Engrafting to the Trunk of Cheon Il Guk

The following content is Rev. Hwang’s sermon at the early morning service for the new month, given on September 1, 2004.

There is a poem that I quote when the first day of September comes around. I recite a poem called “Beside the Chrysanthemum” by So Jung-ju. “It seems that the owl must have wept so, thus to make a single bud of the chrysanthemum bloom.” This verse is saying that the fruits of autumn do not just come automatically; someone has to plant seeds in spring for the harvest to be reaped in autumn. I believe that this verse is saying that the single chrysanthemum flower did not just bloom; there was effort and preparation in spring for the coming of autumn. The aspect of the providence that will bear fruit in September of the fourth year of Cheon Il Guk is also not something that just fell into our laps; it has been in preparation for six thousand years, or, if looked at in the short term, for the eighty years of True Father’s life. More immediately this providence stems from the coronation of God’s kingship in 2001, or more recently still, the beginning of spring on February 4 [according to seasonal divisions in the Korean calendar].

Based on what True Parents have said about seasons, I would like for us to think about what sort of providential understanding we should have in welcoming autumn and reaping the fruits of this season.

This year True Parents are reaping so much visible fruit. Unlike in the past, in starting the New Year, True Parents emphasized the flow of the seasons. There is no year without four seasons in Korea, but this year, True Parents are more sensitive to this flow of the seasons than ever before. They are making advances in the providence according to the flow of the seasons....

On the third Ahnshi-il, True Parents declared an absolute value system. These values are nothing other than the way of heaven [cheon do]. What sort of heavenly law are we to adhere to in the era after the coming of heaven? The time of the coming of heaven that True Parents have proclaimed is one of peace and unification. This land will be a world of harmony centered on God. People’s mind and body will be one. Husband and wife will be one. Parents and children will be one. There will be unification between groups, races, and nations to ultimately create a unified world with one heart, one body, one mindsetÑone coreÑcentered on God.

This is the time after the coming of heaven, but what are the absolute values that will characterize a time like this? This is something that True Parents have strongly emphasized and also asked about in public appearances. It is a fact that the people one loves make it possible for one to be an owner of love. The state of perfectly embodying love is not attained in isolation; it is possible only through a partner. This is why it is imperative to have a partner....

Couples cannot become parents by themselves. Without children, couples could not become parents and parental love could not emerge. These teachings of True Parents are important. If love were perfected and the ideal of creation were to bear fruit through one’s partner, since it cannot be done by an individual alone, we could be sure that the world would be a peaceful place overflowing with love. Hence, the absoluteness of God does not just arise but is only possible upon a foundation formed by a mutual relationship between heaven and earth.

Notably, today is the anniversary of the day that heavenly parentism was proclaimed. In 1989, there were many providential events such as the Day of the Settlement of Eight Stages on August 31, but all of these were gradual steps toward the future. All the providential events until now contributed to the gradual change from the formation stage to the growth stage, from the growth stage to the completion stage, and likewise through the formation, growth, and completion steps of the completion stage. The change that topped these changes was the Coronation Ceremony for the Kingship of God. It is hard for us to grasp how significant an event this was.

During the three years that have passed since then, True Parents have been causing the roots of Cheon Il Guk to grow. Now Cheon Il Guk is visible above the soil and will most likely be perfected in three stages. This entire process will be completed by True Parents over a twelve-year span. Thus, the period from 2001 to 2003 was the period for the formation of the root. What is this root? God’s kingship will be the center, established as the kingship of the blessed families. To each of us Father has given the responsibility for our tribes, neighborhoods and block areas, while on a larger scale he is creating a borderless world of peace. That is why he created the Peace UN [IIPC, a project of IIFWP].

Simply put, the providence during these three years was to vertically establish the axis from God’s kingship to the kingship of the blessed families, with the root right beneath. On the horizontal level, Father gave us all the responsibility of becoming the owners of Cheon Il Guk, of taking responsibility for our tribes, wards and block areas.

On the whole, Father has brought all the institutions together into the Peace UN and is creating a borderless worldÑa world without any boundaries between religion, race or cultureÑso that as this axis is vertically and horizontally aligned the root is formed....On this foundation, this process is to be completed in three stages by 2012. Most essential in bringing about this completion is the formation of the trunk. The process for the formation of the trunk is the providence in 2004. Father has often said that after God’s coronation and his own coronation as the king of peace, there is nothing more for him to do.

Of note, by investing his lifework, Father opened the era after the coming of heaven in July, after which we held the World Culture and Sports Festival. On the last day of WCSF, Father made an important statement about holding an event on August 20.

 At the event on August 20, True Parents bestowed the special grace of registration in Cheon Il Guk to all the those present and to those participating through the Internet. This blessing ceremony was held along with Father’s crowning as the king of peace. Father gave instructions that this event be replicated all over the world. He added that he would rest after the August 20 ceremony. He officially announced that there was nothing else he needed to do. Thus, we can see that a crucial change in the providence occurred.

What this means is that there is a portion that True Parents have to accomplish, and there is a portion that we must accomplish on our own. On the foundation of this root, in other words, True Parents will conclude this by 2012. This is the last part of providence to be fulfilled by our True Parents. Next, it is our turn. True Parents have made the root and trunk for us. What is the next stage? It is making the branches that will bear fruit. How will these branches be made? There are three stages in making the branches.

