Category: Uncategorized

  • Preaching Paths 19 April 2026 Easter 3 Year A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Accounts of encounters with the risen Lord in the Gospel of John have in common a peculiar feature: in none of them is Jesus instantly recognizable. Early Easter morning, Mary assumes she has met up with the gardener until she hears Jesus speak her name (John 20:15). …

  • 12th April 2026, Eastertide 2A

     John 20:19-31 Beholding the wounds of the risen Christ 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20:20 After he said this, he…

  • Preaching Paths 12 April 2026 Eastertide 2A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary John’s gospel reports four post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples. Mary is the first to meet the risen Lord; she does not know him until he speaks her name. The fourth appearance is on the lakeshore, where some disciples have been fishing (Jn 21). The second…

  • Preaching Paths 5 April 2026 Easter Year A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preachers may draw the Easter morning sermon from either John 20:1-18 or Mt 28:1-10. John’s account is much loved; yet Matthew’s story, despite its brevity, presents the resurrection of Jesus as a profound power-shift in the cosmos—one that shakes the earth, exposes the weakness of Empire-like power,…

  • 29th March 2026, Liturgy of the Palms & 5th April 2026, Resurrection of the Lord

    29th March 2026, Liturgy of the Palms Matthew 21:1-11 Jesus enters Jerusalem 21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 21:2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with…

  • Preaching Paths 29 March 2026  Liturgy of the Passion

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In settings where one can expect that many congregations will not attend Holy Week services, especially Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, both Mt 20:1-11 (the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem) as well as the Passion narrative, should be read in the service. Easter means little if…

  • Preaching Paths, 22 March 2026 Lent 5A & 29 March 2026, Liturgy of the Palms

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary 22 March 2026 Lent 5A The raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45) is the seventh (and last) of the “signs” performed by Jesus in John’s narrative. It unfolds in a series of dramatic scenes: Scene 1, vv 1-6: Jesus receives word from Mary and Martha that their brother…

  • Sunday, 22nd March 2026,Lent 5 & 15th March 2026, Lent 4

    Sunday, 22nd March 2026, Lent 5 John 11:1-45 The raising of Lazarus 11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 11:2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 11:3 So…

  • Preaching Paths 15 March 2026, Lent 4 Year A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary John 9:1-41 presents Jesus’ encounter with a man born blind. It is a drama in six short scenes. The entire text should be read, but sermons will be more successful if focused on just a few key turns in this drama. Interrogations on the part of the…

  • Sunday, 8th March 2026, Lent 3

     St John 4: 5-42 The woman at the well 4:5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 4:7 A…