that we are able to accomplish the things that God has created us to do. And it is not only for ourselves that we do such things; because in the end we have cosmic value, and in the end, our work, our contribution, if it is matching with God's calling, will have cosmic significance.
It is so important that we learn how to work with the goals that we are creating, as we are moving in our blessed life. It is so important to not get totally bogged down with too much clutter in our minds, particularly when we have goals in our mind and we are constantly trying to wrestle with them and constantly trying to organize them in our mind. We can really lose a lot of time. We become frustrated. Our life can lose its sense of purpose, and we can feel that life is not worth living at that point.
So it's important in our life, to start getting our goals, getting our purposes, out of our minds, and on to an external source, an external system, outside of our mind. This can be in a laptop computer. It can be in your diary. The point is to get them out of your mind, so that your mind can have peace, and then to start listing them on what I call the "Goals Page". Father always, every year, has a little diary book, and that thing is full, every year. He has a new one every year. He is writing all His goals down in that book.
It is a very important exercise that I would love to share with you. I encourage you all to write your goals down on a goal page. Put them all down. They can be big or small. They can be from contributing to world peace all the way to "next week I want to get an A on that test." It can be any size, but the point is to start putting them down on an external system that is outside of your mind.
The reason why, once again, is so that your mind can be at rest while you're moving along and fulfilling your goals. And it's so important that when we do that, we are learning to do both those things together, that we're not choosing to either have peace of mind or work hard, but we are learning how to work hard and have peace in mind at the same time.
Whenever I have to get up to write sermons... We have two services on Sunday. Right from Monday I'm already getting stressed out for the next week. What will be my next sermon topic? I don't know what I'm going to write, and I have to go to a meditation prayer, and try to really find it.
But sometimes I just can't come up with what I'm going to talk about. I'm just not inspired. Sometimes I just feel totally overwhelmed. There are too many thoughts in my mind; too many competing ideas; too many competing goals in my mind. And so what I'll do, I will just start putting them on an external system outside of my mind. Taking them out of my mind, but not losing them; putting them down on paper, or putting them on a computer, and so I may come back and work with them.
Many people get into the habit of thinking that I have to choose either or. So maybe I have to choose between faith and family, working hard and having fun, success and doing what I really want to do. But the blessed life answers to us: "No, we have to choose both."
When I'm able to do that, I can take a break and say, "I can now take a break," and do not need to think about it all during that break. Just completely I can go on to my meditation. I can walk the dogs. I can do something completely other than sermon preparation, and just focus on practicing a peaceful mind set. And then once the break is done and I have enjoyed that break, then I'm able to be refreshed by that. I can go back and start again on my idea page, can start again, working on the ideas that I have put down.
This is really important. Also in the Biblical Tradition we see that this practice is done. We see that any builder, who builds a great piece of architecture or building, must put his plan on paper. And in the same way, we can see this when David was asked to build the temple.
David was so victorious; he had conquered tens and thousands. He had been so victorious in conquering the lands and the different nations; but at the same time, he had shed so much blood in doing so. So he was not permitted to build the temple. And so the task was given to his son, who later became King Solomon, to build a temple for the Ark of the Covenant.
It is very interesting. If we look at this portion of the Biblical tradition, in Chronicles, we will see that there is this huge list, the list David had written. He had written every detail, what kind of articles would be in the temple, what kind of rooms would be in the temple, what kind of cherubim would be over the Ark of the Covenant. He was writing his plan down. He was getting these things out of his mind and on to an external source. In Chronicles 1:28-29, it says "All this I have in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, and He gave me understanding and all the details of the plan."
And just like I stated earlier, True Father also is in this habit. He also is always trying to write down his goals.
So what's on your mind today? Do you have something on your mind that you know you have to get done? Maybe you have been putting it off. Maybe I need to get on to that. I need to call that person today. I need to call my school teacher. If you have something on your mind, then let's start getting into the habit of preparing.
And there are two ways we have to take dominion over ourselves when we start trying to accomplish our goals. And those are with the mind and with the body. The first is the mind action step, and that would be to remember what it is that we are trying to do, what goal we have to accomplish. It could be something as simple as "I need to call my child's Tae Kwon Do teacher." In my case that happens quite frequently, so that would be one of the goals that I could place in my mind. And then it's important that, as you are trying to move forward in your goals, to create your physical action step.
