Choose your Messiah! John 1.29-34

At Christmas, we Christians are looking back 2000 years into the time Jesus was
born in Bethlehem. Juda/Israel had a very turbulent time, occupied by the Romans.
The great Question for all the jewish people: Who is the Messiah ? The one our Jahwe-God has chosen to liberate us, to redeem us ? There are different views how the Messiah looks like! Only as examples:
For the Zelots: He is the political liberator...
For the Pharisees: He is the guarantor of the Tempel and the Commandments etc.
For John the Baptist: He is the lamb of God taking away the sins of the world...
For the Jesus-Movement: The one who will enable us to heal and to love.
But all of them have given priority to the question: Who is the Messiah ?
There was NO question about the Jahwe-God: He is our rock, our shield, our refuge
our Father almighty, merciful... God has been secured, no doubt - and Israel had a strong hope: the Messiah will come; but also a real conflict: Who is the real God-Messiah ? This was an inner-jewish question, but more: a religious conflict - as a root of Christianity.
Only after the resurrection of Jesus, since Pentecost, the Messiah-question slowly became international and at the international scene the question came up:
Who and How is the real God ?

Today (2000 years later) we have an international dialogue about God and Religion
(How is God? For what is God? Religion is over?) !
Today we have an internat. ecumenism about Unity of all Christian-movements! (Where ist the real Catholic Chuch? What is Christian Orthopraxis?)
Today: There is still terrible fight between God-believers and between Christ-Be-
lievers... Who will bring peace? Enable us to learn to make peace? (world-ethos!)
And today: the fight is growing between Believers and Non-Believers !

We learn from the First Jesus-Movement: They have broken away from the John-
Movement - but no one bad word about John; he is in our Church until today a special holy one. Thanks Mk + Lk + Mt + John!
As we choose our own Messiah: May we learn to "break-away" in harmony and mutual appreciation !