"Warren is well known for her acrid take on Wall Street money power, on the Trump presidency, and on all the forces in American life that, in her view, deny equal opportunity to all. Much less well known is Warren's relationship with God.

"A year or two after her election to the Senate, the Rev. Jim Wallis, president and chief executive of Sojourners, a liberal magazine and Christian social justice movement based in Washington, invited her to address a leadership summit his group hosts every three years. Matthew 25 was the text about which she chose to speak.

"'And she really preached,' said Wallis, for whom the passage is also personally meaningful. 'I've heard a lot of sermons on Matthew 25. I've preached a lot of sermons on it, and it was good. She knew the text, knew the context, knew what it meant, she interpreted it very well,' making it relevant to the current moment but not political, he said.

"'It was very much a Christian talking to other Christians,' said Wallis.'"