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. When I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism but 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 the Baptist 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 exclaimed, "WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists 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. Just like you said, Flannery, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus. HALLELUJAH!
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, lying in a hospital bed, 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, it may not have been best to have started with circumcision."
