See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. – Isaiah 52:13

Today's Scripture Reading (October 31, 2026): Isaiah 52

On November 11, 1843, Danish poet and author Hans Christian Anderson first published his fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling. The tale is a barnyard story about a misfit bird who is unlike the other birds. Because of the differences between this bird and all of the other birds, the misfit is abused by the other animals in the barnyard. In the story, the bird is chased from the barnyard and decides to live with the wild ducks and geese. However, even here in the forest, the torment that started in the barnyard continued. So, the Ugly Duckling moves on to find a home with an older woman, but her cat and hen continue the merciless teasing. So, once more, the duckling leaves. The duckling encounters a migrating flock of swans and is impressed by their beauty and majesty, but he is too small and too young to fly with them, so he wanders off again. A farmer finally finds the duckling cold and dying and brings it home, but the children are noisy, and the duckling is easily frightened, so he runs away again. That winter is miserable for the duckling, but he survives on what he can find to eat and hides in a cave for most of it. When spring arrives once more, he is confronted by the returning flock of swans. Lonely and tired, the duckling decides to join the swans, thinking it would be better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to spend the rest of his days alone. However, to his surprise, the swans do not kill him; instead, they accept him into their group without question. The duckling is bewildered until he sees his reflection in the pond and realizes he has grown into a beautiful swan. The story is often used to encourage children who are teased by their peers as a reminder that there is something special in them as well. Each of us harbors a swan inside, waiting to be released.

This verse starts a new prophecy for Isaiah. We know it as the "Suffering Servant" passage. Composed about 500 years before Christ's birth, it has been almost universally accepted as telling the story of Jesus. The passage talks about Jesus being beaten and mocked. It describes Jesus's humility; nothing in his appearance commended him to us. The "Suffering Servant" begins with this reminder: the Suffering Servant would do all that was asked of him, and in the end, he would not just be lifted up, but highly exalted. The one we could, for a while, find no beauty in would one day be the most beautiful sight the world could imagine.

The baby, born in a manger and born to die for the sins of the world, will one day be placed back on the throne of heaven to reign over all creation. In the end, the Bible says Jesus's story is the real tale of the Ugly Duckling, the Savior of the world who became like us and was abused by us, all to save us. And that is the real mystery of the incarnation and Christian life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53