Category: Uncategorized

  • Preaching Paths, 24 August 2025, Proper 16C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Jesus’ healing of a bent-over woman at the synagogue on a Sabbath day is the subject of today’s dramatic Gospel text, Luke 13:10-17. Bent nearly double “by a spirit” for eighteen years, this woman’s field of vision is little more than the ground at her feet. She…

  • 17th August 2025, 10th Sunday after Pentecost

    St Luke 12:49-56 Jesus brings fire on earth 12:49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 12:50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 12:51 Do you think that I have come to…

  • Preaching Paths 17 August 2025 Proper 15C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Jesus’ themes in today’s reading, Luke 12: 49-56, signal a shift from a series of eschatologically-oriented admonitions and warnings to immediate concerns. Jesus addresses 1) the cleansing fire he shall bring to earth after he has undergone a dreaded “baptism;” 2) the conflict and division his message…

  • 10th August 2025,9th Sunday after Pentecost

    St Luke 12:32-40 The treasure of the kingdom 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 12:33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no…

  • Preaching Paths 10 August 2025 Proper 14C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In today’s Gospel reading, Luke 12:32-40, Jesus continues urging his followers to invest in the coming reign of God, free of material concerns. The text unfolds in three sections. Verses 32-34 warn against being preoccupied with a deluded quest for possessions, imagining that these can offer us…

  • 3rd August 2025, 8th Sunday after Pentecost

    St Luke 12: 13-21 Be rich toward God, your treasure 12:13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 12:14But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 12:15And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your…

  • Preaching Paths 3 August 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In today’s text (Luke 12:13-21), a man in the crowd calls out to Jesus, asking him to settle an inheritance dispute with his brother: “Tell him to divide the inheritance with me!” While it would not have been unusual for a respected rabbi to consider such a…

  • 27th July 2025, 7th Sunday after Pentecost

    St Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches prayer 11:1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 11:2 so he said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be revered as holy. May…

  • Preaching Paths 27 July 2025 Luke 11:1-13, Proper 12C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s Gospel text (Luke 11:1-13) includes Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. It is quite brief; when Jesus’ disciples request that he teach them to pray, he offers just four concise petitions. Phrasing  found in Matthew’s version is missing here (“Our;” “who art in heaven,” “Thy will…

  • 20th July 2025, 6th Sunday after Pentecost

    St Luke 10:38-42 Choosing the better part 10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 10:40 But Martha was distracted by…