At Mass this morning I was thinking about sinners. (An appropriate topic for a sinner.) There are two types of sinners: honest sinners and dishonest sinners. An honest sinner knows he (or she) is a sinner and doesn't pretend to be anything else. Of course there are degrees of sin and some honest sinners are immersed in deadly sin while others struggle against the petty sins which, if not fought diligently, can lead to deadly sin. The dishonest sinners may or, if they've totally killed their consciences, may not know they are sinners. But one thing is absolutely true about both types of dishonest sinner: they play a game of let's pretend we aren't sinners, but are actually holy and righteous. They shake their fists at any authority that challenges their sinful comfort zone and anyone who raises the issue of authority to warn them. Often, they attack the challenger as the
real sinner for disputing their "I'm okay" mentality and disturbing their false peace. They label the challengers hatemongers and bigots for making them "feel bad."
Now, which sinners did Jesus eat dinner with?
