Recovering the Identity of the Korean People as a Chosen People

[Summary] Even from prison, True Mother (Hak Ja Han, co-founder of the Family Federation / Unification movement) repeatedly stresses the teaching of the “Great Epic of the Korean People as a Chosen People” (Hanminjok Seonmin Daeseosasi). She does so because she is concerned that the Korean people are losing their identity as a chosen people called to save the whole world. A true chosen people is not a proud nation that only receives blessings; it is a people that overcomes suffering, sacrifices for others, and loves even its enemies. In the past, Israel grew proud, failed to recognize the Messiah, and ruined God’s providence. Today Korean Christianity has likewise lost its longing for the Second Coming, and is making the same mistake of rejecting and mocking True Parents based on outward standards. Heaven sent True Parents upon the foundation of devotion laid by Korea’s fervent spiritual groups of the past. Therefore the Blessed Families—the inner chosen people of this age—bear the historic responsibility to educate the Korean people to awaken to their mission as a chosen people, to make True Parents rightly known to the world, and to complete the work of salvation.

(Words of True Father, Dec 11, 1985) The ordeal of the Korean people is not the nation’s alone; it is providential, and God awaits this people’s overcoming of it. East and West, South and North, mind and matter, idealism and materialism—the confrontation and chaos that may be called the combined inheritance of world history—are concentrated and swirling on the Korean peninsula, like the writhing of a mother in labor giving birth to a new age. The national difficulties of the Korean people cannot be solved apart from the will and providence of God, and I believe they can be resolved not by Korea alone, but only in relationship with the world.

(From True Father’s autobiography) Within the heart of our people lies a heart that loves even its enemies. To love and embrace an enemy, one must constantly govern oneself. Only after one’s own insides have completely festered and burst does one finally gain the inner room to love an enemy—and our people had exactly such a heart… Those who are persecuted are closest to God.

(From True Mother’s autobiography) Now and then I reflect on the line in our national anthem, “May God protect and preserve our nation.” Why has God protected our country and our Korean people at every difficult and trying crossroads of history? When I think about it, it is because there was a providence to fulfill the will of God… In the end, God had to protect the only begotten Son and only begotten Daughter—who came as the Messiah and True Parents of humankind—among the Korean people He had chosen, and the United Nations’ entry into the war (the Korean War) was brought about by Heaven’s decision.

Why Does Mother Repeatedly Say, “Teach the Great Epic of the Chosen People”?

From prison, True Mother says the same thing to every member who comes to visit her: “The Great Epic of the Korean People as a Chosen People must be taught to all the people.” She says this every single visit. Honestly, when we first heard this, a thought might arise: “In this urgent situation, how much help can that really be?” Ordinarily one might expect her to speak of legal remedies, to challenge the current government’s flawed judicial rulings, or to call for protests. But she says nothing of the kind. Only one thing: “The Korean people must be made to know that they are a chosen people.” To every leader who visits, she repeats only this same message. What deep meaning could be contained in these words?

What Mother Is Most Concerned About

Here is what I feel. Mother is deeply concerned that the Korean people are losing their very identity. Think about it: what happens when you do not know who you are? You do not know where to go, what to do, or what responsibility you carry; and even if you fall onto a completely wrong path, you do not even notice it. You wander, not even aware that you are lost. This is the heart of what Mother wants to convey: this Korean people is a nation destined to receive True Parents and to save the whole world. Each and every citizen must awaken to this.

What Is a Chosen People? — Correcting a Mistaken View

But there is one thing we must make absolutely clear. When you hear the words “chosen people,” what comes to mind? Do you perhaps think it means “a proud nation that has received Heaven’s blessing”? You must never think that way. Recall again the words we read together at the beginning today. A chosen people means a nation that Heaven selected and raised up precisely because it endured and overcame sacrifice and suffering for the responsibility of saving the world. A chosen people that lives only for itself falls into pride and ruins Heaven’s providence.

The Lesson of Israel — A Proud Chosen People Ruined the Providence

Look at the people of Israel. They clearly knew that they were a chosen people, selected by Heaven. But what was the problem? They fell into a proud sense of chosenness, thinking, “God blessed us for our nation alone.” They firmly believed that when the Messiah came, he would liberate the people of Israel and make them a superpower ruling over the surrounding nations. They became a proud chosen people. And so, in the end, they ruined the providence.

