Category: Uncategorized

  • 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…

  • Preaching Paths 9 August 2026 Proper 14A

    Sally A Brown, Professor of Preaching Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Few Gospel texts have engendered more diverse trajectories of interpretation than Matthew’s version of the story of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a storm (Mt 14:22-33). Only in Matthew do we read of Peter climbing out of the boat to walk…

  • Sunday, 2nd August 2026

    Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus feeds 5000 14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14:14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and…

  • Preaching Paths 2 August 2026 Proper 13A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Matthew 14:13-21 presents Matthew’s version of the wilderness feeding of 5,000 men and unnumbered women and children, the only “mighty work” of Jesus found in all four Gospels. The context in which each evangelist sets this scene is significant. In Mt, it occurs immediately after Jesus and…

  • Preaching Paths 19 July 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel lesson (Mt 13:24-30, 36-47) presents the parable of the wheat and weeds and Jesus’ interpretation. The parable, unique to Matthew, trades in tropes familiar to Matthew’s audience: agricultural and eschatological imagery, and a stark divide between good and evil actors. Although such imagery is less…

  • Sunday, 19th July 2026 Proper 11 (16)

    Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The parable of the weeds 13:24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, 13:25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. 13:26 So when the plants…