Jesus’ identity as “feeder of the hungry” reminds us that Jesus is exactly what all the literally and metaphorically hungry people of our world need. God wants to feed them. God provides all the resources – physical and spiritual – to meet their needs.
My friends, today begins the season of discovering who God reveals Jesus to be through the gospel of Matthew. It’s going to be a fun series of sermons. It’s going to be enlightening. It may even be a bit scary…because you may discover you need some adjustment to what you already believe or how you already live. But…isn’t it worth it to know who GOD says Jesus truly is…and to then figure out what that means for you, for us?
And so, on this Epiphany Sunday, this Sunday on which we celebrate Jesus’ identity made known, I am asking you to consider how Jesus’ identity is being made known in our time, in YOUR life. Somehow, for some reason, you’ve made Nathanael’s choice. You’ve decided to “come and see”. You’ve decided to give up certain things that other people cling to so you can follow this Jesus. Like Nathanael, I’m guessing at least SOME of you, maybe most of you, needed a little more convincing to follow Jesus than could be had by simply listening to some other people tell you you should follow him.
Folks, these epiphany texts, they are a call for us to consider Jesus’ identity, Jesus’ absolutely amazing and life-changing identity, and to consider whether or not we are really accepting that identity and letting it make a difference in our lives. And if we’re not, it’s time to WAKE UP.