The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads – sermon starters – among the themes of this day’s texts. (We're presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true!

In the Christian tradition, Isaiah 49 has often been read (with good reason) christologically. Jesus is seen as the one called from the womb and sent to bring salvation. In its historical context, Isaiah 49 is likely referring to Israel (in vv. 1-6) and a prophetic representative or to Cyrus who was commissioned to resettle Israel (in vv. 8-12). In either case, the point is clear—it is through human institutions (in this case Israel as a political entity) that God works to bring about salvation.

In our present context, our anti-hunger efforts have to engage the political sphere. God is still working through everyday human institutions. If we are serious about addressing hunger and poverty we need to be working with all the tools available to us. To learn more about how you can be engaged in anti-hunger advocacy work visit www.elca.org/advocacy.

For sermon ideas on this week’s texts, see the excellent reflections by David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World at http://www.bread.org/what-we-do/resources/preacher/lectionary/third-sunday-ordinary-time-2011.doc.