The unreasonable opposition

You will have noticed, I'm sure, that the readings for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King present images of a very pastorally minded king.

I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Ours is, moreover, a King who doesn't mind associating with commoners:

And the king will say to them in reply, "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."

Which, when you think of it, is a pretty broad-minded attitude for He Who Is to adopt toward we who are not. (Or a deep-hearted attitude for He Who Is Love.)

And yet, it's not uncommon to find people who are deeply offended by the idea that the Almighty, Eternal LORD should speak of us like sheep. "Who is God," they ask, "to disrespect us like that?"

Of course, at other times they're likely to say things like, "Humans are nothing but curiously organized dust, random bits of chemicals evolved to create similar bits of chemicals."

Kind of odd to brag about being nothing, then feel disrespected. Though I suppose both the bragging and the indignation feed a sense of superiority, so it makes sense if not reason. More sense, arguably, than our Lord Jesus Christ the King loving us as a shepherd love his sheep.

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