July 16, 2026

As human beings, we have all kinds of fears about emotional and physical survival and well-being. Often these fears begin in childhood with a neglectful parent, a traumatic move, the loss of a family member, bullying at school, illness, poverty, abandonment, and so on. As we grow older, we wish the fear would be healed and go away, but it never completely leaves us. Instead, we can become aware of the fear and examine it so it has less grip on us. We continue to grow around it.

It is like the burl on a tree that forms in response to stress or incursion. The tree responds by forming extra cells to surround the irritant, then keeps adding rings around it. This forms a beautiful shape in the wood that is highly sought after by woodworkers.  We can be the same in how we grow around our wounds and fears.  God sees each person as beautiful—fears, burls and all. Although a human being may leave you if you no longer please them, God will never leave you. God is always present for us.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus imparts an important teaching about rest. He says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.”  In this stressed out world, Jesus gives us this secret of finding rest, which is to be simple, humble, and not striving for ambition. Jesus was criticized by the Jewish leaders for hanging out with lower class people like prostitutes, tax collectors, and the poor. He was not a snob, and he was not trying to be an important person in the social hierarchy. He was just being present for people who needed him while he transmitted the teachings about the kingdom of God.

When we are not sure how to find rest, we can contemplate this: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Amen.