"Welcome!" said a mature oak that was growing quite heartily just a few feet away, "How does it feel to finally emerge from the ground and grow into who you are?"

"Actually," said the sapling, "I'm scared to death! I've never seen this place before! Where am I going to get food? Where do I get a drink around here? What if the sun doesn't come out? What if a big wind comes and blows me over?"

"Oh you saplings are all the same, so worried, so stressed out," chuckled the big oak tree, "The sun will rise, the water will come, and I am right next to you to protect you."

"Oh yeah?," said the sapling, "And why should I trust you?"

"Well, as you can tell, I've been around for a while and in my experience, things always work out. Plus, it may not look like it but you're actually my son. I made you from me. And I've planted deep in your heart an intuition, to assure you that you're on the right path. So trust in that."

"Well, now that you put it that way, do you have any sunscreen?"

Our worries about our survival may not be shared by trees, but they have been shared by all of us down though the ages, most certainly by the Holy Family, whom we meet in this Sunday's Gospel.

Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph find themselves in mortal danger as they face death threats from none other than the mighty King Herod. What should they do? Where should they go? 

God provides for this family in a rather unorthodox, but effective way, by sending Joseph dreams, which he readily heeds. It's as if God was telling them, "Don't worry, I've got this covered, just follow my gentle guidance, follow the intuition that I've planted deep in your hearts, and things will work out."

Friends, faced with huge fears of our own, God invites us to trust that intuition, awakened at our baptisms and strengthened as we follow Jesus more intentionally, that God knows what we're facing, God is right beside us through it all, and will guide us along the right path.

Our job is to walk closely with Jesus in this confidence, this trust, this faith, that God is right here always.