And what that is, is to think about the next physical action you must take to accomplish that goal… the next physical action. So I would say, I need to call my Tae Kwon Do teacher, and I will have to pick up the phone and call that number. The reason why writing this down is good, is because it helps you take initiative; and it helps us to not hesitate or procrastinate, or wait. Remember, procrastination, especially if we have promises to keep… remember, those things, if they are resulting in broken promises can also result in bad reputations; and they also can result in regrets. So it's very important, when we are living that blessed life, to really be on top of these very small things.
And I'd like to suggest two different ways of working with your goals. There are two real practical ways that, as I found out, really helped me in my life. Many times when we are working with our goals, we will try to take the big ones first… we really want to take the large goals first, "I want to contribute to world peace," but many times that can be less effective. Many times it's better to start from the bottom up, to start with something very small. So get the small things out of the way first; start working with that bottom-up-method, where you're working to fulfill your smaller responsibilities first, and then working your way to the top.
But if you are looking at your goals page, and something is calling out to you, then maybe God is really pulling you towards a particular goal that He wants you to do. And maybe it is something very vast, like live for the sake of others. Then it's important to make that big goal small. You can make the big goal small (like live for the sake of others), make it small by saying, "I want to speak nicely to my children. I don't want to call them 'you rascal' anymore, I want to call them 'you blessing.' I want to remind my wife that she's special. I need to pray for that person who needs prayer. I need to visit that person who is in the hospital now."
See? When we are able to make our big goals smaller, then it's much easier to start actualizing and moving on the processes of fulfilling them. This week was the anniversary of my mother-in-law's passing day -- she passed away a few years ago - and we gathered for prayer. The kids were there, my wife was putting them to sleep, but then she said, "Let's get up, and let's pray." And our daughter just wouldn't get up.
She was lying down, and she had her blankets already, and she was not getting up, it was not happening. So all of my boys started using all kinds of methods to get her up; they tried to convince her, they tried to be nice to her, speak kindly to her, but nothing worked. She just continued to say, "I'm not getting up."
Then at that point one of the boys got up, and he ran towards Mom, and he sat on her lap. "Yeah! My Mom, I'm sitting on my Mom's lap!!" And then our daughter immediately got up, ran over, pushed him out of the way, and sat on Mom's lap. And then my boy looked at Mom, and they looked at each other, and gave each other a high five, and said, "It worked!"
You see, so what am I saying? In life, when we are fulfilling our goals, small or big, it's important to be flexible with our methods. And in the same way, when we are learning to fulfill these things in our lives, (maybe) a goal that God is asking you to do, or maybe you have to do (something) for your family, or for your work place, maybe for your church, it's important to know that the methods may change, depending on the person or depending on whom we are working with. The purpose of course can remain; but it's important to remain flexible with those methods.
I know some mothers, who, when they get really aggravated with their kids, and they are on the verge of screaming or saying something that they don't want to say, they get out of the room and take a time out for themselves. That's very important. That's effective. Some of the mothers will use another method; when they are right on the verge of yelling at their kids, they start singing a song of praise in the middle of the room, and start inspiring everybody… sometimes driving the kids a little crazy.
But this week, when my wife and I were getting a little bit aggravated with our kids.... they were being kids, normal kids... and she started reading their list of positive adjectives from A to Z. They were screaming at each other, and so we had them write from A to Z why they are so great not too scream. And they did that. "I am Awesome, I am too awesome to scream at my brother. I am too bold to scream at my brother. I am too courageous, etc., etc."
And so my wife began to read this list to them; and that started reminding them about who they really are; how awesome they actually are. And then she went on to read her list to them, and the kids were listening to that, and they said, "Mommy, I don't know about that; are you sure you're awesome?" Because she was saying, "I'm an awesome Mom, I'm a bold Mom, I'm a courageous Mom, I'm a disciplined Mom;" and the kids were saying, "Are you sure about that?" And she said, "Yes, I am, child," and she kept on reading.
In our tradition, it's so important that we learn how to do BOTH things well; to do church well, to do family well. These are not mutually exclusive.
