Mark Whittall

Today’s gospel from Luke picks up on the text that we read two weeks ago, Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism. You’ll recall that after...

What does it mean to be baptized? Seems like a good question for today as we gather to celebrate the baptism of Wendy, something we’re...

It matters how we begin. The gospel, the good news, begins in the wilderness. Great writers know that beginnings matter. Beginnings set...

“Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days; … and he was with the wild beasts.” What's up with that? What’s up with the wild beasts? As...

There are moments that matter. Moments where we no longer think of time as 10am on a Sunday morning, but rather we think of critical...

Sometimes I wish that I could take the dove that appears in today’s gospel and wring its pretty little neck. Because we get fooled by the...

We are in the wilderness. The gospel, the good news, begins in the wilderness. And let’s dispense here with any romantic notion of...

It’s a little awkward isn’t it? Jesus comes from Galilee to be baptized by John at the Jordan river. But John doesn’t want to baptize...

John went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All the people were...

There is a movement in the gospel of Mark which repeats itself at the critical points of the gospel. That movement is from glory into...