Three Holy Men and a Bear
>
>A priest, a Pentecostal preacher, and a rabbi all served as
>chaplains to the students of Northern Michigan University in
>Marquette. They would get together two or three times a week
>for coffee and to talk shop.
>
>One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people
>isn't really all that hard. A real challenge would be to
>preach to a bear. One thing led to another, and they decided
>to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods,
>find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.
>
>Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their
>experience.
>
>Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on
>crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs,
>went first. "Well," he said, "I went into the woods to find
>me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from
>the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me
>and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy
>water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became
>as gentle as a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to
>give him first communion and confirmation."
>
>Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had
>one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip. In his
>best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he claimed, "WELL,
>brothers, you KNOW that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I
>FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from
>God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
>So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled
>down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to
>a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy
>soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb.
>We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus."
>
>The priest and the reverend both looked down at the rabbi,
>who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and
>traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He
>was in really bad shape. The Rabbi looked up and said,
>"Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best
>way to start."
>
>A priest, a Pentecostal preacher, and a rabbi all served as
>chaplains to the students of Northern Michigan University in
>Marquette. They would get together two or three times a week
>for coffee and to talk shop.
>
>One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people
>isn't really all that hard. A real challenge would be to
>preach to a bear. One thing led to another, and they decided
>to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods,
>find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.
>
>Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their
>experience.
>
>Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on
>crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs,
>went first. "Well," he said, "I went into the woods to find
>me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from
>the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me
>and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy
>water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became
>as gentle as a lamb. The bishop is coming out next week to
>give him first communion and confirmation."
>
>Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had
>one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip. In his
>best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he claimed, "WELL,
>brothers, you KNOW that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I
>FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from
>God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
>So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled
>down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to
>a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy
>soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb.
>We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus."
>
>The priest and the reverend both looked down at the rabbi,
>who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and
>traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He
>was in really bad shape. The Rabbi looked up and said,
>"Looking back on it, circumcision may not have been the best
>way to start."