Exegesis | Preaching Hope

Easter 6 C ~ "Who?" ~ Susan McGurgan

Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Who is saved? When I was a kid growing up in a town...

susan mcgurgan

May 16, 20223 min read

The Eye of the Homily ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Can I Get an Amen?: A Survey of Homiletic Strategies that Engage the Listener “Did you see that?” “Did you notice the look on his face?”...

susan mcgurgan

May 12, 20222 min read

Easter 5 C ~ "Empty Chairs" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Empty chairs. No one likes an empty chair. Family meals. Family reunions. Family of faith. No one likes an empty chair. Today’s gospel...

susan mcgurgan

May 9, 20222 min read

Easter 4 C ~ "Hear My Voice" ~ Susan McGurgan

My sheep hear my voice. God’s voice shattered the silence of the void with a Word. God speaks and Hope becomes incarnate, pitching a...

susan mcgurgan

May 3, 20222 min read

Easter 3 C ~ "Come, Have Breakfast" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

In the first two resurrection appearances of Jesus, the stories began with absence and then the risen Lord was revealed. Here, however,...

susan mcgurgan

Apr 25, 20226 min read

Easter 2 C ~ "Branded" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Back when I was a young boy, there was a TV show I couldn’t wait to watch every week. Come Tuesday nights, I made sure I had my homework...

susan mcgurgan

Apr 19, 20223 min read

Easter 2 C ~ "We Have a God who Just Keeps on Appearing" ~ Susan McGurgan

Poor Thomas… It doesn’t seem to matter that every other disciple doubted at one time or another. It doesn’t seem to matter that the other...

susan mcgurgan

Apr 19, 20223 min read

Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord ~ John 20:1-9 ~ "Hand-me-Downs" Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Have you heard of The Laundry Guy? It’s a new TV show staring Patrick Richardson, a self-proclaimed “laundry evangelist.” Richardson...

susan mcgurgan

Apr 11, 20223 min read

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion C ~ "Mass in Time of War" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

A friend of mine wrote the following description of attending Mass on an aircraft carrier: It was 1962, the height of the Cold War. I was...

susan mcgurgan

Apr 4, 20222 min read

Lent 5 A ~ Homiletical Exegesis for the RCIA Scrutiny John 11:1-45, ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

The raising of Lazarus in John 11 stands as hinge between Jesus’ public ministry and his private ministry to his disciples. It represents...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 29, 202213 min read

Lent 5 C ~ "Say Her Name" ~ Susan McGurgan

Say Her Name is a movement that emerged from the stories of women affected by institutional violence, particularly women from...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 29, 20224 min read

Lent 4 C ~ "Rehab, County Jails and Lost Parents" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Young children will occasionally wander off, casting their parents into a temporary state of anxiety and frantic searching until the...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 21, 20222 min read

Taking Risks: First Person Preaching ~ Susan McGurgan

First person preaching is an approach that takes one of the characters from the Bible, from Church History, from the communion of Saints...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 17, 20229 min read

Lent 3 C ~ "Holy Ground" ~Susan McGurgan

A young Ukrainian violinist, standing alone in a basement in Kyiv, plays a haunting arrangement of an old Ukrainian folk song, filming...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 15, 20223 min read

A Homiletical Exegesis for Lent 3 Cycle A (RCIA Scrutiny) Readings ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

A Catechetical Gospel. For parishes engaged in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the Lenten Scripture lessons remain with Year...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 15, 202215 min read

Lent 2 C ~ "A Place Called Home" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

What if someone were to say to you, “I saw you under the street light” or “I saw you under the umbrella.” Your first reaction would be...

susan mcgurgan

Mar 7, 20223 min read

First Sunday in Lent C ~ "Company in the Wilderness" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

St. Luke sets the scene quickly and with attention to the key details. Jesus has been baptized at the Jordan by John and now a new drama...

susan mcgurgan

Feb 28, 20226 min read

8th Sunday OT C ~ "Lessons from the Field" ~ Susan McGurgan

My grandfather Roy was born into a family that pioneered on the high plains of north-west Kansas. He began life in a sod house, a home...

