Me and Reverend Moon

Reverend Sun Myung Moon died this week.  The same Reverend Moon who founded the Unification Church or the "Moonies" as they are otherwise known.   The Moonies were big back when I was in college.  They were the "hot topic" cult of the day.  Rev. Moon made headlines by the mass wedding in 1982 of thousands of couples that he had put together.  Some of those couples met at their wedding.  I wonder what their divorce rate is now?  I also wonder what has happened to the Moonies, I have not heard anything about them lately but I also read 30,000 are expected at his funeral in South Korea.

The Moonies were on campus in my day and I remember clearly my encounter with them.  Another student came to my apartment door right before Mother's Day.  He was selling pretty flower arrangements door to door "for his church," he said.  Since I was going home that weekend (as a good son should on Mother's Day) and since I was also a procrastinator who had not gotten a Mother's Day gift, this seemed like a perfect opportunity.  When I asked who should I make the check out to, my salesperson said they had a stamp and would take care of it so I left it blank.  It was only when my cancelled check came back with the blank filled in "Unification Church" that I realized I had helped the Moonies.  I felt naive but also deceived.

Rev. Moon told his followers that he was the Christ sent back to earth.  He did not try to imitate Christ or be Christ like; he said he was Christ.  Too many people believed him even though it really sounds weird.

Paul calls all of us to "imitate God" in the book of Ephesians.  The New Testament calls Christians to be Christ like.  Not enough people believe that.  Does even that sound weird in our day, to make it our goal to live a godly life?  Perhaps those of us who do believe need to practice it more - to show the true nature of the true God through our lives.  That is what we will talk about Sunday.

For the journey...

Tim