Hak Ja Han and Sun Jin Moon
December 5, 2015
Chicago, IL, USA
Sun Jin Moon's personal remarks prior to reading Hak Ja Han’s address
Respected and beloved government and civic leaders, and especially the members of the clergy who represent not only the Christian family of faiths, but also the wider family of religions!
It is my honor and privilege to be with you today for this True Family Values Banquet, convened here in Chicago, and celebrating 20 years of the True Family Values ministry.
I want to acknowledge the members of the ACLC who are here today, as well as representatives of Family Fed, UPF and other NGOs.
If you are like me, and I am sure you are, there isn’t a day that goes by when you wonder where our world is headed. It sometimes seems like our world is falling apart. One the one hand, we are facing the impact of climate changes that threaten the viability of the planet, including the quality of our air, water, and the food chain. In addition, the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, and the terror attacks in Europe, here, in our homeland, and other places are threatening global order and global stability. And, in the communities and on the streets of America’s cities there are cries for justice as gun violence and shootings darken the headlines.
Sometimes the challenges of life can seem almost too much to bear. However, if we reflect on the power of love, faith, benevolence, and goodness, we open up to the light. We begin to appreciate heroes among us who, by their example, their vision and their words, show us the way out of the darkness and lead us to the light. They give us hope. To all of the heroes in this room, men and women and families of faith, love, and goodness who serve a higher purpose and live to create a world of peace and one family under God, today I thank you all for being our American heroes of peace. (applause)
There have been two major people in my life who have always inspired me, even in the darkest times; They are my parents, and to the world wide family our TPs, have lived a sincere life of absolute faith in God, lived with an unwavering will to serve humanity, and instill a global consciousness of good, with fearless determination, absolute love, and selfless devotion for the sake of humankind and creation. There is no other person on this earth who can match my father’s life example, May God bless him, since his ascension three years ago. But if ever there was a woman of absolute pure love, devotion, faith, and goodness that was his balance, his counterpart, the complete harmony of true love in life that would be my mother. She has devoted her life, family, and served over 50 years in their pubic mission to serve humankind. She is my light and amazing example of True Love. She is my hero.
Despite losing her husband of 52 years, and the father to their 14 children; despite being now in this physical world without the irreplaceable half that makes her whole; and despite losing her one and only true love, my mother, True Mother, never stops to focus on, or complain about, her own difficulties. On the contrary, she always looks to ease the pain of others, giving out love and hope, and calling us all to embrace a victorious future, building one universal family under God, our Heavenly Parent.
I know that when my parents and my family came to this nation, they had the highest hopes that this nation would be a light unto the world, and an exemplary nation that served as a loving elder brother to the community of nations around the world…..a superpower of justice, peace, faith, and widespread prosperity, north, south, east and west.
In order for America to achieve this goal they promoted interreligious dialogue, good governance, and soft-power approaches to peace. They initiated character education programs for youth, worked to empower women and girls, advocated renewal and reform of the United Nations, developed businesses guided by ethical principles, and invested in the development of responsible, objective media institutions.
They believed that this quest for peace was the most important task of our time.
At the center of this effort, was the family. This is why their entire ministry was centered on the Blessing, to build God-centered marriages and families. They always taught us that the primary school for teaching ethics, justice and true love is the family. If we build marriages and families of true love, and we expand that realm of true love, we can build communities, cities, nations and a world of true love. We become brothers and sisters who love and care for one another.
This is Heavenly Parent’s ideal, and this is True Parents ideal. We need to build loving families and communities based on the principle of true love, forgiveness, unity, and compassion. Gathered here with all of you our brothers and sisters, our heroes of faith, I know this ideal can be realized in this great nation. With the warmth and cheer of the holiday season, I pray that you and your precious families can all be abundantly blessed and joyful and may this nation find that we are all one family under God and we should all celebrate each moment with love, faith, and gratitude. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Aju!
I have been asked by my mother, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, to represent her today, and to present her message, which she wanted to share with you. She could not be here, but her heart is with us. Also, my father’s heart is our eternal light and he is always with us. He is looking down on us from the spiritual world. I am sure he is smiling and sending loving blessings to you all.