What kind of Messiah were they waiting for? A mighty leader coming majestically on the clouds of heaven. A superstar-like hero, more powerful than Moses, far surpassing Elijah or King Solomon. This is the Messiah they awaited. But who actually appeared? A man from the rural town of Bethlehem, an unmarried thirty-year-old. His disciples were, without exception, fishermen and tax collectors. He appeared to defy the Law of Moses, made the “blasphemous” claim that God was his Father, and taught people to love him more than their parents, spouse, or children. To the people of that time, these were words almost impossible to understand.

And there was an even more shocking teaching:

“Love even Rome, your enemy.”

Consider how revolutionary a proclamation this was. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was the justice of that age. While being trampled by their enemy Rome, they were told to love that very enemy. Even today, how does Israel treat Palestine or Iran? Struck once, they repay tenfold. To such a people, the words “love your enemy as your own body” were, in that era and that situation, a proclamation close to impossible.

The Mockery of the Thief on the Left—and the Mockery of Today

In the end Jesus underwent a religious trial and a political trial, one after the other, and was hung on the cross, the instrument of execution. Crucifixion—this was a horrific punishment used only to execute criminals regarded as bearing Heaven’s greatest curse. What did the thief hung on his left say at that moment?

“If you are the Son of God, bring yourself and me down from the cross.”

What does this mean? “If you really are the Son of God, how could your Father leave you like this? No matter how I think about it, there is no way you could be the Son of God. If you truly were the Son, why would He not save you?” Thus one condemned man mocked another.

My friends, this scene resembles True Mother’s situation today all too closely. What do people of the world now say to Mother Hak Ja Han? “You claim to be the only begotten Daughter who received God’s first love? Don’t make us laugh. Then why can’t your God even rescue you from prison? Your closest aides betrayed you; you can’t see, you can’t walk, you have heart disease and can’t even cure your own illness—how can such a person save anyone? Why don’t you ask your God to save you?” This is how they mock her. It is exactly the same now as it was two thousand years ago.

The World’s View of the Messiah vs. What Heavenly Parent Desires

The way people of the world look upon the Messiah, the Savior, the Returning Lord is completely different from what Heavenly Parent (the term the movement uses for God) desires. The world expects a great prophet like Moses, like King David, like Elijah—a powerful leader with supernatural ability who subdues demons and bends worldly power to his will. They even imagine that his very physical form would differ from ours. But Jesus, True Father, and True Mother were, in outward appearance, exactly like us human beings. The only difference is the inner being: complete oneness of heart, body, mind, and harmony with Heavenly Parent; love toward humanity; and words of a higher dimension. That is the difference. To recognize it, one must have an extraordinary spiritual sense, or live alongside them—it is an inner difference only then perceived.

And so the Messiah comes as an inner substantial being resembling Heavenly Parent, heals humanity’s inner maladies, and re-creates a nation beyond even the ideal of Heavenly Parent. The outer world changes only gradually—when nations change according to the Word and laws are changed. Yet the world tries to judge everything only by what is visible, by the external. This is precisely the problem. Because the world’s view of the Messiah differs fundamentally in angle from what Heavenly Parent desires, the path walked by the Returning Lord and the only begotten Daughter who has come is this difficult.

What a True Chosen People Is

So let me state it clearly once more. A chosen people is not a nation that lives smugly on Heaven’s blessing. A chosen people is a strong nation that overcomes within suffering, a nation that sacrifices for others, a nation with the foundation to become one that loves even its enemies. It is a true people that rightly receives the True Parents who have come, and—centering on God’s dream—completes the work of saving the world. That is a chosen people. The Korean people were exactly such a nation. Heavenly Parent raised the Korean people that way. Yet, tragically, they are now losing that identity. In truth, the character and heart-foundation of a chosen people were nurtured fairly well by Heavenly Parent and by our ancestors. But at the decisive moment, Christianity failed to fulfill its mission. Let me explain why this happened.