In the 1970s a scholar from Britain studied our tradition. He actually lived in a church center; and he observed that we were a "celibate movement". At that time none of us had received the blessing, as you recall; and in his view we were basically like celibate monastics, like priests and nuns and monks, living in communities. So he basically called our tradition a celibate clergy, a celibate tradition.
But when we look at our own sociology today, when we look at our own tradition today, in 2008, we are not monastics anymore. We are blessed; most of us have children, the majority of Unificationists now have children. We now have families. At the time when we were celibates, or monastics, then we could choose 100% faith, because we didn't have families yet. But at this point in our reality, we have both.
It's so important that we learn how to choose, not either or, but both, to choose both these things. so that we do both things well.
Father always teaches us that we have two eyes to see, we have two ears to hear, Father teaches us that we have two lips to speak well. We have two nostrils, two hands to work, two feet to walk well with.
Our faith is the same way. We are the Family Federation for World Peace, and it's important that we learn to have family peace, as well as create world peace. God is asking us, True Parents are asking us to do that.
In the age of indemnity we had to sacrifice everything; but on the foundation of that enormous sacrifice, now at this age, in the Liberation and Complete Release Age, we can now take care of our families. We can now start living God's blessed life, and still be worthy in His eyes.
When I see True Parents, they also always strive to balance their activities. So many people think that they truly just threw their family away; and I am always trying to tell people, "That's not the case." They wrote letters to us, they called us, trying to encourage us. It's not easy to be the head of a world wide religion; it's not easy to build that from scratch. And so, as very, very super busy parents, they really went out of their way to make the personal connections. They tried everything they could do in that circumstance.
And when I see that, that inspires me to always reflect and say, "As a Unificationist it's not appropriate to exclude our family life from church life. In fact, they are the same thing. Coming back home and creating a healthy environment, where our children can have positive benefits, where they can grow in strength and in faith, where they can have confidence in themselves, where they can learn these very wonderful traits; that is church building. And in the same way, with these things, I believe, we must not choose one or the other.
So what's important? What can we learn today? Well, let's have peace in our motion. While we are achieving our goals, let us also learn to have peace. These things are not mutually exclusive. As we are fulfilling our goals as a movement, let us not forget the peace within our family; let us not exclude that from our family.
But practically speaking, what can we do? We can learn how to clear our mind, we can learn how to put our goals outside of our mind, put them on to an external source where we can work with them, where God can lead us to choose from them. And like David, let's get those plans outside, let's get them written out, drawn out, so that we can start seeing them come to life. And let us, in our minds, and in our bodies, start learning how to make action steps towards those goals.
Life is too short. Remember, every year, 15,768,000 seconds are passing by. It's important to start working on our goals, whatever age we are. It's important to start actualizing the things and the dreams that God has put into us.
We can use both those ways. We can use the bottom-up-method or making the big goals small. The point is, to continue to work to fulfill those goals. The goals are not necessarily our own goals; many times they are placed within us to do great things for others. And so, let's be flexible as we are achieving those goals, be flexible with our methods as we go along our path, but keep those goals in front of us. When we do that, we're going to be able to meet those goals; we're going to be able to see more victory in our lives, more illumination and more peace.
As a church, let us not choose either or; but let's choose both. We can choose to have a strong family and strong faith. We can choose to have success and live the passionate life that God has put into us. We can choose to work hard, but also enjoy peaceful times with our family and friends, enjoy good times together. These things are not mutually exclusive. The blessed life includes them all.
So I believe, that if we are able to do that with our small goals first, then next with our purposes, then I believe that we will continue to rise to more victories, more illumination, and more peace.
Brothers and sisters, can you receive this message today? Thank you so much.
We always want to give all of our brothers and sisters and those who are joining us from all around the world, a chance to reclaim our position, to re-center ourselves as True Parents' children.
Please join us in prayer:
Parents, we thank you for allowing us to come into your presence. Please enter into our hearts. We repent for those things that we have done wrong, and we pray that you may make us the palace of your peace, of your love, and of your lineage. We will always keep you enthroned in our hearts. Thanking you for these things, we pray in our names, Aju.
Brothers and sisters, if we always keep True Parents enthroned in our hearts with glory, they will bring us to more victories, more illumination and more peace than we could ever possibly imagine.