When I was serving as Director of the Hunger Program for the former American Lutheran Church, I preached at various congregations on Sunday mornings. They would often ask me, "Should we read the Matthew 25 passage for the scripture lesson?" This text is a favorite for any gathering around hunger and poverty issues. I've used it often when I speak about hunger.

But the text has a far greater scope and purpose than to muster up a concern for hungry people. The story was not told by Jesus as a fund-raising speech. It was not intended for use in defending the need for a Social Action Committee, or the use of hunger funds for advocacy. One can use this text for many purposes, but we should not overlook the context and overall scope of its purpose as intended by the author.

This text takes us back…