Please bear with me now as I do my best to present my mother’s message.
[Sun Jin Moon begins reading Hak Ja Han's remarks]
True Family Values Ministry 20th Awards Banquet Address from Hak Ja Han
Respected ladies and gentlemen from home and abroad!
Beloved leaders who strive to establish true family values!
The fulfillment of the Heavenly Parent’s ideal of creation is rooted in family values. However, we see today that those values are rapidly deteriorating. It was in order to firmly establish true family values and fulfill the Heavenly Parent’s will to establish “One Family Under God,” that my late husband, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and I began our providential work in the United States in 1971. Since that time, we have devoted ourselves to advocating True Family ideals and values.
Heaven specially prepared and blessed the United States so that it could become a pillar of the global providence of restoration. However, my husband and I could see the tragic deterioration of family values in America. Therefore, in 1996, my husband and I invited more than 5,000 religious leaders from all over America to Washington DC to awaken the nation, teaching about the absolute centrality of true family values. The content of this educational program inspired the clergy who had gathered on that occasion, and they resolved to participate in a great movement aimed at reviving America by restoring true family values centered on God, our Heavenly Parent.
I know that many of you who are seated here today have dedicated yourselves to this great and holy endeavor. It is through your devotion and your efforts over many years that this movement has grown and that we are now able to celebrate this very meaningful 20th anniversary. I would like to offer my heartfelt gratitude for your tremendous work. I would also like to congratulate today’s award recipients.
The Family Should Be Rooted in Heavenly Morality, not Human Morality
Respected leaders!
We are born in the bosom of the family and we grow within the family. The family is our origin, our starting point and our school of love. This universal truth and the values embedded in the family transcend religion, culture, race and nationality. Our Heavenly Parent’s ideal of creation, when He created Adam and Eve as the first human ancestors, was for them to fulfill His commandments, namely, to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the creation (Genesis 1:27). However, due to the fall of the first human ancestors, our Heavenly Parent’s ideal of creation was unfulfilled. As a result, our Heavenly Parent was unable to experience the happiness of true love within an ideal family. Furthermore, throughout the course of fallen human history, true family values were trampled upon and swept away into oblivion.
If we consider the history of the rise and fall of civilizations, we observe that the decline of the family contributes to the decline of civilizations. For example, we can generally agree that western civilization traces its roots to Hebraism and Hellenism. As great as these traditions are, they each tended to emphasize the individual more than the family. That is, we do not find in them a clear vision of ideal families, nor a forceful declaration of the importance of true families rooted in our Heavenly Parent’s ideal of creation. Eventually, as western civilization increasingly embraced individualistic ideas and philosophies, a culture centered on individualism emerged. Contrary to God’s will, the basic of unit of all relationships in society and the nation was not believed to be the family; instead, it became the individual. Regrettably, all relationships, including those between parents and children, came to be defined as a kind of legal or contractual relationship, similar to that which exists between a ruler and the citizens. This was a grave error. Once the relationship between parents and children is defined fundamentally in terms of a contractual relationship involving the personal interests of the ‘parents’ and the ‘children,’ parent-child relations come to be understood not in terms of heavenly morality, but rather in terms of human morality. Today, the human family is divided and in the throes of war on every level. We are fighting with every living being and creation, arming ourselves against eco-wars, religious wars, territorial wars, political wars, racial wars, community shootings, making our backyards on hometown a war field. When we witness these heinous crimes against the human family, we are heartbroken and can empathize with the devastating pain of God’s heart. Anyone can say that the world we live in today is not an ideal world where we all live in peace and harmony with our global brothers and sisters as one family under God. I believe that the root cause of these problems lies in the loss of true family values.
