Chambumo Gyeong - 238. Witnessing conditions
The 40-day summer witnessing and education, which began on July 20, 1960 after True Parents' Holy Wedding, ignited our membership nationwide for the cause of restoring the Korean people. A total of 659 members were sent out to 413 areas in Korea. In Seoul, door-to-door visits and Divine Principle lectures were organized, and witnessing took place in the major parks, including Pagoda Park. During this period, the Unificationist family united as one in heart with True Parents. They ate meager meals together with True Parents for 40 days and overcame all kinds of hardships and persecutions. 1 The 40-day witnessing period was established as a condition to indemnify the 4,000 years of history from Adam to Jesus and the 4,000 years of history from Abraham until now. In crossing over this summit, no matter how wide or long the road is, there is only one road. It is the fastest road, the road of indemnity. There is the journey of 4,000 years and the journey of 40 years. Both center on the number 40. To go over this summit, we must create a shortcut. This representative period is none other than the 40-day witnessing period. (024-115, 1969/07/13) 2 The 40-day witnessing periods, which were carried out both in summer and winter, will go down in history. In these periods, we had to pass over a summit that no one had been able to conquer before. We had to travel a stretch of road that has been impassable until now. This is the issue. You must walk that road, if not during your lifetime, then after your death. People who seek the heavenly path are always lonely, and people who bear heavenly responsibility are always serious. As Unificationist family members, you may find it easy to be a follower, but those who have to lead can never sleep deeply. Victory or defeat depends on the actions of the one who is responsible. (024-158, 1969/07/27) 3 The Unification Church began carrying out 40-day witnessing conditions in earnest from 1960. The reason for this is that, instead of living our lives bound by our daily circumstances, we needed to push outward, expanding into the future. In order to do this we needed to connect with every sphere of life in the world. All human beings symbolize not only the era in which they live, but also the future and their environment, as well as the past—all these together. What this means is that you are a living representative of the past, of your own historical age, of this world and of the future. People who live such a life are worthy indeed. (167-207, 1987/07/19) 4 You should eat barley rice during the 40-day summertime witnessing period. You need to be a sacrificial offering. A sacrificial offering has no self-awareness or concept of ownership. After passing through the position of servant and the position of adopted son, we need to advance to the position of sons and daughters. Jesus was a sacrificial offering. He tried to become the high priest, but because of the disbelief of the people, he died as a sacrificial offering. The Lord at the Second Advent comes in the capacity of the high priest. Thus, we can advance to the position of children.
On the morning of January 1, 1960, I said to you, "For three years, you must stand in the position to serve. Carry the heart of parents in your mind, and stand in the position of a servant. You should become a sacrificial offering by shedding blood, sweat, and tears. By doing so, you advance to the position of high priest to bear the responsibility of atonement, and you advance to the position of sons and daughters to represent Father and judge Satan!" This is our motto and the main principle of our practice. As sons and daughters who think like Father, your blood, sweat and tears must saturate the road as they connect village with village. (011-175, 1961/07/09) 5 To become sons and daughters of True Parents, you need to establish the condition, by the principle of indemnity, for rebirth through the bone marrow of the Parents. Only then can you be in the position of sons and daughters. The 40-day witnessing periods spanning the three years from 1960 through 1962 were indemnity conditions for this. During these periods we ate barley rice. Why did we have to eat barley rice? It was because those three years were a time of paying indemnity. These were the periods to restore and go beyond the four-position foundation, centering on True Parents' direct children. It was the period for you to establish the Cain-Abel relationship centering on Parents, and in this way to unite Cain and Abel. (026-310, 1969/11/10) 6 There is a path by which we take responsibility for the sorrowful history following the liberation of Korea, and for the hope our people have held. That is the path of unification. And if there were such people, they were none other than the members of the Unification Church. This is the reason the Unification Church has come forth and cannot perish. When we went out to witness, everyone of all ages cornered and attacked us. We were filled with grief when we were ridiculed. Our hearts filled with sorrow. Tears gathered and fell like dewdrops.
As we gazed at the morning sunrise, we pinned our hopes on tomorrow, when we would greet the bright sunlight of a new day. With that hope, we endured today as a day of sorrow and perseverance. The approaching night was, for us, a time to bear the cross. Living each day in this manner, many years have passed. Our Unificationist group, which was hounded in the past, has somehow come to be recognized for loving the nation and loving the people. It is now acknowledged that we are fighting and endeavoring for this country. Therefore, today when people speak of religious groups, they cannot exclude the Unification Church. We have laid a foundation such that the people who persecuted us are now on bended knees, welcoming us with tears. (028-296, 1970/02/11) |