In the Garden of Gethsemane

The Holy Spirit

Again, Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." John 20:21-22

By what means can we unite Christianity throughout the world? By the Holy Spirit -- hence the name "Holy Spirit Association." Not by fists or bayonets, but by the Holy Spirit. We cannot unite by human power, but by the Holy Spirit.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity May 1, 1981

Without receiving the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand or receive salvation. Why should we need the Holy Spirit to come upon us? The Holy Spirit moves our mind to a relationship with Christ and eventually God, but why specifically do we need the Holy Spirit? What steps should take place as she helps to bring us to heaven and God? The first thing the Holy Spirit helps us to do is repent.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: The Age of Repentance September 1, 1978

The Holy Spirit is in charge of obtaining pardon from heaven for our sinfulness. This is because humankind does not have a direct relationship with either God or Jesus, who are in heaven. Therefore, we need to receive the cooperation of the Holy Spirit who is working on the earth. The way to redemption has been opened because of the crucifixion of Jesus, but the one who actually toils to take charge of our sins is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit stands in the position of a mediator for our sake, representing us miserable sinners.

What kinds of ordeals is the Holy Spirit going through? The exertion of Jesus, who passed away on the cross while responsible for our sins, and the ordeals of the Holy Spirit, crying with us when we cry and are hung on the cross, are very much with us.

Even today, Jesus is undergoing the crisis of crucifixion for your sake. You should understand this deeply. When the toils of Jesus and the exertion of the Holy Spirit are joined as one with us in the center, and we reach the standard that God requires, then all the sins that we have committed on the earth will be redeemed.

Consequently when we face evil and go forward, we should recognize that because of our sins, the Holy Spirit has labored on the earth on our behalf, and Jesus died on the cross on our behalf. Wherever we go, we should realize that we are sinners who cannot be unshackled from the grievances of heaven. Therefore, by offering all of our minds and bodies to take the burden of heaven's toil, we should rely on the Holy Spirit and assist Jesus in his work.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: Why Did Jesus Become the Lamb Who Bore All the Sins of This World? July 11, 1956

When Jesus came, the male element or essence was given to him as the male Word of God. But there was no woman on earth to whom the female element could be given. So when Jesus was working in spirit after his crucifixion, this female element of God worked with him as the Holy Spirit.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: On Prayer and the Spirit World March and April 1965

We study about the Holy Trinity -- God, the Holy Son, and Holy Ghost. What exactly does that mean? We say God, Holy Son, and Holy Ghost, but there is something lacking -- the holy Christian, making the family So the Holy Ghost must he the spouse to the Holy Son, and with those two united in divine love, multiplication can come about, giving birth to children in the Holy Family.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: Our Present Mission August 4, 1974

In the Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Going a little farther; he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father; if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter: Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father; if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near; and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" Matthew 26:36-46

Jesus prayed at Gethsemane: "Father, let this cup pass from me. Not as I will, but as thou wilt." When he prayed that, his attitude was that of a Son who loved only his Father. On the cross he loved even his enemy and prayed for him. There had never been such a man in all history previous to him and there has never been such a man after him. That is the sign of his having loved the whole of mankind. That is what made Jesus the greatest. 

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: The Formula for God's Providence December 14, 1971

We should be aware of the lonely situation in which Jesus prayed alone at Gethsemane, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matt. 26:39) This situation is not confined to Jesus. Furthermore, the situation in which Jesus was crucified, embracing sorrow, also is not restricted to Jesus alone. His situation is our situation and one in which humankind has to participate today. The reason Jesus prayed and felt sorrowful was not because he was to die; nor was it because of his fate of having to cross the hill of lamentation. Worried about his responsibility to successfully achieve the destiny of history he embraced the heartbreak of heavenly love. Jesus looked at his followers, who were to usher in God's love upon the earth, and considered: how could he, who was sent representing God's love, transform them into the substantial beings of God's love? He also knew the fact that should he die, umankind would be fated to cross a hill of grief. We should understand that Jesus was not a man who felt sorrowful only for his own sake or experienced heartbreak only on his own behalf.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: Jesus Who Is to Establish Heaven's Love February 24, 1977

The deepest sorrow in God's heart in all of history was Adam's becoming a fallen man. Next to it was the death of Jesus. Jesus' subsequent resurrection made it possible for the Christian faith to bring salvation, but even this was in the spiritual area only. Jesus prayed three times in the deepest anguish, almost on the verge of death. He said. "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; but not as l will but as thou wilt." Many theologians explain this by saying that this was an expression of human weakness because, though he was predestined to die on the cross, Jesus was still a human being. If that is true, he should have courageously and joyfully faced the situation.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: The New Messiah and You March 20, 1972

Jesus appealed alone before God in tears in the Garden of Gethsemane, without being accompanied by even his own disciples. He was totally sinless, without any wrongfulness, and he only hoped to live as the Son of God. We should feel the heart of Jesus, who walked the path of bloody tears.

Today at the point when we hasten to bring a victory to heaven, we should reflect upon whether we are truly ready to climb the same hill of universal tears with Jesus, which he has already climbed. Ever since humans left the bosom of God due to the Fall, human history continued in tears. To be freed from this, we should walk a path of tears. This does not apply only to the course of God's providence, but also to a people or a nation.

We call someone who sheds tears for a nation or its people a prophet. A nation does not come about automatically. It comes about through a history of tearful, trouble-filled stories made by such prophets. Similarly, unless you too climb the historical hill of tears, you can never receive a day of victory. Jesus shed bloody tears while walking on the path of Golgotha, the path of a pioneer, after having climbed hills of tears for 30 years. Today, if you are to be the ones who would take responsibility to fulfill the will of God and liberate Jesus, you should shed bloody tears that no one recognizes, springing from the bottom of your heart.

If there are disciples who are shedding tears for brothers and sisters and the world, and further, if they are unceasingly shedding tears for heaven without being able to stop, a condition for victory will he made. Once Jesus looked down at Jerusalem and could not help but shed tears, yet no one understood his heart. Because he did not have even one friend who could cry with him when he wept in sadness, Jesus had to die on the cross. 

Do you love your family? If so, you should sweat for the family. If you love your people, you should sweat for the people. If you love the world, you should sweat for the world. We should also take after the example of Jesus, who prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for all of humankind, building an altar alone while others did not know about it. We should become a second Jesus who can shed sweat and tears for all of humankind.

From the speech of Sun Myung Moon: Let Us Be a Victor for God June 30, 1957