Category: Uncategorized

  • Preaching Paths 21 December 2025, Advent 4, Year A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel text, Matthew 1:18-25, presents Matthew’s account of the birth of “Jesus the Messiah” (v 18). Matthew’s narrative contrasts strikingly with that of Luke, focusing not on Mary, but on Joseph. Joseph is typically portrayed in Nativity scenes simply standing by, mute and passive as the…

  • Preaching Paths 21 December 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preaching possibilities abound in today’s Gospel reading (Lk 1:39-56). Two unlikely expectant mothers—one long considered barren, the other young and unmarried—join in Spirit-inspired celebration of God’s surprising ways. After the angel Gabriel’s life-changing visit, Mary travels to the far Judean hills to visit her older cousin, Elizabeth.…

  • Sunday, 28th, 21st, & 14th December 2025 Yr A

    1st Sunday after Christmas 2025, Yr A 28th December 2025 Matthew 2:13-23 The slaughter of innocent children 2:13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you,…

  • Preaching Paths 14 December 2025 Advent 3 Year A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary The gospel reading for this third Sunday in Advent, Year A, Mt 11:2-11, can be jarring for preachers, to say nothing of their prospective listeners. What merit is there in forcing ourselves to grapple with the consternation of John the Baptist, locked and silenced in Herod’s prison,…

  •  7th December 2025, 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A

    Matthew 3:1-12 Prepare the way of the Lord 3:1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3:3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:…

  • Preaching Paths 7 December 2025 Advent 2 Year A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Once again, as is customary on the Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist strides into our December landscapes of twinkling, colored lights like an unwelcome guest at a party. He is dressed in the shaggy pelt of a camel. He prefers locusts to Christmas sweets (Mt…

  • Sunday, 30th November 2025, Advent 1 Yr A

    St Matthew 24: 36-44 Jesus said to the disciples, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood…

  • Preaching Paths 30 November 2025 Advent 1 Yr A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Every year, the lectionary opens Advent with a Gospel text replete with eschatological visions and warnings. In Year A, the year devoted to Matthew’s gospel, Advent 1 lands us squarely in the gospel’s fifth discourse, sometimes called “the Eschatological Discourse.” This includes all of Matthew chs 24…

  • 23rd November 2025 (24th Sun. after Pentecost)

    St Luke 23: 33-43 Jesus crucified with two thieves 23:33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they…

  • Preaching Paths 23 November 2025 Feast of the Reign of Christ, Yr C

    Sally A Brown, Professor of Preaching Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Congregations may be perplexed to find that this year, the gospel text for the Feast of the Reign of Christ is the scene (and soundtrack) of Jesus’ crucifixion (Luke 23:33-43). Why not the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration, where he shines with otherworldly light (Lk 9:28-36),…