Art Reading Scripture

Frederiksborg Castle, Hillrod, Denmark

Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4

The image of the swan on the ceiling at Frederiksborg Castle in Demark is not a significant work of art. One might barely notice it amidst the glorious rooms, furnishings and other paintings that adorn the castle. The swan is a traditional image of the reformer Martin Luther. That story says that a hundred years before Luther, Jan Hus (Hus means "goose") also sought reformation of the church, but ended up being excommunicated and burned at the stake. When asked to recant his words, he said, "You are now going to burn a goose, but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast or boil." Luther was portrayed as the swan prophesied by the goose. Denmark, being a Lutheran country, may have included such symbolism in its royal palaces. I do not know why I took the picture, but maybe it reminded me of the Parable of the Ugly Duckling by Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson.

A mother duck hatched out a brood of ducklings, but one egg, larger than the rest remained. Other ducks warned her it was a turkey egg and she should abandon it The mother stayed until the egg hatched. What emerged was not a turkey but it was uglier than any duckling she had seen. The other animals in the duck yard on the farm laughed at it pestered it, called it names, and bit it. It was different. Not normal. The mother tried to protect it, believing that it would one day become a beautiful, normal duck. Still, the others mistreated it until it finally fled to live alone in a nearby marsh. It truly believed everything the others had said about it, that it was worthless and ugly. In the marsh one day it saw the most beautiful, majestic, royal birds it had ever seen. They were swans. It dared not go near them. Much later it saw them again. Having endured being alone through a long winter and desiring to be near them it approached them. Sure it would be rejected, laughed at and perhaps even beaten for the audacity to approach such pure creatures, it swam with its head down in shame towards them. Surprisingly the swans welcomed it. It looked into the water and saw for the first time its reflection. It was not an ugly duckling, but a swan. Hans Christian Anderson remarks, "It matters nothing if one is born in a duck yard, if one has lain in a swan's egg."

Anderson's parable and proverb speak to life and faith. On the one hand it recalls the devastating view of one's life that comes from passages like, "I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me." Ps 51:5; "But I am a worm and not human, scorned by others and despised by people." Ps 22:6; "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips..." Is 6:5; "Then I said, 'Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy (a youth.)'" Jer. 1:6 We are born into a broken and fallen world. We may come to believe that fallen and broken are the descriptors of our lives. We are inadequate, can never live up to any expectations, either God's or others. We fail and are flawed, "For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me." Ps 51:3; "...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom 3:23. In the world, where one is different, or discerns one's being different from others expectations or norms, or appears queer, there one faces rejection, restriction, and ridicule, even religious calls to repent. One seems so to speak merely "born in a duck yard."

Yet faith speaks a better word, a word of goodness, grace, affirmation and joy. We are each created in the image of God, to be representatives of God in love for the world. We are God's ambassadors to a world is in need of faith, hope and love. There are scriptures that affirm the proverb and the parable. "... those who humble themselves will be exalted." Luke 14:11; He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly." Lk 1:52; "Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are..." 1 Cor 1:26-29; "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation..." 1Cor 5:17. Jesus, Lord of heaven and earth, was born in a manger. Christ God's only son was crucified and lain in a stone cold tomb, and born again to life and glory. It matters not, a sinner from your mother's womb, a worm and not human, of unclean lips, or different, unique, or queer, you who were baptized were baptized into death and raised to walk in newness of life. You were buried with Christ and born anew from the grave. It matters not the circumstances of being born in a duck yard, you have lain in the swan's egg. Whatever your flesh is, whatever you were born to, however you have been perceived, whoever you have become, you are born of God, a child of God, created in the image of God, and beloved of God.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer