flocks of sheeple

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." (Jn. 10:14-16)

The historical/critical reading of this passage is that Christ is speaking about the gentiles and that He is going to gather them along with the jews (aka, the Chosen People of God(tm) ) into a single group.

Reading this passage in the 21st century, it rings differently in my ears as represented in the above photo. 

In our day and age, the 'Chosen People of God(tm)' are those who call themselves Christians -  aging, heterosexual, entitled and insular folk who, at best, have a vague belief that they should help others (which is normally handled by writing a check to some organization and let them get their hands dirty) and rarely, if ever, actually see anything outside of themselves or their very tight-nit circle.

In the foreground, you have the 'other sheep', the homeless, the young, those who are gay.  They have nothing - no home, money, no job, no future, no societal support. They are the sheep who are lost.  Not lost in that they have strayed from God, but lost in that they are not in the fold...the 'Chosen People of God'.  The hired hands in their stoles and miters do not recognize them as part of the flock and drive them away.  They huddle in the darkness, shunned by the Levite and the Priest as they lay waiting for death.

Yet, these other sheep were created in the image and likeness of God, just like the 'CPoG'. To look into their faces is to see Christ, no less than it is to see Christ in a saint or priest. 

We are all equal in the eyes of our Father, for we are all children of God.