The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ: Episode 14

Rev. Sun Myung Moon: The Life and Mission of Jesus Christ
Chapter 2: Jesus’ Early Ministry, Good News to the Poor, Page 40-42

Good News to the Poor

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:17-19)

 

It is in true love that humanity is able to meet God and enjoy eternal life. For this reason, true love is capable of overcoming all the world’s problems. Through true love, by which we sacrifice ourselves in order to live for others, we can find the solutions to such problems as interracial conflict, violence, the conflict between rich and poor, and the various environmental issues. Families in which the individual members are united centered on true love can successfully combat the corruption of morals that has contributed to the downfall of so many of our youth.

When the individual, family, society, nation, and world become one through true love, then mankind can expect a very bright future.

Fifth Summit Council for World Peace Founder’s Address
August 22, 1992

What do you think I was doing when I was 17? Even before I was given my life’s mission, I always had the heart that I wanted to be a friend to the suffering people in my village. When I was a boy, there was a rich, arrogant boy who always received a hard time from me. But those who were unfortunate and suffering were always my friends. If I heard that some household had no money to buy groceries, I considered it an emergency and I did everything possible to obtain some money for those people. Until I had done that I could not sleep. I wanted to be more than a friend. I wanted to be someone who could serve and help others. Between the ages of twenty and thirty, which is considered the prime of youth, people normally want to dress well, and have pleasant experiences in life. But I lived in exactly the opposite way. I never wore a new suit. I always bought surplus clothing in thrift shops. My hair never looked neat and attractive.

During the prime of my youth I spent every day experiencing the most desperate, suffering situations in human life: working in labor camps, mines, poor farms, docks, and even begging. I looked at every aspect of human life, even the world of prostitutes. I studied all the miseries of human life … . I always thought to myself, “What if this man were my elder brother or my father and he was suffering on my account, what could I do for him?”

The Harvest Season of God’s Providence
September 19, 1982