Tag: jesus

  • 2nd February 2025, Presentation of the Lord

    Luke 2:22-40 The presentationof the child 2:22When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 2:23(as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 2:24and they offered…

  • Preaching Paths 2 February 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Luke’s story of Jesus’ reception in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:14-30) differs from the parallels in Matthew and Mark. There, the reaction of the townsfolk is negative from the start; in Luke, the initial reception is positive. In Mt 13:54-58 and Mk 6:1-6, we hear…

  • 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, 26th January 2025

    Luke 4:14-21 Jesus reads the prophet Isaiah 4:14Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region. 4:15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 4:16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to…

  • Preaching Paths 26 January 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Jesus announces the scope and purpose of his mission in today’s reading (Luke 4:14-21). “Filled with the power of the Spirit” and “praised by everyone” (vv 14-15), he arrives in Nazareth with his Galilean teaching tour already well under way. On the Sabbath, Jesus goes to the…

  • 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, 19th January 2025 Year C

    John 2:1-11 The wedding at Cana 2:1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2:2Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 2:3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 2:4And Jesus said…

  • Preaching Paths 19 January 2025

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary To rightly interpret today’s text, attention to context, both cultural and literary, is essential. John 2:1-11 tells of a wedding at which Jesus, one of the guests, changes a large quantity of water into wine. If one works out the math, the supply can seem outrageously excessive—but…

  • 12th January 2025, Year C

    Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 The baptism of Jesus 3:15As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 3:16John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy…

  • Preaching Paths 12 January 2025  Baptism of Our Lord

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary It can be daunting to preach from Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism: how does one find traction in something so succinct and unadorned? Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 presents two simple scenes. First, John faces the crowds who hope he is the longed-for Messiah; he points away to “one…

  • 29th December 2024

    Luke 2:41-52 Jesus increased in favor with all 2:41Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 2:42And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 2:43When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but…

  • Preaching Paths 29 December 2024 First Sunday after Christmas, Year C

    Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary Implicit in today’s Gospel text, Luke 2:41-52, is a richly textured tapestry of sound. We begin in Jerusalem’s narrow streets, filled with Passover pilgrims. Shouted greetings to friends not seen for twelve months mix with congenial haggling in the market stalls. At dusk, the intoned chanting of…