Lichtstrahl 132 - How do I find the Messiah?

LICHTSTRAHL 132          GOSPEL:  John 1 (35-51)                    TRINITY          18.6 23
HOW DO I FIND THE MESSIAH?
 
Dear friends!
 
All of us are living with a deep question – some more, others less consciously. The question: how do I find my inner light, my inner destiny, my inner peace, my strength. How can I trust, that there is a world of angels ascending und descending all the time above me, how can I believe in heaven? And even more: will I ever be able to see the heavens opened? 
 
The answer to these questions stay hidden and so we all carry a deep fear in us, that we will loose everything, what we possess.

The frantic attempt to secure outer possessions as savings, homes and health is revealing the fact, that we do not really have an inner stability and security.  In truth we are slowly but surely getting more and more concerned about our inner being, because it is in danger, maybe even much more dramatically than our outer belongings? And so we do unconsciously live with the question all the time: How do I find the Messiah, who will release me of this fear?
 
John in the first chapters of his gospel describes in a very exact way, how the the circle of disciples begins to form around Jesus Christ after his baptism in the Jordan river (which made him become the Messiah).  How did they find the Messiah?  Maybe we can identify with the one or other of the disciples path leading towards Him.  Firstly it is the loved and respected teacher John the Baptist, who connects the first two disciples, Andrew and his friend, with the Christ. His teachings and their own baptism led them onto  the way to meet the Christ.  Andrew then finds Peter, his brother,  and brings him to the Christ.  Through family connections this encounter becomes reality.   The next, Phillip,  is someone, who has no connections at all, but is addressed at first sight by Jesus in an astonishingly direct way: “Follow me!” and he immediately does that.  He then finds a friend, Nathanael.  Nathanael is the first, that reacts critically and has many questions and doubts: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” He seems to have knowledge and schooling.  In meeting up with Jesus Christ personally then, he realizes, that there is a deep insight and understanding into his former life. He is addressed as an Israelite in whom there is no untruth. It is recognized and  highly appreciated by the Christ that he had been sitting under the fig tree, schooling himself in meditation and walking his own inner spiritual path. And so he feels that he can build onto his previous spiritual growth, develop further and is able to become a disciple.
 
There are many ways to find the Messiah, who is called the Christ. They are very individual and very special for each and every one of us. It does not matter, whether it is family, friends, “out of the blue” or because of our personal pursuing of a spiritual aim. It does however matter, that we are aware and awake enough to react and follow Him, when moments of true encounter suddenly occur.  And hear an inner voice speaking: if I follow this call, I will experience greater things, than I have ever experienced before.
 
Christine Voigts