Everyone is talking about money these days. The health care debate is as much about money as it is about medicine. Concerns about the large federal deficit dominate Congress and the media. State and local governments are desperately struggling to avoid default and the unemployment rate is creeping closer and closer to 10%, much higher in some places.

Money has been on my mind a lot lately as well. Like many of you, I'm concerned about personal and family finances. They occupy a lot of emotional energy (i.e. worry) these days.. And there are many people, perhaps many of you, who are facing the loss of jobs and all that goes with that - including the loss of medical insurance.

I am a pastor and so church finances have been on my mind a lot lately. In conversations with other clergy, many Christian congregations are facing deficit budgets, incurring additional debt, cutting pastoral salaries, and even laying off staff.  I imagine other faith communities are facing similar financial challenges.

So, there is a lot of concern, worry, and even fear around money in our families, our faith communities, and our society these days. Those concerns are driving a lot of the public discourse and they are affecting the quality of our lives. It seems to me that the fear is based, not on money per se, but on what money represents to us. In my experience, having enough money now holds the same meaning that, centuries ago, being able to provide food or defend your family against wild animals or hostile neighbors would have held. It represents safety, security, and empowerment in life. I know that it represents these things to me and that my fears tend to be located in feeling responsible for the well being of my family, my flock (church), and our future.

To top off all that general concern around money, one of this Sunday's lectionary scripture passages is the story of the rich young ruler. His problem was that he leaned on his money for security and approached his practice of faith with common sense. Jesus called him, and us, to lean on our faith for security and approach our use of money with common sense. It is that on which we lean for support that determines our ultimate values. I am struck by what a difficult and ongoing choice it is - individually, as faith communities, and as a culture -- to be guided by faith. We often make bad choices, at least I do. In my experience, continuing to make those choices that shape our ultimate values is challenging and can be an insidiously difficult process.

The good news is that the loving Spirit we call God keeps inviting us to reconsider and to choose a different vision of security. A friend told me recently that, while many of us claim to be following Jesus, few of us can describe what the back of his head looks like! Whether or not your journey is one of following Jesus by name, there is an invitation and an opportunity for all of us to follow his vision. In the current concerned climate around money and in the story of the rich, young ruler, we have an opportunity to choose again to lean on faith -- on our common humanity and the deep values of justice and compassion -- and to let that choice determine everything else.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price

Today's reflections are brief excerpts from my book Finding Faith. I am seeking publication currently and will let you know when it will be available.

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