“The Place Where God Can Speak to All of Us”

In a sermon in London, Dr. Michael Balcomb emphasizes that we are all invited to the entrance ceremony of Cheonwon Gung, “the place where God can speak to all of us”

Part 3 of extracts from a sermon titled “The Spirit and the Bride Say, ‘Come!’”, that Dr. Michael Balcomb, the President of the Europe and the Middle East Region of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, gave at the Sunday service at the River South branch in London, UK on 24th November 2024. Slightly edited.

See part 1, part 2

[…] Let’s read it again,

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’
And let the one who hears say ‘Come!’
Let the one who is thirsty come;
and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)

I think the Spirit and the bride are saying at this particular time,

“Come here! Come to this special day, the opening of the Cheonwon Temple and the Cheonil sanctum, which to True Mother is the home of her ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’, our Heavenly Parent.”

It’s not just another castle, another building that has to be opened in a ceremony, but it is a home for the spirit of our Heavenly Parent.

[…] After a guided tour of the Cheonwon Temple, Mother invited us to have coffee and red bean cake, and she asked,

“So what do you think, Mike? Is it better than the palaces of Europe?”

You have to think quick, right, when you are asked that, because after all, some palaces in Europe are much bigger. But I said,

“Mother, I think it’s wonderful because it’s built on the foundation of love.”

I told Mother,

“I’ve been to many castles and palaces in Europe, and quite often there’s a dungeon in the basement.”

If you go to most of the castles, there’s a prison, but there in the Cheonwon Temple, there is no prison. […]

And Mother asked,

“So do you have any suggestions?”

I said,

“Yes, as a matter of fact, Mother, I do. I think we should emphasise that this temple, this holy place, is where God can speak to all of his and her children. It’s not just for Unificationists, but for people of all faiths.”

And as you know, Mother‘s goal is that people come, and they’re so overwhelmed by the experience that on the spot they decide,

“Yes, I want to be part of this movement to create a world of peace.”

So that’s our theme. This [See image to the right] is the front page of a booklet that we’ve made to introduce the Cheonwon Temple to everybody, because everybody is invited.

And as you’ve seen in this picture [See image below], this is how a night vigil prayer there will be. It won’t be in a small prayer room, but it will be a pilgrimage up the mountain into the courtyard with candles and with music. It’s going to be really glorious.

So come! Yes, really. We are inviting everybody to take this time to come […] and be able to be part of the first pilgrimage. Of course, you can come later. It will be open all summer, and indeed for all eternity.

But at this moment, there’s a unique possibility and opportunity to actually come. And I’m emphasising this to European members, because compared to those from South America, which is exactly on the other side of the world from Korea, or those from Africa, for whom getting a visa, even to enter Korea is pretty difficult.

There’s really nothing stopping us, except, of course, the other things in life.

But I hope that we will recognise now, that this is really important, because if there’s a marriage feast and the guests don’t come, everything is ruined. The parents aren’t happy, the bride and groom aren’t happy.

Mother has poured out her heart and her spirit, and the day has finally come after 10 years of work.

Let us pray,

“Our loving, Heavenly Parent, it’s sometimes hard for us to realise that your providence is moving forward. Because we can all see the chaos and disaster in our world and the suffering and misery that still continues thousands of years after Adam and Eve left the garden.

But we want to remind ourselves of the teachings of our True Parents and of Jesus, that the time will come, and has come, when all of this suffering will pass away.

The Book of Revelation says the former things will have passed away and a ‘new Jerusalem’ will appear.

And we’re invited. We are invited, but we are not forced. Please allow us to consider deeply this invitation, and how we and our family can respond in the best way. And not just us. We need to spread this message to others, to let them understand, ‘Yes, you are invited, too. Everybody is invited.’

Loving Heavenly Parent, on this morning, the last Sunday of November, we want to reflect on how we’ll use the coming four months and how we will make our even small contribution to this great Day of the Lord.

We offer our prayer together. […]”

See part 1, part 2

Featured image above: The Cheonwon Temple, one of the slides Dr. Michael Balcomb used to illustrate his sermon on 24th November 2024. Photo: FFWPU

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