Snakes!

One time, in a discussion of what issues are secondary among Christians, one wag volunteered, “Snakes.” Said discussion was in North Carolina, not too far from snake-handling churches, so we knew what he was talking about.

But it turns out snakes are not just a backwoods Pentecostal thing. Even Cartholicks get into them.

Now my parish has its very own Anglican snake-handler. He was involved in some outdoor work when he and his cohorts came upon and killed a rattlesnake. Being the curious sort, he picked up the head after it was dead to check it out. And it bit him on the finger.

Now I’m not making that up. Anyone who has accidentally run over a snake with a mower as I have will notice that freshly dead snakes have amazing reflex action.

Another thing about snakes is that an adult snake will have some control over how much venom he releases, but not a dead snake. So our Anglican snake-handling friend got a full dose. He was in bad shape for a while. But God answered prayers and he’s doing well and working. But he probably will have to have surgery to replace the skin the venom dissolved on his finger.

I hope you enjoyed this post over a pleasant meal.