God’s Will and the Ocean: Episode 101

God’s Will and the Ocean
Excerpts from Published Speeches, page 334-337
1974-1983

Great Literature

What kind of people are found on the ocean? Courageous men following other courageous men. What about women?

If the husband got very bad diarrhea, lying flat on his back, would his wife beg him to stay at home and postpone the journey, or would she stand up and say, "Well, come on. I'll take over. I'll continue the mission." If she has that much determination then even the boat's steering wheel will wake up and be happy to find a woman's soft hands on the wheel after being handled by so many men's rough hands. When you women take charge of the mission, then even the ocean waters will feel sorry for you. They don't want to be rough on such beautiful women; they want to be nice to you. Even the ocean spray raining down is smiling, and saying, "I want to cling onto your skirt!"

It's so poetic isn't it? That's the way great literature and great poetry were born. When I start speaking about the ocean, there are many stories, legends, and myths to be told. Sometimes I speak to the birds and sometimes it’s as if the birds are obeying whatever I am thinking, flying this way, or landing over there. Then when I think, "Now go away," the birds will suddenly depart.

Literature is written in that form, expressing such communication with nature. Creation says to man, "If you leave me yet still love me, I will go away from you." Man and the creation are just longing for each other, like the love between man and woman.

If a man and a woman have a date on top of the Empire State Building, 102 stories above the ground, it's very romantic. But why is such a date considered romantic? Because such a tall building is unique, and the two people are getting together at one of the highest points on the land. Even though no one notices, they feel they're coming together as a king and queen, meeting on the top of the world.

Say a man and a woman meet at the South Pole. There's no one around. It's all ice and snow. That's where only penguins are kissing each other. Even just imagining it is a romantic moment! In order to have some incredibly stimulating experiences, you have to go through what some normal people would not do—something unique, challenging, something special. Without it, you cannot derive that kind of intoxication and beauty of stimulation.

Alaska

Recently I have traveled to Alaska two times. Alaska is a mysterious virgin land with hardly any people living there. It's a land of bears and wild animals. Most people think of it as snow-covered, with glaciers, rugged coast, and white whales, sea lions, and seals. One day I went to a small island and encountered some sea lions. As soon as they saw me, they began giving their welcoming rally, "Arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh, arrh!" They started all at once, sounding incredibly unique! But there were two kinds of sound to distinguish: one was a male sound and the other a female sound. United in harmony, they built a resounding chorus.

There were also whales, and halibut, which are flat-fish like flounder, and grow up to 300 pounds. Maybe there are many people who don't know about the halibut, and God is thinking, "You poor people. I created such an incredible creature, and gave it to you. All you have to do is come and claim it and use it for your benefit, but you never even bother to come. You never even look at my creation and try to enjoy it. You poor people!"

God is interested in courageous people. God Himself is adventurous, and He also made us that way.

American Women

Having all these special experiences, I was thinking about how American women should be. In Alaska, I met a certain couple. The man lived there all his life, and I was interested in why this couple lived there. "Why do you live here?" I asked. "Because we love the freedom—total freedom." They explained that in New York and other places, even if you're just trying to walk in order to get somewhere, you always bump into someone. Or else you're always stepping onto somebody's territory and they're telling you, "No, no, don't touch it." But in Alaska, they said, you keep running year after year, and you bother no one. "We are totally free," they said. Doesn't it sound good? So even though Alaska legally belongs to the United States, men and women living like this couple in Alaska virtually have no nationality.

When I looked at the woman, I saw that she was so tiny and skinny. But this particular American woman had guts. She had a vision, and she had a universal mind. She had confidence and conviction, so that even if she went bear hunting, she could knock down the bear! So I thought, "That's the kind of woman's spirit that impelled the westward-bound Americans toward their new horizon. This was the Frontier Spirit."

So how did she come to meet and marry a man like that? She revealed to me that she'd traveled all around the world. So she'd met all kinds of men, including civilized and educated men. Then she came to Alaska and met simple and unassuming men. The ones who went to the ocean were fishermen, and those who went to the mountains were hunters. Here was the hunter-fisherman combination. This one man completely captured her attention by his rugged simplicity and his very natural and unassuming nature. She married him and remained living in that environment where whatever they were doing, they were just as they are—very real, very truthful. So when they met their neighbors, or even a stranger, they gave everything, and they loved these people much more than they’d love even their own brothers and sisters.

The man told his wife that he would show her the most beautiful places and he took her to where there was an abundance of wealth from the ocean, and when they went to the mountain they saw the hunting grounds with an abundance of wild game.

Normally when a fisherman has a good fishing ground, he keeps the secret for himself, but this man said, "this is the fishing heaven—you can catch even bigger ones." This man was really trying to be helpful and of service to others. When I was there, he prepared bait and tackle for others, and he tried to have my party catch a big fish. He really wanted me to catch the big ones.

On that day, a lot of fish were caught, and I was truly appreciative, so at the end of the day, I wanted to give him a little token of appreciation, some gift. But the man said, "No, not at all. It's my privilege, it's my honor. If you give that to me, you are taking away my honor." I sent a representative trying to persuade him to please receive this gift but the man was adamant in refusing. Finally, though, that humble man gave in and said he would accept a gift, since he saw the Reverend Moon's beautiful heart. So I thought, "After many long years, I met the True American!

Salmon

Upon examination, I decided that the salmon shall be the fish of the Moonies, that the salmon symbolizes the Moon spirit. The male and female salmon go swimming together side by side up the streams to the spawning grounds. The purpose for going all the way on such a journey is to lay eggs. The couple starts digging in the sandy bottom for a place to lay eggs. The male swims protectively around the female. Their skin color and their muscles change, and after their egg-laying mission is accomplished, they give up their lives and die. Their bodies decompose and become fertilizer for the feed for their babies.

This is their destiny of death, to succeed in reproduction by the laying of eggs, it is for love. Without fear, they go toward that destiny side by side. It's a beautiful thing to behold. I saw the image of the ideal couple in those salmon.

When all mankind is living like salmon, surely the dwelling of God will be with men, and God will be happy among men. Why did God create salmon? To educate men, to present the example to people in order that they can follow.

Let me draw a conclusion. Ocean Church has been created in order to teach the ideal of God. His creation of the ocean, so that we gain true love for, and true dominion over, the ocean. Each person can become a co-creator with God, anticipating and participating in God’s great task of creation, and understanding it as a friend.

Vision and Providence in Ocean Church
August 28, 1983