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Part Three - The Path of Life
Chapter 18 Humility and Self-Denial
3) Repentance
Repentance Is The First Step on the road to recovering our relationship with God and realizing our original self. Sins, attachments, and mistaken views must be acknowledged as such; then it is possible to turn away from the old life and set out on the new path of faith. Since accumulated sins and delusions form a barrier obscuring the presence of God, repentance is a condition for God to forgive the sin and eradicate illusion, that the divine Presence may once again grace the penitent’s life.
Repentance begins with words of contrition uttered in prayer—heart-felt and accompanied by tears. The forgiveness, release and insight that follow should awaken the will to make amends for previous wrongdoing and lead to changing the direction of one’s life.
Father Moon teaches that repentance goes beyond expressing remorse for one’s individual sins. People are more than just individuals; each human being contains within him or herself the fruit of history, and furthermore each represents his or her society, nation and world. Therefore we should repent for more than just our individual selves; we should repent for our ancestors’ sins, our nation’s sins, and the world’s sins. Going deeper still, when we recognize how distant we are from the divine ideal, and how much God suffers, longing to embrace us in His bosom but unable to reach our hearts, we can repent for that as well. Thus, repentance becomes a journey of self-discovery that penetrates ever deeper into the depths of the soul.
1. Recognizing Sin, Confessing Sin, and Tearful Repentance for Sin
World Scripture
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3.2
Truly, God loves those who repent, and He loves those who cleanse themselves. Qur’an 2.222
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51.17
If one hides the evil, it adds and grows. If one bares it and repents, the sin dies out. Therefore all Buddhas say that the wise do not hide sin. Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Buddhism)
Concern over remorse and humiliation depends on the borderline. The urge to blamelessness depends on remorse. I Ching, Great Commentary 1.3.4 (Confucianism)
All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Isaiah 64.6
As was the will of God, so I ought to have thought;
As was the will of God, so I ought to have spoken;
As was the will of God, so I ought to have acted.
If I have not so thought, so spoken, so acted,
Then do I repent for the sin,
Do I repent by my thought, word, and deed.
Do I repent with all my heart and conscience.
Patet 6 (Zoroastrianism)
Our transgressions are past counting,
There is no end to our sins,
Be merciful, forgive us, O Lord;
We are great sinners and wrongdoers.
There is no hope of our redemption.
O Lord, dear Lord, our deeds weighed in the balance
Would get us no place in Thy court!
Forgive us and make us one with Thyself
Through the grace of the Guru.
Adi Granth, Shalok Vadhik, M.3, p. 1416 (Sikhism
I question myself on my sin, O Varuna, desirous to know it. I seek out the wise to ask them; the sages all give me this answer, “The God, great Varuna, is angry with you.” What, then, O God, is my greatest transgression for which you would ruin your singer, your friend? Tell me, O God who knows all and lacks nothing, so that, quickly prostrating, I may sinless crave pardon. Rig Veda 7.86.3-4 (Hinduism)
Though I seek my refuge in the true faith of the Pure Land, Yet my heart has not been truly sincere. Deceit and untruth are in my flesh, And in my soul is no clear shining. In their outward seeming all men are diligent and truth speaking, But in their souls are greed and anger and unjust deceitfulness, And in their flesh do lying and cunning triumph. Too strong for me is the evil of my heart. I cannot overcome it. Therefore my soul is like unto the poison of serpents; Even my righteous deeds, being mingled with this poison, Must be named deeds of deceitfulness. Shameless though I be and having no truth in my soul, Yet the virtue of the Holy Name, the gift of Him that is enlightened, Is spread throughout the world through my words, Although I am as I am. There is no mercy in my soul. The good of my fellow man is not dear in my eyes. If it were not for the Ark of Mercy, The divine promise of the Infinite Wisdom, How should I cross the Ocean of Misery? I, whose mind is filled with cunning and deceit as the poison of reptiles, Am impotent to practice righteous deeds. If I sought not refuge in the gift of our Father, I should die the death of the shameless.10 Shinran (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus’ very first teaching was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” What should we repent for? Very simply, we should repent for all those actions which violate the rule stating that we should live by sacrifice and service to others. (105:92, September 30, 1979)
We should repent. Our first assignment is to repent. Before a criminal is released from prison, he must pay the price for his crime. Likewise, under whatever name, unless we make a condition to liquidate our crimes, we cannot be released. All people today are faced with this situation. (99:75, September 1, 1978)
It is a normal fact of life—when a child hurts or offends his mother or father, he has to apologize with tears before the parent will forgive him. It does not matter what country you live in—crime leads to punishment, and punishment, whether by inflicting pain or physical restraint, causes suffering. What is the purpose for giving punishment? Repentance. Therefore, when you repent you have to shed tears. You should feel much pain in those tears. Your repentance is not genuine unless you feel more pain over your mistakes and sins than if someone were giving you a beating as punishment. (99:76, September 1, 1978)
Have you repented? How can you help others unless you have thoroughly repented, and God has accepted your repentance? How can you save others? Can you become the judge of others’ sins if you have not yet been forgiven of your own sins? Have you ever deeply experienced that you are a sinner? You do not just carry your own sins. You must understand that you carry the sins of history, sins committed by past generations. Also, you should understand that you are responsible for the sins of the present world. Furthermore, you should recognize your responsibility for the sins of the future. You bear these three levels of sin [on top of your own]. (99:90, September 1, 1978)
People go to the church and pray, “Father, I committed such and such sins. I repent of them and pray for Thy forgiveness.” We should rather pray, “Father, please forgive me for having destroyed the heavenly order, for having violated the original relationship with Thee, for having violated relationships with other people, for damaging the creation, and for all other sins that I personally committed, especially violations of the heart.” If you make such repentance, receive God’s forgiveness, bring victory and gain God’s approval, then everything will be solved. Heaven is looking for the individuals who make such repentance… You should understand that there is no sin greater than having violated someone’s heart. Today, fathoming God’s heart, you should understand that you are sinners who violated God’s heart of love, sinners who rejected the heart of all creation, and obstructionists who blocked the fulfillment of the world of heart. I hope you understand this and repent from your hearts. (9:160, May 8, 1960)
In American society you have a strong sense of freedom. You interpret the meaning of freedom to mean, “I can do whatever I please; why should I feel ashamed or feel pangs of conscience?” Yet suppose your father was a thief or a traitor, would you still be able to hold up your head? Suppose your father was a felon, would you still be proud? What if you were the offspring of an adulterer? If you were to face your own sin, and also realize that you are descendants of sinners, could you still proudly say, “I am free; I can do whatever I please”? The answer is only too clear. Before enjoying your freedom, you proud people had better die and be resurrected. You had better first cleanse yourselves by atoning for these sins, going the reverse way, so that you may be forgiven. (66:14, March 11, 1973)
Inadequate as we are, how dare we show ourselves before Thee?
How can we raise our heads before Heaven?
Even if we died ten million times,
it would be a deserved penalty.
We are held prisoner by the chains of sin,
and deserve to go through the suffering of the judgment.
Therefore, we bow ourselves with souls bared,
hoping for Thy merciful love and grace. (2:168, April 14, 1957)
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