Tag: god

  • Preaching Paths 12 July 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary The parable of the Sower and Soils (Mt 13: 1-9), coupled with its interpretation (Mt 13:18-23), is familiar to many congregations. One reliable approach to this parable has been to see the sower as Jesus, the seed as the gospel summons to trust and follow him, and…

  • Preaching Paths 5 July 2026, Proper 9

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s Gospel lection, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, can seem an odd collection of rhetorically disparate fragments. A parable (vv.16-17), judgment in the form of an antimony (vv.18-19b), a proverb (v. 19c), a brief prayer (vv. 25-26), a chiastic theological self-identification (v.27) and a summons accompanied by promise (vv.…

  • Sunday, 28th June & Sunday, 21st June 2026 (two entries)

    Sunday, 28th June 2026 Proper 8 (13) Year A Matthew 10:40-42 Welcome Christ in those Christ sends 10:40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 10:41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person…

  • Preaching Paths 3 May 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary John 14 belongs to the collection of sayings of Jesus known as the “Farewell Discourses” (John 13-17). In Eastertide, today’s text (Jn 14:1-14) speaks of the new life that believers in the Risen Lord experience. The text should be read in its entirety in worship; yet, given…

  • Preaching Paths 29 March 2026  Liturgy of the Passion

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In settings where one can expect that many congregations will not attend Holy Week services, especially Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, both Mt 20:1-11 (the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem) as well as the Passion narrative, should be read in the service. Easter means little if…

  • 22nd February 2026 Lent 1

    Matthew 4: 1-11 The temptation of Jesus 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. 4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished. 4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these…

  • Preaching Paths 15 February 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor of Preaching Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary In the verses before us today (Mt 5:21-37), Jesus speaks as any rabbi of his day might have done. To interpret the Law faithfully was a rabbi’s chief responsibility. The formula, “You have heard it said …” was a characteristic rabbinic phrase when one was…

  •  4th January 2026, 2nd Sunday after Christmas, Yr A

     John 1:(1-9), 10-18 God with us 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 He was in the beginning with God. 1:3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 1:4…

  • Preaching Paths 4 January 2026, 2nd Sunday after Christmas, Yr A

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Through Advent, Christmas Day, and the first Sunday of Christmastide, the preacher’s task has been to trace the ministry of John the Baptist, as well as Joseph’s crucial role, in the story of the arrival of Jesus, God’s Anointed One (Messiah). This week, we turn to John’s…

  • 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…