Tag: advice-for-a-sermon

  • Preaching Paths 1 November 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem amid much popular acclaim (Mt 21) provoked a series of sharp confrontations with different cohorts of the Jerusalem leadership (Mt 22). Now, as chapter 23 opens,  Jesus’ detractors have left the scene. He speaks to his disciples and other followers—and, of course, by…

  • Preaching Paths 25 October 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel reading, Mt 22:43-46, is a drama in two scenes. In the wake of Jesus’ acclaimed entry into Jerusalem and his bold clearing of the Temple court, the hostile verbal assaults of the Pharisees and Temple leaders (whom Jesus has criticized) have intensified. In scene 1…

  • Preaching Paths 18 October 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary A good place to begin work on Mt 22:15-22, a debate between Jesus and a strange coalition of Pharisee disciples and Herodians, is to take careful note of its historical and cultural context. This helps us to avoid pursuing an anachronistic interpretation of the text. Understanding the…

  • Preaching Paths 11 October 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Matthew scholars generally agree that Matthew presents Jesus in the mode of “apocalyptic prophet.” In the tradition of Amos, Isaiah, and his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus announces the approach of God’s day of reckoning, taking to task religious leaders. He calls for a return to the…

  • Preaching Paths 27 September 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary The context of the dialogue and parable in today’s text, Mt 21:23-32, guides our interpretation. Jesus’ triumphal entry has taken place amid shouts of the Messianic cry, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”—much to the dismay of the Jewish Temple leadership. Jesus has overturned the tables in…

  • Preaching Paths 20 Sept 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel text, Mt 20:1-16, presents a parable unique to Matthew. Like other parables in Matthew, it features a person of power behaving in ways that violate our assumptions. (See also 17 Sept; and upcoming, Mt’s version of the Synoptic parable of the wedding guests, Mt 22:1-14.)…

  • 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:…

  • 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.…

  • 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.…

  • 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…