Brother Sun, Sister Moon
Word From Wiese
October 7, 2026
I hear some of you call your good friends “brother” or “sister.”
But how about Brother Sun? Or Sister Moon? Is this a carry-over from the Woodstock era 57 years ago? No, they’re terms from about 800 years ago!
You’ve probably heard of the Christian who spoke to creation this way: Francis of Assisi, (of beautiful Italy, which our COS Faith, Food, & Wine Tour Group will visit this June—so join us!) Last night’s Blessing of the Animals is always held around his Feast Day, October 4, the anniversary of his death, in honor of St. Francis’s deep love of God’s created universe.
Furthermore, in worship last week, our opening hymn, which Larry Peterson chose, All Creatures, Worship God Most High! (ELW Hymn 835), uses text from Assisi’s famous medieval poem, The Canticle of Brother Sun.
I was tempted to share the profound Prayer of St. Francis, but most of you already know that. So, in case you’ve never had the delight of reading his Canticle of Brother Sun, here it is:
Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.
To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.
Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
Especially through my lord Brother Sun,
Who brings the day, and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.
Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
In the heavens you have made them, precious and beautiful.
Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
And clouds and storms, and all the weather,
Through which you give your creatures sustenance.
Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Water;
She is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.
Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
Through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.
Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
Who feeds us and rules us
And produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.
Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you,
Through those who endure sickness and trial.
Happy those who endure in peace, for by you, Most High, they will be crowned.
Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
From whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your most holy will.
The second death can do no harm to them.
Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks, and serve him with great humility.
How about you, today?
How do you see God flowing through creation?
As a young man, Francis dreamed of becoming a knight. But after war, imprisonment, and a growing spiritual restlessness, Francis began seeing God not in the struggle for power, but in the beauty of creation and the simplicity of caring for his neighbor.
At our staff retreat on Monday at Callaway Garden, after a visit to the astounding Butterfly House, we chatted about how the Holy Spirit’s activity might be seen in a butterfly. What lessons and what uplift does God hold for us in creation?
While you consider how God’s glory and your delight can be seen in the creation around us, let me spend a few final paragraphs in this WFW featuring some amazing attributes of our fellow creatures:
1. Octopuses have three hearts.
Two pump blood through the gills, while the third pumps it through the rest of the body. Even more wonderfully strange: when an octopus swims, its main heart actually stops beating.
2. Bees can communicate through dancing.
A honeybee can perform a “waggle dance” that tells other bees approximately where food is located, including its direction and distance from the hive.
3. Sharks are older than trees.
The earliest sharks appeared more than 400 million years ago, while the first recognizable forests appeared later. Sharks have therefore been swimming in Earth’s oceans for an astonishingly long time.
4. Ants are farmers.
Leafcutter ants don’t actually eat the leaves they carry home. They use the leaves to cultivate fungus, which they then eat. They’ve been practicing this form of agriculture for millions of years.
5. Life is unbelievably interconnected.
Perhaps the most amazing fact of all: the oxygen you breathe, the food we eat, the soil beneath our feet, the insects pollinating plants, the fungi recycling dead material, and the microorganisms living around and inside us are all parts of God’s wonderfully interconnected ecological system.
This last fun fact is the heart of Francis’s spirituality.
I hope we can be like St. Francis, who didn’t simply look at creation, but looked through creation toward its Creator.
All the dogs, cats, bunnies, birds, gerbils, and snakes at our Blessing of the Animals last night…and the wider entirety of Earth’s creatures…are all dependent upon God and all proclaim something about God’s goodness.
So maybe “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon” are not just terms for “far-out,” Woodstock-type occasions. Maybe they’re terms you and I might use along with St. Francis.
With him, maybe we can wake up in the morning and think: “I am surrounded by gifts I did not make and cannot fully explain, and today I get to participate in God’s creation!”
Questions for Reflection
- What part of creation is helping you notice God today?
- Where might God be inviting you to care for creation or your neighbor?
In Christ’s hope,
Pastor Fritz
Let us pray:
Loving God, open our eyes to the wonder of your creation. Help us to see your goodness in the sun, moon, water, animals, plants, and people who surround us. Give us the humility of St. Francis to receive your gifts with gratitude and to care for all that you have made. And remind us that we are not merely part-time observers of your creation, but participants in your ongoing work of love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