Father became the king of peace on March 23. Wearing this cosmic crown of peace, he began to engage in a creative process from April 19 (True Parents’ Day) with the authority of the king of peace. Twelve days later, on May 1, he spoke of four components for realizing the time after the coming of heaven: the declaration that we are to use Cheon Seong Gyeong, the perfection of the Family Pledge, the designation of Ahnshi-il and the opening of the era of complete freedom from past sins and accusation [seokbang]. He explained this on the first day of May, which was also the fiftieth anniversary of our church. From then on, the second stage was formed during the period from the first Ahnshi-il, on May 5, to July 21, which was five days after the tenth Ahnshi-il. These eighty-five days represented True Parents’ lifelong investment for the sake of opening the era after the coming of heaven. For each of the first several occasions of Ahnshi-il he gave a special message. The greatest message among those messages was the designation of an absolute value systemÑthe heavenly path.

Third, during the period from July 21 to August 20, Father had every ten days represent a different periodÑthe formation stage Old Testament era, the growth stage New Testament era and the completion stage Completed Testament era. On that foundation, the king of peace ceremony was held on August 20, and Father became the king of peace on earth. Through these three stages, the trunk was formed.

What happens next? The branches are to be created. How do you make a branch? The branch is not created from the trunk. The branches are grafted onto the trunk. Father talked about this as grafting the false olive tree to the true olive tree. We must now graft ourselves to the trunk. True Parents have given us forty days from August 20 to the end of September to do this. They have said that they will give a providential blessing of tremendous magnitude on October 3, the anniversary of the Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World. It is clear that October is the season of liberation and fruition. Father had declared the Foundation Day for the Nation of the Unified World in October, the season of liberation. Father has said that he will engage in great providential works in October of the fourth year of Cheon Il Guk.

[The following paragraphs seem to pertain more immediately to Korea than elsewhere, at present.]

What are we to do during this forty-day period? It is the period to engraft ourselves as branches to True Father, who is the king of peace. How are we to do this? We must be engrafted along with our clans and tribes. That is why Father earlier stated that 12 family clans have to engraft to True Parents, and then 30 family clans, 72 family clans, and 120 families clans. All two hundred and seventy five family clans must engraft themselves to True Parents.

Therefore, this period of engrafting one’s relatives and the root of one’s clan for the purpose of attending the king of peace is the period from August 20 to October. This is the period to engraft each clan to the trunk of True Parents. The Eu family of the first Korean church president Eu Hyo-won had done so before the previous coronation of True Parents. So did Rev. Yoo Jung-ok. People from their clans held rallies where their clan resolved to attend True Father as the king of their tribe and clan. They presented a crown at the rally that was later brought to True Parents. True Parents were very happy for this. Still they said that first twelve family clans should attend True Father, the king of peace, as the king of each of those family clans. In relation to history, this pertains to the process of settling in Canaan.

How are we going to settle in Canaan? There are many ways for this, but the vertical method is to re-establish the order set by heaven. When God created us, He gave us creativity. Through this creativity, re-creation is accomplished. Everything in the world is made by people. Among these there is one thing that cannot be determined by man’s choice, one thing that is not the fruit of man’s creative activity. That is the blood relationship, or lineage. The relationship of blood was not created by man. It is not something we have a choice about. The relationship of parent and child is a blessing given by God. This is the vertical way. Thus, a vertical, revolutionary process reestablishes order on earth through the lineage. On the horizontal level, this is expressed in tong ban gyeokpa activity, that is, activities in the officially defined districts. Through the recovery of this vertical and horizontal order, Canaan can be perfected as God’s possession. Presently we are in a process of engrafting the tribesÑthe branchesÑto the trunk, where each family clan is to attend True Father as the king of peace.

Currently many Korean family clans are preparing for this providence. Rev. Kwak is preparing to do this on September 3; the Yoo family and Hwang family are making preparations [see photos opposite]. All family clans must attend True Father as the king of family clansÑthe tribes must engraft to the trunk of Cheon Il Guk, that is, the True Parents, who are the subject of true love, true life and true lineage. This providence is what we are facing today. Once engrafted, these branches will bear fruit, completing the ideal of Cheon Il Guk.

In this regard, although September is in autumn, providentially speaking, it is in spring. September is the month for engrafting to this tree, receiving the resin coming up from the root to bear the fruit of Cheon Il Guk. We are in an amazing and inspiring time of the providence. It is indeed the time to reveal the ideal and identity of Cheon Il Guk on earth to all the people of the world. That is why it is important to be self-reflective at this time. On the individual level, we have to ask whether we have become a true person in relation to Heaven. On the family level, has ours become one of those true families we always talk about? On the organizational level, have we become a true and ideal heavenly organization? It is time to seriously ask ourselves these questions, because we need to reveal our substance. In the past, it wasn’t the time to reveal identity. It was the time for True Parents to manifest themselves to the world, but now is the time for us to directly come out and to show the world what Cheon Il Guk is, what true love is, what true families are. Now is the time to reveal these things.

True Parents would like to see the branches and fruit come forth from the root and trunk they have nurtured over the course of their lives. Thus now is the time for us to ask ourselves if we can bring the providence and God’s will to substantial and tangible fruition. In the relentless progress of the providence, we were constantly faced with something new. Autumn in 2004 has approached us in a totally new way. This year, True Parents have brought changes in the providence during the periods of spring, summer and autumn. In that respect, autumn this year is different from any other we have experienced in the past. It means that we have come to a time where we have to change in order to be acknowledged as belonging to the tree of Cheon Il Guk by our tribe, block and neighborhood. Consequently we need to offer greater devotion and prayer, and take time to reflect.

True Parents will return again [to Korea] this month. They will give us many tasks in preparation for October. But this providential undertaking will be one marked with hope. With these expectations I hope that you all can spend the coming month in joy and in health both in spirit and body.