The United States was blessed by our Heavenly Parent with the ideal vision and mission of establishing not only “One Nation Under God,” but also “One Family Under God.” Today, this ideal is still alive, even though the erosion of family values is threatening the very foundation of this nation. Divorce rates exceeding 50% are directly undermining the sanctity of marriage and the family; unprecedented liberal attitudes about sex among teenagers and free sex among young people are seriously shaking the core values of this nation. Aware and concerned about this sad reality, Rev. Moon and I answered Heaven’s call to come and heal an ailing America. In 1971, Rev. Moon left his homeland and family to come to America. Throughout his life, he devoted himself to restoring America’s moral and spiritual roots in order to revive this great nation. As he toured the US from shore to shore, Rev. Moon boldly proclaimed that, “God has sent me in the role of a doctor, in the role of a firefighter. That is why I have come to America.”
The hope and desire of America is for God, the Heavenly Parent!
Beloved leaders!
What kind of country is this nation where you were born? What kind of nation are you living in? What dreams did your ancestors hold dear as they landed on these shores? What ideals did they strive to practice and cultivate in this nation?
When the Pilgrim Fathers sailed across the Atlantic Ocean under the most adverse conditions, surviving deadly storms and various setbacks, their only ray of hope was God, their Heavenly Parent. After arriving and settling on the new continent, almost half of the Pilgrims died from starvation during the first year; yet, despite the famine, the Pilgrims thought about future generations and they stored the seeds in anticipation of the next growing season, rather than eating them. During these trying times, their only hope was to connect with their Heavenly Parent.
Later, when the founding fathers of this nation risked their lives and fought a David-versus-Goliath battle for independence against Britain, their hope and trust was in God, the Heavenly Parent. In their hearts and minds, God was everything. Their resolve, courage and determination to attend the Heavenly Parent was truly great and holy.
During the War for Independence, Britain was the global superpower. The King and the British soldiers united and fought for their empire. However, the founding fathers loved God, their Heavenly Parent above all. They united and fought to advance God’s Will. Their sincerity and sacrifice moved the heart of heaven. As a result, our Heavenly Parent answered the call of His sons and daughters who were fighting bravely in this great conflict; as a result, the United States of America, the land of religious freedom, was born.
America boldly showed the world that despite having people of many different languages and cultures, it was possible to build “One Nation Under God” and, eventually, “One Family Under the Heavenly Parent.”
Unfortunately, the holiness that once characterized America has fallen into decline. Influenced by the self-centered rise in materialistic culture and the challenges posed by the weakening of spirituality and morality, America has grown increasingly secular. As a result, its core foundation has been shaken.
Rev. Moon and I witnessed these tragic developments. Our Heavenly Parent’s presence should be felt everywhere. However, we could see that God had become distant from the hearts of people; even in families, schools, and some churches, it had become more difficult to feel the Heavenly Parent’s loving presence. God was leaving America. Looking back, it seems like only yesterday when, some 50 years ago, Rev. Moon and I walked down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue and, with tears in our eyes, felt that God, the Heavenly Parent, was leaving America. I vividly remember us crying our hearts out as we held onto Him in desperation. With that heart, we pledged our absolute determination to lead a spiritual awakening in this nation.
Jesus’ Hope is the True Parents
Beloved leaders!
What were the founding ideals of America? What ideals of Christianity led to the birth of the United States? Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born on this earth as the only begotten son and Messiah; what were his ideals and what was his mission?
Jesus’ mission was to establish the Kingdom of God and to build one great, global family under the Heavenly Parent. As the only begotten son, he was to meet the only begotten daughter prepared by Heaven, hold the marriage of the lamb, and form a family, tribe, people, nation and world that would lead to the fulfillment of God’s original ideal of creation. This world would be one united world with no divisions of religion, culture, race or nationality; it would be a world where the Heavenly Parent could fully love, and live in oneness with the true parents, true children and all humanity as His beloved sons and daughters.
Tragically, due to the faithlessness of the people at that time, Jesus faced great resistance and persecution, and was unable to meet the only begotten daughter Heaven had prepared for him. Therefore, he could not hold the marriage of the lamb, and the position of True Parents could not be established at that time. Even though Jesus, together with the Holy Spirit, brings spiritual salvation to humanity, the ideal of True Parents and the ideal of King and queen of Peace had yet to be fulfilled. This is why Jesus had to promise, even as he hung on the cross, that he would come again. Jesus’ profound anguish was expressed when he said in Matthew 23:37, “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” These words still resonate deep within my heart
Beloved leaders!
