Tag: gospel-of-matthew

  • Preaching Paths 19 July 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel lesson (Mt 13:24-30, 36-47) presents the parable of the wheat and weeds and Jesus’ interpretation. The parable, unique to Matthew, trades in tropes familiar to Matthew’s audience: agricultural and eschatological imagery, and a stark divide between good and evil actors. Although such imagery is less…

  • Sunday, 19th July 2026 Proper 11 (16)

    Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The parable of the weeds 13:24 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, 13:25 but while everybody was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away. 13:26 So when the plants…

  • Sunday, 12th July 2026

    Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The parable of the sower and the seed 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 13:2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 13:3 And he told them…

  • Preaching Paths 28 June 2026 Proper 8

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Today’s gospel reading, Matthew 10:40-42, concludes the discourse in which Jesus discloses what his disciples can expect as they disperse into the villages of Israel, announcing the reign of heaven and healing the sick (see Mt 9:36-10:1). As we have noted in previous postings, most scholars take…

  • Preaching Paths 14 June 2026 Proper 5 (Gospel text)

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary The opening verse of today’s Gospel reading (Mt 9:35-10:8) echoes Mt 4:23. These verses bracket Mt’s five-chapter summation of Jesus’ mission.  Chs 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount) present the essence of Jesus’ teaching about the ways of the reign of heaven. Chs 8-9 present Jesus’ enactment…

  • Sunday,14th June & Sunday 7th June 2026 (two entries)

    Sunday 14th June 2026 Proper 6 (11) Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) The call of Abraham and Sarah 18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.18:2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw…

  • Preaching Paths 7 June 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Mt 9:9-13, 18-26 presents in four interlocked scenes the shocking, boundary-crossing nature of Jesus’ interpretation of the reign of God. Scene I: Rabbis like Jesus would choose disciples to learn their teachings and emulate their way of life, but none would choose a tax collector! Tax collectors…

  • Preaching Paths 5 April 2026 Easter Year A

    Sally A Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Preachers may draw the Easter morning sermon from either John 20:1-18 or Mt 28:1-10. John’s account is much loved; yet Matthew’s story, despite its brevity, presents the resurrection of Jesus as a profound power-shift in the cosmos—one that shakes the earth, exposes the weakness of Empire-like power,…

  • 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…

  • Preaching Paths 8 March 2026

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary The standard interpretation of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well presents the woman as an incorrigible “repeat offender.”  Jesus observes that she has “had five husbands,” and “the man you have is not your husband” (v 18). Modern readers often assume that this woman…