Spreading The Message
IllustrationStoryAnalogy★★★★A Roman Catholic archbishop, four priests, and six nuns were in prison in a province of southern China. They sent messages to each other by tapping on the walls of the cell in a code that they had devised themselves. In this way a message could be sent up the line of cells. However, one priest died and was replaced by a new prisoner who didn’t know English or the code. A message would come as far as his cell and then stop. He eventually realized that the knocking meant something, and, even though he didn’t know the meaning of the message, he knew it was important, so he repeated the knocking and the message continued.
The point
Imprisoned clergy passed messages through cell walls via morse code; a new prisoner who didn't know the code still relayed it because he sensed its importance.