28 July 2010
Posted in
Week Of July 26, 2010
Read Verse
Theme
We need to be reborn.
One-Liners
Being reborn is the best kept secret other than the location of the Chelsea Clinton wedding.
You don't need a doctor to be reborn – just a few Christians.
Anecdote
A Boston minister was about to perform the sacrament of infant baptism. The proud parents came forward and presented their infant daughter to the minister, who took the child in his arms, turned toward the front, and suddenly realized he didn't know the child's name. He turned to the father and whispered, "What is the child's name?" The father replied in a whisper, "Spindonna." The minister thought this was a rather unusual name, but went ahead with the ritual, saying, "Spindonna, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." The father became furious and the mother burst into tears. They took their baby back and stormed out of the sanctuary. After the service, the couple was waiting in the minister's study. The father glared at the pastor, saying "How could you give our child such a ridiculous name?" The pastor looked at the man in disbelief. "I didn't make it up. You did! I asked you what her name is and you said 'Spindonna.' " The father said, "You idiot, I told you that it's pinned on her!" (In New England, of course, this is said, "Spindonna.") The father then showed the minister a small note with the name Elizabeth, pinned to the baby's baptism dress.
Illustration
In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.
Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits - his behaviors - were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person.”
