Luke 21

29He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Luke 11

46Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

Let Us Celebrate Christmas on Behalf of Heaven

Sun Myung Moon
December 25, 1957

Luke 2:1

What kind of mission do we bear on our shoulders today? We bear the mission to alleviate the bitter grief of God which remains, even after Jesus came and passed away. Likewise, we are living in an intense time when we are faced with the will of God’s dispensation of salvation for the last time since the creation of the world.

In this moment of Christmas, if we are to express congratulations and take the responsibility to return the grace of celebration to Heaven, then we must embrace the heart of Jesus, who was concerned about this world. We must embrace the heart of God, who felt concern as He guided the dispensation for 6,000 years. We must build the altar of celebration for the glorious birth that came into being for the sake of the will of the dispensation. Otherwise, there is no way we can manifest our value as people who have accomplished, on earth, the glorious will in which God has been celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ until now.

Moreover, we who have prostrated ourselves before the altar of the Father must be able to represent the heart of Mary, who celebrated the birth of Jesus before Heaven 2,000 years ago. At the same time, we must go one step further and represent the blissful heart of God, who allowed the birth of Jesus. We must represent the hopeful heart of the prophets who worked hard for several thousand years until the time of Jesus’ birth and actualize their long-cherished will.

Similarly, we must feel the sorrowful heart of God, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds at the moment when Jesus was born on earth as the one who was prepared to liberate the historical heart of the whole. We must feel the heart that agonizes over the fact that Jesus had to lie in a horse manger. Making the preparations to greet Jesus, who is coming with a new determination, we must step forward as the prepared people of glory about whom God can be happy. Otherwise, you must understand that Heaven’s intention for having us celebrate Christmas cannot be brought to pass.

Until now there were many people on earth, but it is not an exaggeration to say that there was no one who truly celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ, the one who came with the mission to fulfill the whole will of God’s dispensation. What kind of mind-set then must we have today? We must be able to represent the heart of God. We must be able to represent the hearts of the many millions of believers, heavenly soldiers and angels in Heaven. We must cultivate the resolution and sense of responsibility to put to rest all the bitterness and grief of God for Jesus. Similarly, if we do not offer bows of congratulations with a heart that prepares for the day of hope that will come in the future, then the hope of God will end with us. It will not be transmitted to our descendants. You have to clearly understand this.

Although, at the time of Jesus, all the people looked upon Christ, they did not think about the will of the dispensation that would unfold after Christ. Although they watched the birth of Jesus, they did not think about the will of God that would come about after his birth.

Therefore, although it is good to celebrate the birth of Jesus from the position of the Israelites, it is better to celebrate his birthday by figuring into the picture the will of the dispensation after the coming of Jesus; in other words, by substantially understanding the whole value of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago begot the result of increasing the sorrow and grief, because of the faithlessness of the followers of Judaism. What must we do today to alleviate all this on behalf of the 6,000-year history? We must become the prepared incarnations who can remove all historical sorrow. Furthermore, we must also become connected to the heart of Jesus who is to come. Only then can the significance of our celebrating the birth of Jesus go beyond us and become linked with the eternal, historical ideology of our descendants.