Comfort from the Morning Star

O come O bright and morning star

And bring us comfort from afar
Dispel the shadows of the night

And turn our darkness into light

About 7000 light years from earth, within the Eagle Nebula, there exists a formation known as the Pillars of Creation. The Pillars, comprised of dust and gas, exist in a star forming region. About four to five light years tall, the pillars hide within their midst new born stars. A scientist, describing the formation, pointed out that to the right of the Pillars, there were some faint red dots; a star nursery populated by baby stars that had not yet begun burning their hydrogen. This was the image that helped me to fall in love with deep space, and to imagine the God who continues the work of creation in deep space, far from our small blue planet.

There is something about photos from deep space that create a yearning in me, an unfillable longing that makes me wish that I could see in person what I can only view from my computer screen. I don’t just want to see what God creates; I have a deep desire to see God at work in the process. That is foolish, I know, but I can’t help wishing it could be so.

As I think about the grandeur of deep space, I find myself wondering where and how the planet earth figures into God’s big picture. Earth seems small and insignificant when considered against the backdrop of the cosmos. Yet earth is what we know best. It is home. It is filled with all kinds of life, plant and animal. But the earth has been tended poorly, and it is suffering.

And we humans are suffering too. There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon due to new vaccines to fight Covid19, but many people are ill and thousands of people have died around the globe. There is unemployment and underemployment. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Eventually we will emerge from our homes into an uncharted future. I find myself wondering about God’s creating and redeeming work in the world; and how God wants to work in all of us, over the long haul. Maybe part of what God wants us to do is to look up and outside of ourselves, and at the stars of the sky at night, and to recognize how small we are and how much we need each other.

I am reminded of the importance of the Morning Star, and how it stands as a symbol of hope during challenging times.

During the month of December, the morning star is the last star to disappear, before the dawn of a new day. For me, it represents is a kind of foreshadowing of the light of the sun that will soon arrive, driving away the shadows of the night.

It is interesting for me to note that the morning star is not a star at all, but a planet, Venus. It shines by reflecting the light of the sun. It has no light in and of itself. I am reminded of my own call, as a child of God, to reflect the love of God to all I encounter, knowing that I can only share what I have been given by God.

I am also reminded that in order to seek comfort, I need to look up and beyond myself to find it. The God who has created and is creating gives us beauty to see the handiwork of God in the night sky.

I smile as I remember the star nursery, and of those baby stars who have not yet begun burning their hydrogen. Are we, as human beings so very different? Maybe I cannot see what God is creating because God is in the process of recreating me and everyone else so that we become the people God intended us to become? Is it possible that the challenges of 2020 will be used so that we can grow in the fullness of our humanity, fulfilling the potential God has placed in each one of us?

Jackie Linden-Schade
Spiritual Director
RH Author