Zulcucus, the lawgiver of the Locrians decreed that anyone found guilty of adultery was to have both of their eyes removed. When it was discovered that his own son was guilty of the crime and brought up before the lawgiver, Zulcucus interceded and fulfilled the law by stating that one of the boy's eyes would indeed be removed... and then one of his own.

DOCTOR OPERATES ON HIMSELF Paul Harvey, More of Paul Harvey's The Rest of The Story pp. 79 and 80.

February 15, 1921. New York City. The operating room of the Kane Summit Hospital. A doctor is performing an appendectomy.

In many ways the events leading to the surgery are uneventful. The patient has complained of severe abdominal pain. The diagnosis is clear: an inflamed appendix. Dr. Evan O'Neill Kane is performing the surgery. In his distinguished 37 year career, he has performed nearly 4000 appendectomies, so this surgery will be uneventful in all ways except two.

The 1st novelty of this operation? The use of local anesthesia in major surgery. Dr. Kane is a crusader against the hazards of general anesthesia. He contends that a local application is far safer. Many of his colleagues agree with him in principle, but in order for them to agree in practice, they will have to see the theory applied.

Dr. Kane searches for a volunteer, a patient who is willing to undergo surgery while under local anesthesia. A volunteer is not easily found. Many are squeamish at the thought of being awake during their own surgery. Others are fearful that the anesthesia might wear off too soon.

Eventually, however, Dr. Kane finds a candidate. On Tuesday morning, February 15, the historic operation occurs. The patient is prepped and wheeled into the operating room. The local anesthetic is applied. As he has done thousands of times, Dr. Kane dissects the superficial tissues and locates the appendix. He skillfully excises it and concludes the surgery. During the surgery the patient complains of only minor discomfort.

The volunteer is taken to post-op, then placed in a hospital ward. He recovers quickly and is dismissed only two days later.

Dr. Kane had proven his theory. Thanks to the willingness of a brave volunteer, Kane demonstrated that local anesthesia was a viable, and even preferable alternative.

But I said there were 2 facts that made the surgery unique. I've told you the first: the use of local anesthesia. The second is the patient. The courageous candidate for the surgery by Dr. Kane was Dr. Kane. To prove his point, Dr. Kane operated on himself.

EXPENSIVE HOLE IN ONE R.Digest 10/96 p. 149

When Noriaki Yamashita's tee shot fell softly toward the 15th green at the Abiko Golf Club, bounced twice, then plopped into the cup for a hole in one, he knew that "something terrible had happened."

To many, a hole in one is golf's ultimate prize, but the Japanese call it an "arubatorosu" - an albatross. Those who score an ace are required by custom to buy drinks, dinner and other presents for club members and friends, all of which can easily add up to $10,000 or more.

That's why the Japanese have hole in one insurance. Almost 4 million golfers in Japan spend more than $210 million a year on policies to guard against the perfect tee shot, as well as damage or injuries caused by errant strokes.

The Japanese believe those who receive good fortune have an obligation to share. So when Yamashita scored the first ace of his life more than a year ago, he spent $13,000 on golf shoes, golf bags, sports towels, dinner and drinks for his friends - considerably more than the $5000 of insurance he carried. To guard against further good luck, he doubled his coverage.

Good thing. Less than a year later he hit another perfect 5 iron on the 15th hole. This time his insurance covered everything. - Kevin Sullivan in Washington Post

GIVING ARM FOR FRANCE -- William Barclay, Gospel of John

It is told that in the First World War there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed that it had to be amputated. He was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and the surgeon was grieved that he must go through life maimed. So he waited beside his bedside to tell him the bad news when he recovered consciousness. When the lad's eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it; I gave it -- for France."

Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free. Apart from any divine power he might have called in, it is quite clear that to the end he could have turned back and saved his life. He did not lose his life; he gave it. The Cross was not thrust upon him; he willingly accepted it -- for us.

LOVE UNENDING in Dale Rabinaeu's paper 7,24,90

In his book, "Written in Blood," Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from 2 years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked.

Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister."

Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room, nary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned.

As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny's smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube.

With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence, "Doctor, when do I die?"

Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he'd agreed to donate his blood. He'd thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he'd made his great decision.

Johnny, fortunately, didn't have to die to save his sister. Each of us, however, has a condition more serious than Mary's and it required Jesus to give not just his blood but his life. (John 15:13)

THE CROSS ISN'T FOR SALE POEM by Max Lucado

"Lord," I said, "I want to be your man, not my own

So to you I give my money, my car - even my home"

Then, smug and content, I relaxed with a smile

And whispered to God, "I bet it's been a while,

Since anyone has given so much - so freely?"

His answer surprised me. He replied, "Not really."

"Not a day has gone by since the beginning of time,

That someone hasn't offered meager nickels and dimes,

Golden altars and crosses, contributions and penance

Stone monuments and steeples; but why not repentance?

"Your lips know no prayers. Your eyes no compassion.

But you will go to church (when church going's in fashion)

"Just give me a tear - a heart ready to mold.

And I'll give you a mission, a message so bold -

That a fire will be stirred where there was only death,

And your heart will be flamed by my life and my breath."

I stuck my hands in my pockets and kicked at the dirt.

It's tough to be corrected (I guess my feelings were hurt).

But it was worth the struggle to realize the thought.

That the cross isn't for sale and Christ's blood can't be bought.

VALENTINE'S DAY Newsletter Newsletter February 1993

In 496, a pope by the name of Gelasius tried to bring a spiritual dimension to the happy pagan festivities of the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia by creating a feast day honoring 2 early Christian martyrs, both named Valentine.

The first Saint Valentine was a priest who was executed in 269 for helping persecuted Christians. Ironically, he was beheaded at the site of an ancient altar to Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, who, along with her male counterpart, Pan, the god of nature, was honored by the feast of Lupercalia. Three years later, the second Saint Valentine lost his head for bringing a Roman family to Christ.

Ultimately, Christianity survived the persecution, but Gelasius' well intentioned attempt to change the festival of Lupercalia to St. Valentine's Day was less successful; the sentimental meaning of the earlier heathen rite remained, albeit with a new name. Some things are just too much fun to get serious about.

At 1st blush, one might ask what 2 martyred clerics named Valentine have to say about love. The answer is: plenty. For one thing, they understood a dimension of love that is all too often missing in our modern day relationships, namely sacrifice. Our Lord, who established the standard of love by the gift of His own life, tells us that there is no greater exhibition of love than the voluntary giving of the supreme sacrifice for others. Wow! That's kind of heavy for a happy hedonist.

"There's no woman so valued that I'd die for her," you say, or "no man is worth my life," you argue? Yet, the message from those 1st Valentines is that love costs, that it is more than a sentimental journey focused on desire, that it is an active, beneficent, selfless and sometimes sacrificial concern for the well being of the one loved. - Roger W. Turnau

Charles Dickens's "Tale of Two Cities" presents a classic illustration of John 15:13. Set during the French Revolution, it is the story of two friends, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a young Frenchman who has been thrown in a dungeon to await the guillotine. Carton is a wasted English lawyer whose life has been one of careless reprobation.

In a beautiful allegory of Christ's atonement for us, Carton slips into the dungeon and exchanges clothes with the prisoner, allowing Darnay to escape. The next morning, Sydney Carton makes his way up the steps that lead to the guillotine. His final words are triumphant:

"I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy, in that England which I shall see no more -- it is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

That is true friendship. That is the love Jesus demonstrated to His disciples -- and offers to you and me (Rom. 5:8). No wonder the hymn says, "What a friend we have in Jesus."