Mark Whittall

Homily St. Francis of Assisi, Oct 4 2026, Trinity. Readings: Job 39.1-18; Ps 121; Acts 4.32-35; Luke 12.13-21 Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. It’s a way of bringing to a close this Season of Creation that we have been observing in our worship for the past five weeks. St. Francis is probably best known for his love of nature. For his vision of all created things as spirit-filled, reflecting the glory of God, each in its own unique way. Soon we wil

Here's something new. Aba and I have started a new podcast produced by Trinity Anglican Church called "Aba & the Priest", a podcast that makes space to talk about stuff that matters. You can find us on Youtube or Spotify. We've released seven episodes so far, and there will be a new one every Tuesday. Here's a link to Episode 1: Unconditional Love. Have a listen, and let us know what matters to you.

(Homily Yr A Proper 26, Sept 27 2026, Trinity Readings: Exodus 17.1.-7; Psalm 78.1-4,12-16; Philippians 2.1-13; Matthew 21.23-32) “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” writes Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Or in other words, Embrace downward mobility. If ever there was a teaching that went against the common wisdom of our time, this just might it. At first, it sounds like Paul is giving his Philippian readers some gentle encouragement, urging t

“In the beginning”. That’s how our story begins, these are the first words of our Bible from the first chapter of Genesis. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Our story begins with Creation. The universe has not always existed, as many once thought. No, the world we live in came into being. That possibility has always raised a philosophical objection: how can you get something out of nothing? Genesis answers that objection with God. “In the beginning

When the day of Pentecost had come, suddenly there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and tongues, as of fire, appeared among them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Powerful. Dramatic. Miraculous. On that day, for those gathered in that place, the coming of the Holy Spirit was unmistakeable. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, of that there was no doubt. It was an experience

It’s been forty days. For the apostles, the pain and grief of the crucifixion, the initial confusion of Jesus’ resurrection, these have now settled into what they’re starting to think is a new normal. Jesus is with them, alive, appearing to them, teaching them once again, speaking to them once again about the kingdom of God. It’s been forty days. They know their scriptures. Forty-day periods are significant. Noah spent forty days on the ark before he and the animals were ab

The first time I walked the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain was eleven years ago. In the midst of that journey, early one day just after breakfast, I found myself walking with a woman named Lori. We were strangers, but we walked together and soon enough, I asked her the question that was asked so often on the Camino: “Why are you walking?” She hesitated for a moment. Seeing that hesitation, and knowing that the next village was some ten kilometers away, I said to her,

Have you ever been on the verge of something new? The familiar is ending. Something new is about to begin, but it hasn’t taken shape yet. That’s an exciting, scary, wonderful, nerve-wracking place to be. Can you imagine it? Have you been there? A new relationship, a job change, a move to a new city. I have a grandchild who’s about to be born. Could even be today! That’s being on the verge of something new. It’s exciting and it’s just a little scary, all at the same time. And

It is easy for our faith and our worship to remain on the surface. We sing uplifting songs, we talk about love, we pray to God when it’s convenient. Good Friday invites us to go deeper. Good Friday forces us to go deeper, to confront pain and suffering, to spend time in the darkness of our world and to consider whether our faith has the power to sustain us in the painful places of our lives. We tend to live much of our lives on the surface. “Hi, how are you? Fine thanks. Ni

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. Does that remind you of anyone? It’s meant to. It’s meant to remind us of Moses. Matthew in his gospel is presenting Jesus as a new Moses, as the one who will speak God’s words to us. In the book of Exodus, after God has freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, they come to Mount Sinai and they camp there. Moses goes up the mountain. But the people were not allowed to go up the mountain. The people stood at

We have an amazing story to tell. Earlier this evening, we told this story with our pop-up pageant, with shepherds and angels, with Mary and Joseph, with the birth of a child in a manger, surrounded by animals. The birth of a child is always an amazing story, a story of hope and of joy. When we tell the birth story of this child, of Jesus, it is a story that promises peace and love, and announces the good news that God is with us. It's an amazing story, and so we reach back

There are times in our lives when we don’t know what to do. When even though we really want to do what’s right, we don’t know what’s right. Joseph is deep into one of these dilemmas in today’s gospel reading. He is a righteous man. He is a kind and gracious man. He deeply wants to do the right thing. But he doesn’t know what to do. Life is not black and white. Life comes at us in full colour, beautiful and wonderful, yet puzzling and overwhelming sometimes. Relationships ar

Jesus is a great teacher. And like all great teachers, he has some tricks of the trade, ways of drawing us in and then surprising us with new ways of looking at life. Sometimes he does this by telling stories. Other times, he starts by saying something that we all agree with, but then he goes beyond it. “You have heard it said”, he tells his audience, giving them something familiar, getting their heads nodding. “But I say to you,” he continues, and with this, he tells them