This Sunday marks a kind of anniversary for me. On the Seventh Sunday of Easter in 1987, I was ordained a deacon at All Saints’ Cathedral, Edmonton, and, there was a huge celebration on the streets! Of course, that event had nothing to do with the ordination of three deacons and a priest, and everything to do with the Oilers winning their third Stanley Cup. Those were the days…

I don’t actually have a very clear memory of the service, except for the opening hymn, which we will sing today as our offertory hymn. I also recall that the liturgy did not go smoothly, so much so that my archdeacon sidled up to me at a clergy gathering a few weeks later, and said “We’re not sure you’re validly ordained.”

Twenty-one years is not a long time in human history. Nonetheless, these years have brought many changes to the life of our country and of our church—some good, some not so good. The issues of residential schools and same-sex blessings were not even on the map for most people when I finished my seminary training, but they have played a huge role in our church’s life in recent years.

I’m not even sure I could tell you what were the big issues of 1987—I was still on the steep learning curve of figuring out how to function in parish life. Within a few years, through service in the church and community beyond my parish, I began to get a clearer sense of the “big picture,” and the challenges facing the church in the 21^st Century.

The church has always faced challenges from the day of resurrection to May 4, 2008. Today’s lessons point to some of the questions of the earliest days:

·       Acts: living in Jesus’ absence… Leadership is still a real question today.

The point of the Ascension story is not really about where Jesus has gone, but about what we are to do now that he is gone. Jesus told his followers to return to the city to await the power of the Holy Spirit. Their initial response to his departure was understandable, but the “two men in white robes” reminded them not to waste time looking in unproductive places, but to get on with what Jesus had commanded—be faithful to him, by obeying him, by staying together and praying.

·       I Peter: persecution… a daily reality in some places, present in more subtle ways in our own society.

Again—be steadfast in faith, knowing that you are sharing in Christ’s suffering, confident of sharing in his glory. “Discipline yourselves,” which I take to mean holding on to the things and practices of faith, summed up for us in this church by the Baptismal Covenant.

·       John: division in the church… an issue that’s come home to us here in unexpected ways in recent months.

We are overhearing Jesus praying in John 17, first for himself, then for the disciples gathered with him, finally for all who will come to believe. Jesus has kept faith with the Father, and now knows that the hour has come for his glorification—through death, resurrection, and ascension—the revealing of the fullness of God’s plan through his works and his words—and through the disciples he left behind to continue his mission.

Jesus’ prayer for his disciples—for us!—is that we will be faithful as he has been faithful.
            Keep the faith…
            Know that we are his people…
            Stand together as one…

The reality is (and always has been) that seemingly simple injunctions such as can be the source of contention.

·       What does it mean to keep the faith, when we may not agree on what that faith is?

·       What does it mean to be God’s people, when concepts of the nature and purpose of the church clash?

·       How can we stand together, when sometimes we can’t stand each other, or each other’s particular beliefs?

There are no easy answers to these questions—only the call to be faithful in seeking to address them, and the knowledge that Jesus’ prayer for us did not end at the Last Supper. He is our great High Priest, the one who continues to intercede for us, calling us on to the heavenly realms.

There have been times in my own journey in Christ’s service when I was ready to pack it in. I know that many of you have had similar times, and I am always aware of people who have walked away from the Church for one reason or another.

For me, this is the place where I hear Jesus praying for us, this is the community that has stayed faithful to him and his mission. At times of stress, when I am unable to pray and find my faith failing, I remember that Jesus was faithful unto death, for us and for all people, standing on our behalf before the throne of God the Father.

The church today is facing many challenges. Need I enumerate them? I am sure that almost anyone with any history in the church will be aware to some extent of the variety of problems. I am also sure that most of us have our own pet issues, and our own sense what should be done. I am equally sure that finding consensus on the way forward is no small task.

But of one thing I am most sure: Jesus our great High Priest continues to lead us, praying for us, giving us faithful leaders and members, empowering us with the Holy Spirit, and sending us forth to be his Body in this world.

May we keep the faith, and keep faith with him, as he is faithful to us and to the Father.

Amen.