Morning Meditation

September 17, 2026

Feast of Hildegard of Bingen

Ecclesiasticus 43:1–2, 4-12

The pride of the higher realms is the clear vault of the sky,

         as glorious to behold as the sight of the heavens.

The sun, when it appears, proclaims as it rises

         what a marvelous instrument it is, the work of the Most High.

Great is the Lord who made it;

         at his orders it hurries on its course.

It is the moon that marks the changing seasons,

         governing the times, their everlasting sign.

From the moon comes the sign for festal days,

         a light that wanes when it completes its course.

The new moon, as its name suggests, renews itself;

         how marvellous it is in this change,

a beacon to the hosts on high,

         shining in the vault of the heavens!

The glory of the stars is the beauty of heaven,

         a glittering array in the heights of the Lord.

On the orders of the Holy One they stand in their appointed places;

         they never relax in their watches.

Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;

         it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.

It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;

         the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

Meditation by Peter Vanderveen

What do you see when you look at this simple drawing? Is it a rabbit or a duck?

It could be either, depending on how your eyes read it. And no one could say that it is obviously one more than the other, or that someone is wrong for seeing a rabbit when you see a duck. (Or, interestingly, if you had never seen a rabbit or a duck, the drawing wouldn’t represent either). We see these lines as something, which is a necessary exercise in life. It’s how we make our way. Much of the work of understanding is gaining a certain picture that informs our actions.

Much of the discussion of faith in the last several centuries has been a very unfruitful debate between science and religion, with advocates on each side insisting that only one perspective or way of understanding is legitimate. Either the world must be reduced to the indifferent material processes we loosely call nature, or everything is to be attributed to the intentional directing of God, whose will, then, many presume to know. It’s one or the other. And each side claims power over how we live by decrying any different vision.

It’s like stomping one’s foot, demanding that the drawing above must be either a duck or a rabbit. It cannot be both. And most certainly, it cannot be left to our perceptions, that may well shift.

The verses from Ecclesiastes provide a picture that may not be our initial response to the sun and the moon and the stars (though, maybe, rainbows have retained a more mythic presence). We’ve become accustomed to thinking of these as little more than part of the system of nature that we have to try to manage for our own benefit. And, truth be told, we have, it seems, gained much from this perspective. (It only takes mentioning the word “climate”, however, to discover how fractured our understanding is.)

But there is something beautiful and refreshing about the view these verses provide. Here the world is given as the expression of God’s delight. It’s a gift of grace and glory that should evoke from us a wonder that cannot be brought under our control. There is a dimension to the world that speaks beyond us and, yet, daily, and monthly, and seasonally, and across the span of incomprehensible time, offers itself, intimately. Such verses make our lives richer. It’s good to see the world in this light. Duck or rabbit, the joy is in recognizing both.

Prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, Lord of lords and light of light, who art revealed in the unfathomable heavens and in the quiet of unhurried stars, let our restlessness find rest in thee. May our wills become obedient to thy greater will, so that we may move, as the stars move, in the orbit of eternity; and without confusion and without haste, but with shining steadfastness, go on our appointed ways; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

View as Webpage