My late husband, the Rev. Moon and I clearly understood the suffering and sorrowful situation of Heaven and Jesus, whose death on the cross was not God’s original Will. We, therefore, wanted to comfort and uplift Jesus, just as he should have been during his lifetime. In 2003, we organized a program in Jerusalem to honor and crown Jesus as the King of Peace; we wanted to restore his having been misunderstood and rejected 2000 years ago. Also, since the cross was a sorrowful reminder that he was not received by the people of his time, we also engaged in a global movement to take down crosses in churches. However, these endeavors alone did not completely free the Heavenly Parent and Jesus from their historical pain and sorrow. In fact, we now understand that the 2,000 year history of Christianity has been a providential course to eventually find the only begotten daughter, fulfill the Marriage of the Lamb, and establish the long-awaited position of the True Parents.
The Life of True Parents to Realize the Ideal of the True Family
Dear leaders!
In 1960, the Rev. Moon and I, standing in the presence of God and in the positions of only begotten son and only begotten daughter prepared by Heaven, received the Holy Blessing as the True Parents. Since the time of our holy wedding, our lives have been focused on the following goals: to liberate the Heavenly Parent who is the Cosmic True Parent, restoring His lost position as our parent, and to save the lost and fallen human beings from the realm of death and suffering, and return humanity to the bosom of the Heavenly Parent. In order to achieve this ideal, the Rev. Moon and I have had to overcome unspeakable hardships and innumerable difficulties. Overcoming all these obstacles, we led and carried humanity, which had fallen into the state of being like an orphan with no parents, along the path to salvation. The sayings, “Seven failures will lead to success on the eighth,” and “Risk your life and invest yourself entirely to the cause,” accurately characterize the course of life that we led.
True Father came on this earth as the only begotten son of the Heavenly Parent, and he met me, as the only begotten daughter who Heaven had prepared for 6,000 years. Together we strove each and every day of our lives to embrace all of humanity with the heart of True Parents. However, this meant that our life together would never be stable or serene; it was akin to sailing on the vast ocean during a deadly storm. Nevertheless, Rev. Moon, as True Father, completely fulfilled his mission, and, prior to his ascension, he earnestly asked and entrusted to all humanity the mission to fulfill their own responsibility as Heavenly Tribal Messiahs.
Beloved leaders!
At the time of my husband’s third ascension memorial, standing before the Heavenly Parent and the entire Unification community, this is what I promised True Father:
[True] Father, from now on, please do not worry. We will absolutely fulfill our responsibility. Please be free and ascend to the eternal Bonhyangwon [your eternal resting place] to comfort God, the Heavenly Parent, who has been lonely until now.
Beloved leaders, you are witnesses to the kind of life our couple has led in order to realize the Will of the Heavenly Parent; you know the sincere efforts we have made to save and revive this nation that has been blessed by Heaven; you know the hardships and persecution we had to overcome. I am certain that your truthful eyes and truthful ears have helped you to understand for whom and for what ideals we dedicated our lives.
My beloved leaders!
Let us stand up for our Heavenly Parent who, for 6,000 years of human history, has anxiously searched for His lost children. Let us remember the Pilgrim Fathers who, with the hearts of children desperately seeking for their Heavenly Parent, traveled thousands of miles across a treacherous Atlantic Ocean and settled in America during the harshest of winters. Let us remember the people who came to this country from all over the world in search of religious freedom; let us remember how they overcame persecution and suffering so that America could take root as the land of faith. Let us remember their ardent devotion, their sincere faith and their lofty aspirations. God, our Heavenly Parent, has abundantly blessed America as a pillar of His providence. Let this beautiful nation once again attend the Heavenly Parent. Let us revive and transform America into a nation where the ideals of the family are alive, a nation where the Heavenly Parent can freely move, dance and sing together with us. If you devote yourselves to fulfilling this goal, Heaven and the unified nation of Cheon Il Guk will certainly remember each and every one of you.
I pray that the love and blessings of the Heavenly Parent be with you and your families.
May Heavenly Parent truly bless America! Aju!