Once I tried to get the bishop to declare the first Sunday after Easter, “Missouri Sunday,” but he wouldn’t go for it. If you are from the Show Me State, today is your day. Thomas had to have been a Missourian because he told the other disciples, “Unless I see where the nails went in his hands and the wound in his side, I will not believe.” In other words, “show me.”

But there is so much more today than just seeing and believing. Next Sunday is Earth Day, a day when we celebrate our common stewardship of the earth. Our psalm today reflects the universal brotherhood of mankind. This psalm has been a popular Israeli folk song since the 1940s. And of course on this first Sunday after Easter, we hear about the very early Christians, how “the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold.”

I would guess that over the centuries, a swimming pool of ink has been spent on the story of Thomas, about not-seeing and believing, and about the power of belief itself. This may be one of the touchstones where we start moving down that slippery slope – that dangerous territory where we tell the world that being Christian is all about what we think and say instead of how we actually behave and what we do.

That disconnect where we say one thing and do another is dangerous and unholy. Maybe it is time to leave Thomas alone and focus on concrete terms of what it means to live together in harmony. The psalm talks about oil used for anointing kings, but instead of the tiny dab we get at baptism, there is so much of this expensive oil that it flows down to the bottom hem of the clothing. What a mess. The metaphor conveys a sense of abundance and the messiness. Living together in harmony is not easy. It is messy AND in God’s dream for us, it is abundant.

Next the psalmist goes on to say that living together in unity is a blessing like dew in the mountains hundreds of miles away that overflows so much it can provide water in the desert. The unity of humankind ordained by God is described as oil and water – two things that don’t mix. Could they be Democrats and Republicans? Christians and Muslims? Rich and poor? What could we do at Grace Church in Muskogee to demonstrate how we actually live together in unity with each other and with the greater Muskogee community?

Our local newspaper carries articles every day on the front page about meth lab busts, growing marijuana in the garden, violent crime, and the decay of education. All of these things are signs of people living separate lives, apart from one another in dis-unity.

Could those of us sitting here provide a concrete antidote to the toxic front page news just one day a week for a year? Could we deliver fifty two examples of living together in unity? Can you imagine a weekly press release? “Grace Church builds community garden” “Grace Church creates basketball court” “Grace Church beautifies corner with rain garden and landscaping” “Grace Church restarts meals programs” “Grace Church launches new GED and ESL programs” “Grace Church Youth make a difference teaching others.” The heart of this parish has always reached out to the community, but could we actually organize and get others involved so that we make a difference right here in Muskogee? Could we put some good news on the front page just once a week for a year?

I must confess to you that I have recently written about plugging the holes in our programs so that Grace Church provides opportunities for all ages to get involved. If you look around, you can see there is plenty of room for more people to join us. But maybe this is the second place where churches lose their way. The first place is when churches emphasize words and thoughts over behavior. The second place is when the primary goal of church programs is to increase membership. Both of these practices are hypocritical and both are major reasons why the public stays away from churches.

I am suggesting that we return to a much more basic idea, an idea where the return on investment may not be an instant increase in church membership. I want to plant a seed in your hearts which is a song that Jesus must have sung as a child while doing chores with his mother. It is a very simple idea, and it is God’s dream for us. “How good and pleasant it is when people live together in unity.”

There is a strong caveat here. Living together in harmony does not necessarily mean doing things FOR other people in the sense of well-off people giving charity to the less fortunate. When we sit down to eat during Servings of Grace, we are living together. We may also have the mentally ill with us posing challenges. This is the messy part. God’s dream for humanity is not people of the same social and political class coming together to say a bunch of words on Sunday. God’s dream is messy where Christians and Muslims, gay people and straight people, rich and poor, black and white, and all kinds of different people are able to live together in harmony.

One day a week for a year; could we actually do it? Could we actually get on the front page of the local paper once a week with some good news for a change? I wonder.