*The following is part 1 of the Sunday Message given on 2/14/2016. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

There are many important days and birthdays to celebrate each year. We recently celebrated Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day. Today’s message is a celebration of two lives dedicated to tearing down boundaries.

There is so much going on in the world right now; wars, earthquakes, financial collapse, elections and more. The efforts of these two people may seem dwarfed. But history, which enables 20/20 vision, will give clarity. Rev. and Mrs. Moon, the founders of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, are notable in their dedication to remove boundaries and barriers, starting with the boundary between God and humankind.

Rev. Moon is a revolutionary at heart. His life was much broader than a typical religious leader. The Unification Movement that he founded is concerned not just with religious matters but with solving conflict, hunger and inequality around the world. It’s a movement that seeks real liberation and celebrates all of life.

 A Big God Does Not Fit in a Box

Rev. Moon understood that God cannot be put in a box! God is the creator of a vast Universe and God lives in everything. God is especially invested in seeing the results of humankind’s creativity, for we were born to be co-creators with Him. We are all meant to do great things in our lifetime!

Unification Thought enables us to see a much bigger God; a God that is beyond the confines of religion.

God’s purpose is revealed through love, beauty, truth and goodness. While religion matters, it is only part of the story. This is good news for those of you who don’t like religion. If you can’t relate, don’t worry! God is an out of the box God and can meet you in many places.

You can find God in service, in art, literature and science. Keep an open mind and you will meet God face-to-face in pursuit of your passion.

As I consider the lives of Rev. and Mrs. Moon, I want to know their value of to humanity. What is the unique impact of their lives? How will history see Rev. and Mrs. Moon in hindsight? They have been involved in a rare diversity of projects and initiatives, but what does it all add up to?

Back in Biblical times it was not uncommon for Rabbis to tell parables to help people understand something. This is why the Bible is still relevant today, even 2,000 years after Jesus spoke. Stories can be more than entertainment, they can inform and offer wisdom.

A modern day parable

I recently watched the film Bridge of Spies. It appeared to me like a modern day parable. It tells the true story of a man, James Donovan, who was asked to defend a Russian spy named Rudolph Abel.  Donovan was what you might call a stand-up kind of guy who believed everyone deserves a defense. Under incredible pressure from an angry public to abandon this principle, Donovan defended the spy. And so began an uneasy relationship.

The spy, Rudolph Abel couldn’t quite understand why this American was standing up for him. He witnessed how James Donovan wouldn’t compromise in his belief about the justice system and was truly his advocate. Able dubbed Donovan “Standing Man” after a Russian saying, because Donovan refused to bend under pressure. An incredible relationship of trust began to develop between them. Donovan saved Abel from the death penalty.

Later, Donovan was charged with organizing a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. They intended to swap Abel for a US pilot shot down over Russian territory. They didn’t want the governments to be involved and requested Donovan, an insurance lawyer, to negotiate the deal.

The Importance of an Advocate

What I learned from this film was the importance of an advocate. Abel, the Russian spy, was skeptical of Donovan’s intentions, but Donovan’s integrity won the day and proved to Abel that he was fighting for his release, as well as the release of the American pilot, who had lost all hope under the oppression of Soviet sovereignty.

You have to see the movie for yourself to feel the impact of “Standing Man” in the lives of these two prisoners. The second part of the movie is like another parable because it is the story of “Standing Man’s” efforts to free an American pilot from an oppressive sovereignty.

Living in America, we don’t necessarily think about the idea of sovereignty – and what it means to live under one type of sovereignty or another. In visiting the CIS in the early 1990s, and North Korea in 2007, I had firsthand experience of what it means to live under the dominion of an oppressive regime.

It was interesting to observe the lack of initiative in the factory workers I met in North Korea. There was so much sitting around and waiting to be told what to do. I saw that people were robbed of the right to take initiative or be co-creators of their lives.

The reality is that although we live under much better circumstances in the United States, we too lack true freedom. On the outside we look like we have freedom, but we don’t really because we also live under the sovereignty of a different type of enemy. That enemy wreaks havoc in our lives and we become the victims of our own selfishness, mind/body conflict, and corrupted love.

As good as America is on the outside, this is what we struggle with on the inside. We need liberating just as much as the prisoners in the movie because we are living under a false sovereignty. I believe this is what Jesus meant when he said, “You are of your father, the devil.”

Be a Standing Man or Standing Woman 

In the movie, the prisoner exchange took place on a famous bridge dubbed the Bridge of Spies. All of humanity has to cross over from the sovereignty of selfishness that we live under, to the sovereignty of God.

Behind all the work that Rev. and Mrs. Moon have done is this type of effort to be a “Standing Man” on behalf of humanity, in front of God, and in front of the enemy of love. There needs to be an exchange so that we can come back to God’s side and true love.

We have to walk across that bridge and we can’t do it without an advocate. Father and Mother Moon are more than the sum of all the projects they initiated. Behind every project is the motivation to reclaim the lives of all people (black, white, Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, tall, short, rich, poor) for God; to liberate people.

Should just men walk across the bridge or do women need to cross the bridge to God’s sovereignty as well? This is a unique aspect of the Unification faith tradition. We have the concept of not just a Standing Man, but also a Standing Woman; a woman who is committed to stand for all women.

Different religions have sought liberation for humanity through messianic figures such as Jesus, the Buddha, among others, but the Unification Movement has a unique concept – that of True Parents.

Why We Need True Parents

Parents are the heart of the home! Parents’ guide us from birth and show us how to live the life God gave us. There are many names that express respect and reverence: teacher, leader, and mentor. However, the closest guiding relationship is that of a parent.

Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon are the founders of the Unification movement. To us however, they are more than founders — they are True Parents. True Parents bring new life and raise others to inherit the true love of God.

They have given us a new understanding and shown us the way of living for the sake of others. They have taught us to become true parents ourselves: building the world that God intended through unconditional love and service. They are that Standing Man and Standing Woman and they encourage us to be the same.

Some of you may remember that the four-minute mile was broken by Roger Bannister in 1954. At the time it was such an incredible feat. However, today it’s a standard for all male middle distance runners. While it took a great deal of physical training, the barrier was mostly psychological but once it was broken others could do the same. So it is for our spiritual achievements. We should all aspire to be that Standing Man or Woman and become true parents ourselves.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2!