Tag: christianity

  • Trinity Sunday, First Sunday after Pentecost, 15th June 2025

    St John 16: 12-15 The Spirit will guide you into the truth 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever…

  • Preaching Paths 15 June 2025  Trinity Sunday, Year C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s brief gospel reading, John 16:12-15, powerfully conveys to the Church the promise that fuels its witness:  today, as from the beginning, the Father and Son continue to accompany, teach, and lead Jesus’ followers through the Holy Spirit. Preaching preparation can include reviewing chs 14-16. The Father…

  • Day of Pentecost, 8th June 2025

    Acts 2:1-21 Filled with the Spirit 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among…

  • Preaching Paths 1 June 2024 Eastertide 7C

    [I apologize for the omission of the expected homiletical commentary  for this date,  a section of the “High Priestly” intercession of Jesus, John 17:20-26.—Sally A. Brown]

  • Preaching Paths (S. Brown) & Grammar (Y. Petropoulos), 25 May 2025 Eastertide 6C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary This week’s lection, John 14:23-29, is again taken from Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” in which he prepares his disciples for his imminent departure. Jesus speaks of three promises, or divine gifts, each as crucial for sustaining faith in our day as they were for the disciples. First, Jesus…

  • Preaching Paths 18 May 2025 Eastertide 5C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s brief gospel text, John 13:31-35, sends us back—well into Eastertide!—to pre-crucifixion words of Jesus. These verses speak of his crucifixion as “glorification.” Then, in words both simple and profound, Jesus presents our post-resurrection task: to love through action, as he has loved us. Preachers will need…

  • Preaching Paths 4 May 2025 Eastertide 3 Yr C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary John 21 is considered by some scholars to be a late addition to John’s gospel. The final verses of ch 20 seem to constitute a summative ending to the narrative; yet, some suggest that ch 21 is a deliberate epilogue of a kind not uncommon in ancient…

  • 27th April 2025, 2nd Sunday of Easter

    St John 20:19-31 Beholding the wounds of the risen Christ 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20:20 After he said this,…

  • 13th April 2025, Liturgy of the Palms

    Luke 19:28-40 Entrance into the final days 19:28After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 19:29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 19:30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it…

  • Preaching Paths 13 April 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary A careful, thoughtful public reading of the gospel text on Palm Sunday this year (Luke 19:28-40) may warrant a brief introduction. We can alert listeners that Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem omits details found in the other gospels. They will hear no mention of…