More on today's devotional

In my previous entry, I gave a brief description of the series of devotionals I wrote which are currently being featured at Ordinary Time. Here, I will write more about the devotional which was "published" this morning.

The meditation is written in response to Mark 10:17-31, in which the rich man approaches Jesus and asks how to obtain eternal life. This meditation is one of several I wrote as a fill-in, with a deadline looming, and it's one of the few I think shows the stress.

There is a great deal of "thinking out loud" which occurs in the essay. I frequently use the word "Perhaps" and similar modifiers. I first suggest that the rich man is observing the first five of the Ten Commandments, which have to do with our relationship with God; then I suggest that he isn't.

Perhaps most radical is the end of the essay, in which I suggest the consequences of taking Jesus' words seriously: we'd reduce the military budget. I suggest we falsely assume that our affluence reflects God's favor for our nation.

Mother Sarah Dylan draws similar political conclusions from the same passage. But, her essay is more straight-forward and seems to me to be better written.

My essay may not be the worst thing written, or even the worst essay included in the Ordinary Time collection. I'm still too close to judge that question. It is mildly embarassing to have the essay "out there" with its stays and braces showing.