You may have heard about the man whose dog became very ill. He brings the dog to a veterinarian. After a few minutes in the examining room, the vet comes out and declares that the dog is dead. The dog's owner - overcome by grief - cannot accept the news. He asks the doctor for a second opinion.

The vet goes into a back room and brings out a cat. The cat jumps on the dog, walks back and forth over him, sniffing and poking with its paw. After a few moments, the cat looks up at the vet and meows. The vet says, "I'm sorry, but the cat thinks your dog is dead, too."

Still, the man can't accept it. He asks for a third opinion. The doctor goes into the back room and brings out a beautiful black Labrador Retriever. The Lab paces back and forth, sniffing the other dog. Then, it looks up at the vet, shakes its head, and barks. "I'm sorry," the vet says to the distraught owner, "but the Retriever thinks your dog is dead, too."

The man has no choice now but to accept the news. He says to the vet, "How much do I owe you?" The vet answers, "Six hundred and fifty dollars."

"Six HUNDRED and fifty dollars?" the man gasps. "Six hundred and fifty dollars just to tell me my dog is dead?"

The vet says, "Well, my fee is only $50. The six hundred is for the cat scan and the lab tests."

I want to welcome you to the second Sunday of Easter! And as we gather together this morning, still basking in the joy of Jesus' resurrection, I want to put before you the thought that the time has come to move beyond the general diagnosis of Easter, and to begin some more serious testing of its claims.

And the challenge I invite you to this morning is found in a question that goes something like this, "Christ is risen, but so WHAT? What does the resurrection have to do with US? What are the practical applications of the Easter experience?"

Too much religion today is religion of the mind. For many Christians, what you believe is far more important than whether that belief has even a single shred of practical value. This is why, here in the bible belt, where we believe the bible teaches high standards of sexual responsibility, the teenage pregnancy rate is higher than anywhere else in the nation. We believe something, but our belief doesn't really mean anything in terms of how we live. This is why, according to a recent study by the Barna research group, the divorce rate among those identifying themselves as born-again Christians is actually higher than among non-Christians! We believe, but our belief obviously doesn't mean diddlysquat in terms of the practice of marital relationships. And I'm convinced that the Kingdom of God will be greatly impeded in its fulfillment until we Christians find some practical diddlysquat to go along with what we believe.

I'm delighted that some of Sandy's family is visiting with us this week. It's been fun to reminisce a bit, and some of the best and most joyful memories we have surround Sandy and Ida and Don's mother - Eva. A good many years before she passed away, Eva suffered a very serious stroke. This was in the days before modern diagnostic techniques, clot-busting or bleed-stopping medications, and the incredible advances in rehabilitation. So Eva survived her stroke, but she was left severely paralyzed on her left side. Needless to say, this restricted Eva's mobility, and she was very dependent upon her husband, Jim. He was a signal maintainer for the PennCentral Railroad who worked long hours every day. This meant that about all Jim could do when he left the house to go to work was to help Eva into a chair at the kitchen table. There, she had her Kleenex and a wastebasket into which to toss them. There she had her cigarettes and lighter, and all the necessary supplies for the day. And there she would sit all day long, just looking out the window.

Now Eva had a sister who was a devout Catholic. Her sister, at one point, began supplying Eva with Holy Water hoping that, if Eva rubbed the water on her left side, she might be healed. And clearly, Eva believed this was possible because she went through Holy Water almost faster than her sister could keep her supplied. We all thought, what a wonderful display of faith!

That is, until we discovered why Eva was using so much Holy Water. You see, sitting there in her chair at the kitchen table, looking out the window all day, Eva would begin to crave a smoke. And so she would put a cigarette between her lips, and while it balanced very precariously there, Eva would then take the lighter in her one good hand, fumble with the cover, turn the sparkwheel until she got ignition, and then light up. But unfortunately, sometimes all those motor movements would not mesh together and the freshly lit cigarette would fall from her lips…and tumble…into the Kleenex-filled wastebasket!

And that's what she used the Holy Water for! To put out the fire!

So if you tell me that you believe in Holy Water, I say to you, "Show me the fire you put out with it!" In other words, what are the practical applications of what you believe?

But let me ask you a question about something much more important than Holy Water. Do you believe Jesus is risen from the dead? If so, what are you doing with it? What are the practical implications of the resurrection for your life?

Come with me now, and let's seek an answer to that question by doing a careful analysis of today's Gospel reading from John 20.

John picks up the resurrection story on that first Easter night. The dawn of morning, abounding with hopeful rumors of resurrection, has now given way to the dark uncertainty of night. The followers of Jesus gather in the upper room where they had shared the Passover a few nights earlier. And John reveals five important things about this company of people in the room that night.

First, it is clear that they are living with great and painful fear. Their Master is no longer with them - despite the rumors. Emblazoned in their memory is the sight of him being cruelly executed on a Roman cross. And not only that, but that very same day, one of their best friends had gone out and committed suicide. John tells us these followers are afraid, and we can well understand why. Two weeks earlier, they were on the cover of Time Magazine, being touted as the "Movement of the Millenium." Now they are nobody, despised by all, and soon, they will probably be dead just like Jesus and Judas. They are afraid.

