Manute Bol's Radical Christianity

JOURNALISTS use the terms "redemption" and "atonement," fairly loosely. But for Manute Bol, who died last week, these terms had a real theological meaning, a meaning that translated into a single-minded life for Christ. Here's a nice Wall Street Journal piece my wife sent me.

In the Bleak Midwinter

It is cold and I am injured...and Christ is Born!

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In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti

1. In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

2. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

3. Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

4. Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

5. What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

Sources of Orthodox Tradition

Fr. James Coles has started a really nice series of posts on the sources of the Orthodox Christian Tradition. Really, really worth following, if you ask me.