How Christianity Lost Its Mission

First, let us consider what the heart of the Bible is. What is the promise of the Old Testament—the “old covenant”? It was Heaven’s promise to send the Messiah to Israel. But the Jews failed to receive Jesus when he came. So the renewed promise Jesus made is precisely the word of the New Testament—the “new covenant.” What is its heart? “I will come again.” This new promise is the New Testament. That is why words about the Second Coming are deeply emphasized throughout the New Testament: the parable of the ten virgins and their lamps; “the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect”; “that day will come like a snare”; “always pray and stay awake”; “discern the times”; the parable of the wedding feast; the signs of disaster; the parable of the vineyard; the parable of the fig tree… The entire Book of Revelation is about the Second Coming. So a believer who earnestly awaits the return of Jesus is orthodox. If one claims to believe in Jesus yet is not earnest about his return, then the beginning and the end have become different, and biblically speaking that is heresy. Yet look at Christianity today. The mere form of belief in the Second Coming remains, but the waiting and the longing have nearly faded. The beginning and the end have become different.

Korean Christianity Was Once the Most Fervent in the World

Up until the 1980s, Korean Christianity had a fervent faith that awaited the Returning Lord. Especially during the Japanese colonial period, Korean Christianity was truly spiritual. How fervent was it? A young American woman missionary named Ruby Kendrick was sent to Korea in 1907. While devoting herself to spreading the gospel in Kaesong, she passed away from acute appendicitis after only nine months. In the last letter she sent to her parents, she wrote:

“If I had a thousand lives to give, Korea should have them all.”

In the eyes of a missionary from abroad, the faith of Koreans was that pure, that spiritual, that fervent. Pyongyang was called “the Jerusalem of the East,” so great was its devotion.

At that time Korea was a nation of intense religious fervor. And many self-proclaimed returning lords appeared in Korea. There were numerous spiritual groups—among them the Israel Monastery (Kim Baek-mun), the Daybreak Church (Lee Yong-do), Cheonbu-gyo (Park Tae-seon), Yongmunsan Prayer House (Na Un-mong), the Wonsan Group (Baek Nam-ju), Yeongsaeng-gyo (Cho Hee-seong), Shincheonji (Lee Man-hee), the Church of God (Ahn Sang-hong and Jang Gil-ja), Samgaksan Prayer House (Jeong Deuk-eun), Seongju-gyo (Kim Seong-do), Bokjung-gyo (Heo Ho-bin), and the Unification Church (True Parents), and so on.

Through such spiritual groups, Heavenly Parent raised the spiritual sensitivity and understanding of the people and built up a foundation of devotion for the Second Coming. Even though those groups were not the true Messiah, their devotion in longing for the Savior gathered and accumulated, creating the foundation of expectation to receive True Parents. It was precisely upon that foundation of devotion that, for the first time in human history, True Parents could finally be born. Because True Parents had to inherit those groups’ foundation and fulfill the purpose of the Second Coming, True Father personally visited Kim Baek-mun, Lee Yong-do, Kim Seong-do, and Heo Ho-bin, seeking to connect their devotion. Although they could not attend True Father, the root of their devotion has been connected through to True Parents.

Christianity Extinguished the Longing for the Second Coming

But what did Christianity do? It persecuted the leaders of all these spiritual movements who longed for the Second Coming, condemned them as heretics, and rejected them. And the result? Spirituality disappeared from Christianity, and the longing for the Second Coming grew cold. They lost their grip on the absolute hope of Jesus’ return. This is the cause of True Parents being rejected by Christianity today. Consider this: Christians believe in Jesus as if he were God, yet they now pour out upon True Mother the very same words the Jews used to mock Jesus two thousand years ago. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Then we will believe.” How is that any different from what Christians say today? Thus the Pharisees of two thousand years ago are the very Christians of today. What did Jesus say to those Pharisees?

(Matthew 23) Woe to you, hypocritical scribes and Pharisees! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of uncleanness…

Mother’s True Concern

This is exactly the direction Korea is now heading. More than her own suffering, this is what Mother is most concerned about. Because she earnestly hopes that the history of the Jewish people—who lost their nation and wandered for two thousand years because the chosen people failed to fulfill their responsibility—will not be repeated, she so emphatically tells everyone who visits her to teach the Great Epic of the Korean People as a Chosen People, and to teach the responsibility and mission of a chosen people.

Then Who Is the Chosen People of This Age?

So then, who is the inner chosen people of this present age? It is the Blessed Families of the whole world. The chosen people must fulfill the responsibility to attend True Parents and to make them known. That is the mission of one who is a chosen people. The Great Epic of the Korean People as a Chosen People is not yet finished. True Mother’s autobiography is still being written. And the protagonist of its final chapter is none other than we ourselves, walking together with True Mother.