Second, John tells us they are hiding. That's what happens to people when we experience tragedies and losses. We turn inward. We don't want to face up to a future without the one we love. We don't want to face the future with the pain we have. John says they've locked the doors to the upper room and are in hiding from life.

Third, the disciples, I think, are angry with each other. When Jesus shows up, he speaks to them about forgiveness as if there are deep resentments that must be resolved. How do you think they feel about Peter who once claimed to have more faith than any of them, but who actually denied Jesus three times when push came to shove? And how do you think they react to James and John who walked with Jesus toward the cross talking about which of them would get to be Jesus' right-hand man in the coming Kingdom of God? How do you think the women feel about the men who - almost to a man - deserted them at the foot of the cross and left them to take down Jesus' body for burial? And, of course, Mark has already told us that the disciples think the women's report of a resurrection is just the fanciful fantasy of a few foolish females who watch too many soap operas on TV. These are people who are severely irritated with each other.

Fourth, John tells us some of them don't believe in the resurrection. In fact, the disciple Thomas virtually screams out that he is never going to believe anything about Jesus again unless he sees for himself the nail prints in his hands and feet. You see, the death of Jesus had the effect of turning some disciples toward a kind of angry atheism.

Do you get the picture? Paralyzed by fear. Lost in grief. Bitterly angry. Defiantly doubtful.

This is the portrait we are given of the first Christian church.

Now, based on how we measure churches today, this doesn't look very good. I'm not sure I'd want to serve a church like that, and I'm pretty certain you wouldn't want to attend a church like that. They seem to be all the things a church shouldn't be - full of unresolved hurt, full of fear about the future, full of broken relationships, full of doubt. By our standards, they didn't stand a chance.

Except for one thing. The fifth thing John tells us about these disciples. And this particular thing is one of those things that's a key to the practical power of the resurrection of Jesus. If you want to know the power of the resurrection - and its ability to help us deal with our fear, our grief, our bitterness, and our doubt - then this is what you need to incorporate into your life.

John writes, "On the evening of that first day of the week… the disciples were TOGETHER…"

Earlier in the service, you may have found yourself wondering what Psalm 133 - which Steve Nash read for us - has to do with Easter. Well, just a few lines long, this psalm extols the power of people dwelling together in the name of God. The psalmist equates the joy of togetherness with the joy of Aaron's ordination to the priesthood, one of the most significant events in the religious memory of Israel. Can you imagine that? More powerful and wonderful than the crossing of the Red Sea or any of the other Old Testament miracles is the experience of the people's togetherness! Then the psalmist lifts the idea of togetherness up to the heights of Mt. Zion where God's Kingdom will one day be enthroned. And the psalmist declares togetherness as one of the most beautiful characteristics of the eternal kingdom that will be established there!

What an amazing thing! They were scared to death about the future, but they were together! They wanted to stick their heads in the sand and hide from life, but they were together! They hated each other's guts, but even so, they were together! Some of them no longer believed and had more doubt than faith, but still, they were together!

And, as they were together in those days following Easter, something miraculous happened! Jesus himself came and stood among them. "Peace be with you!" he said. And they received power to face their fears, and to positively engage life, and to work through their disagreements and grudges, and to freely explore their doubts in search of faith.

By being together, they found the power to move ahead as the people of God.

And you say you believe in the resurrection? Then how are you being together with others in Jesus' name?

Following World War II, Clarence Jordan, that marvelous saint whose vision created the experimental integrated community called Koinonia Farm, was asked what he would do if he were a Christian in Germany during Hitler’s reign. What would he do if he were hiding Jews in his home, and German soldiers banged on his door? Clarence replied: "If you were a Christian in Germany during those times and you knew what was happening to the Jews, and you waited to make a decision until the soldiers came and banged on your door, then I would question your commitment. The loving thing to do would have been to put the Star of David on your own arm and get in the concentration camp with the Jews."

That's an illustration of what it means to practice the ministry of being together.

My boyhood pastor, George Seale, used to stop his car on the side of Lincoln Street on some cold winter nights to let the neighborhood derelict sit down and get warm. George would sit with the man for an hour or so, with the heater on full blast, sharing a cup of hot coffee. They'd talk for a while about life, and their families, and about God. Years later, when George Seale died, who showed up at the calling hours but the old derelict - now sober - and remembering that togetherness as the beginning of his healing.

That's the ministry of being together.

And I like the church that put up a prominent sign out by the highway that simply said, "Doubters Welcome! Bring Your Questions!"

I dare say that church knows something about the call to be together - even with those who've lost or can't find their faith.

Among many other wonderful things, Easter is the resurrection of together!

So, how will you practice it in your life? Who are some of the people with whom you need to be together in some creative way? And how will we embrace togetherness as a church? Who are some of the people and groups we need to embrace in Christian togetherness?

If you believe in the resurrection, then there's something practical you must do. You must commit yourself to being together with others, and to bringing others together!

For when we do, Jesus' promise is fulfilled. Wherever two or more are gathered in his name, Jesus comes and stands among them. And miracles begin to happen, and lives are transformed!

Friends, go into the world this week, and make something happen with Easter! Go and be together, go and bring together the people God loves, and for whom he sent his only begotten Son.

Amen.