Category: Uncategorized

  • Preaching Paths 13 September 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Inexhaustible forgiveness is at the center of today’s Gospel reading, Mt 18:21-35.  On the face of it, Peter’s query, Jesus’ reply, and the parable that follows seem straightforward. The message is clear: always be ready to forgive. Yet details of this text, especially the parable, prompt questions:…

  • Sunday, 6th September 2026

    Matthew 18:15-20 18:15 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 18:16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every…

  • Preaching Paths 6 September 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s Gospel reading, Mt 18:15-20, is brief; yet its implications for the inter-relational life of Christians, assembling down the centuries for divine worship and public witness, has been profound. Jesus is not naïve; he anticipates that rifts and instances of personal failure among his disciples are inevitable.…

  • Sunday, 30th August 2026

    Matthew 16:21-28 16:21 From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him,…

  • Preaching Paths 30 August 2026 Proper 17A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preachers should take care to read today’s gospel text, Mt 16:21-28, in close relation to last week’s lection (Mt 16:13-20), especially Peter’s confession and commissioning (vv. 15-19). Jesus predicts his suffering, sharply undercutting reigning notions of “messiahship” as the exercise of political or military power. Commentators note…

  • Sunday, 23rd August 2026

    Matthew 16:13-20 The profession of Peter’s faith 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 16:14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 16:15 He…

  • Preaching Paths 23 August 2026 Proper 16A

    Sally A Brown   Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Matthew’s placement of this scene in today’s Gospel text (Mt 16:13-20, often referred to as Peter’s “confession of faith”) is no accident; it is pivotal for his gospel, both from a literary and theological standpoint. First, the setting—Caesarea Philippi—would have been striking for Mt’s earliest, late-first-century readers.…

  • Sunday, 16th August 2026

    Matthew 15: 21-28 The Canaanite woman’s daughter is healed 15:21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 15:22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 15:23 But…

  • Preaching Paths 16 August 2026 Proper 15A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita of Preaching and Worship                     In today’s text, Mt 15:21-28, Jesus and his disciples are traveling in the region of Tyre and Sidon, a locale populated by both Jewish and Canaanite villages. Suddenly, they are accosted by a persistent Canaanite woman making a public spectacle of herself for the best of…

  • Sunday, 9th August 2026

    Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus walking on the sea 14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 14:24…