susan mcgurgan

Feb 22, 20223 min read

7th Sunday OT C ~ "Freedom" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

I once heard a preacher say that the Ten Commandments were ten ways of God saying, “Don’t hurt yourself. Please, don’t hurt yourself.” A...

susan mcgurgan

Feb 14, 20223 min read

6th Sunday OT C ~ "You Gotta Love this Place" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

When I hear the words of the Sermon on the Mount, I think about a reflection that a young priest in my diocese wrote regarding the scene...

susan mcgurgan

Feb 8, 20223 min read

Easter 6 C ~ "Who?" ~ Susan McGurgan

The Eye of the Homily ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 5 C ~ "Empty Chairs" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 4 C ~ "Hear My Voice" ~ Susan McGurgan

Easter 3 C ~ "Come, Have Breakfast" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Easter 2 C ~ "Branded" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 2 C ~ "We Have a God who Just Keeps on Appearing" ~ Susan McGurgan

Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord ~ John 20:1-9 ~ "Hand-me-Downs" Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion C ~ "Mass in Time of War" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Lent 5 A ~ Homiletical Exegesis for the RCIA Scrutiny John 11:1-45, ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Lent 5 C ~ "Say Her Name" ~ Susan McGurgan

Lent 4 C ~ "Rehab, County Jails and Lost Parents" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Taking Risks: First Person Preaching ~ Susan McGurgan

Lent 3 C ~ "Holy Ground" ~Susan McGurgan

A Homiletical Exegesis for Lent 3 Cycle A (RCIA Scrutiny) Readings ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Lent 2 C ~ "A Place Called Home" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

First Sunday in Lent C ~ "Company in the Wilderness" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

8th Sunday OT C ~ "Lessons from the Field" ~ Susan McGurgan

7th Sunday OT C ~ "Freedom" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

6th Sunday OT C ~ "You Gotta Love this Place" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

What's New?

New Position for Susan McGurgan
Susan is now the Director of the Preach All Ways Lilly Compelling Preaching Grant and Associate Professor of Theology at Marian University, Indianapolis.

20 OT B ~ "A Deeper Union with Christ" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min. ~Preach This Week

Subscribe Form

Easter 6 C ~ "Who?" ~ Susan McGurgan

The Eye of the Homily ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 5 C ~ "Empty Chairs" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 4 C ~ "Hear My Voice" ~ Susan McGurgan

Easter 3 C ~ "Come, Have Breakfast" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Easter 2 C ~ "Branded" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Easter 2 C ~ "We Have a God who Just Keeps on Appearing" ~ Susan McGurgan

Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord ~ John 20:1-9 ~ "Hand-me-Downs" Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion C ~ "Mass in Time of War" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Lent 5 A ~ Homiletical Exegesis for the RCIA Scrutiny John 11:1-45, ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Lent 5 C ~ "Say Her Name" ~ Susan McGurgan

Lent 4 C ~ "Rehab, County Jails and Lost Parents" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

Taking Risks: First Person Preaching ~ Susan McGurgan

Lent 3 C ~ "Holy Ground" ~Susan McGurgan

A Homiletical Exegesis for Lent 3 Cycle A (RCIA Scrutiny) Readings ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

Lent 2 C ~ "A Place Called Home" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

First Sunday in Lent C ~ "Company in the Wilderness" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger

8th Sunday OT C ~ "Lessons from the Field" ~ Susan McGurgan

7th Sunday OT C ~ "Freedom" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

6th Sunday OT C ~ "You Gotta Love this Place" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer

What's New?

New Position for Susan McGurgan Susan is now the Director of the Preach All Ways Lilly Compelling Preaching Grant and Associate Professor of Theology at Marian University, Indianapolis. 20 OT B ~ "A Deeper Union with Christ" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min. ~Preach This Week

Subscribe Form

New Position for Susan McGurgan
Susan is now the Director of the Preach All Ways Lilly Compelling Preaching Grant and Associate Professor of Theology at Marian University, Indianapolis.

20 OT B ~ "A Deeper Union with Christ" ~ Rev. Benjamin Roberts, D.Min. ~Preach This Week