Tag: christianity

  • Preaching Paths 16 November 2025 Proper 28C

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In today’s gospel reading (Luke 21:5-19), Jesus continues to teach a mixed crowd of disciples and other listeners in the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem, a building project of Rome’s appointee, Herod the Great. In Jesus’ time, its expansive outer courts and lavish embellishments were still under construction.…

  • Preaching Paths 9 November 2025 Proper 27C

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary After several weeks of Luke’s action-filled parables and stories, today’s Gospel text, Luke 20:27-38, may strike some preachers—and their listeners!—as odd or simply irrelevant. To open a pathway to  the pulpit, a first step is to review the setting and timing of the debate presented in this…

  • Preaching Paths 26 October 2025, Proper 25C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Luke 18:9-14, another parable unique to Luke, continues the theme of prayer introduced in last week’s reading (18:1-8), but with a different emphasis. Last week’s reading underscored the need for steadfastness in prayer. This week, Jesus again sets side by side two contrasting individuals—this time, a law-observant…

  • Preaching Paths 12 October 2025 Proper 23C

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In today’s gospel lection, Luke 17:11-19, we find Jesus traveling the borderland between Galilee and Samaria, a region many Jewish travelers avoided, owing to the deep animosity between Jews and Samaritans. Unsurprisingly, ten men made ritually “unclean” because of skin disease chose to take refuge there. Many…

  • Preaching Paths 5 October 2025, Proper 22C

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary A helpful step toward preaching from today’s text, Luke 17:5-10, will be to begin reading at v 1, both for study and in the worship service. The high bar of addressing and forgiving others’ offenses that Jesus sets in vv 1-4 is the impetus for his disciples’…

  • Sunday,12th & 5th October 2025

    12th October 2025, 18th Sunday after Pentecost Luke 17:11-19 The healed leper gives thanks to Jesus 17:11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 17:12 As he entered a village, ten with a skin disease approached him. Keeping their distance, 17:13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master,…

  • Preaching Paths 21 September 2025 Proper 15C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preachers and scholars agree: the parable of the “dishonest manager” (Luke 16:1-13) is arguably the most difficult of Jesus’ parables to interpret. Consternation centers on vv 8-9. In v 8a, the master commends the cleverness of the “dishonest” account manager he intended to dismiss. In v 8b,…

  • Preaching Paths 14 September 2025 Proper 19C

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Context matters for rightly interpreting the first two of Jesus’ three parables of God’s persistent seeking of that which is lost (Luke 10:1-15). Jesus is responding to grumbling Pharisees and scribes who criticize his habit of dining with the tax collectors and “sinners” who follow and listen…

  • 28th,21st,14th,& 7th September 2025

    28th September 2025 Luke 16:19-31 Poor Lazarus and the rich man 16:19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 16:20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 16:21 who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell…

  • Preaching Paths 31 August 2025 Proper 17C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preaching well from this week’s gospel reading (Luke 14: 1, 7-14) requires preachers to stay alert to the specific social customs and circumstances that provoke Jesus’ teaching on this occasion. More than any other gospel, Luke presents Jesus’ ministry as filled with table scenes and table-related teachings.…