Jesus responds [to the Pharisees and scribes]: “The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart, but sinners.” The answer is devastatingly truthful and puts those who question in jeopardy, for now there are only two categories: the self-righteous or sinners.
There are people who think there is nothing really wrong with them, and people who know there is much that is not well with them. There are people who think that what is wrong with the world is rooted in other people, and those who know they themselves are part of the problem. There are people who worship and pray with integrity, without self-interest, and those who confuse worship with just one more way to further their agenda and confirm their place in the world.
A holy person once put it to me bluntly: “If you’re praying or doing worship, really praying, then you are constantly changing and making others very uncomfortable, because they never know exactly what you will do in response to the Spirit. If you aren’t changing noticeably, becoming more sensitive to others’ needs and difficulties and less tolerant of injustice, then you simply aren’t praying.”

Megan McKenna, Lent: Reflections and Stories on the
Daily Readings

Megan McKenna is an author, theologian, storyteller, and lecturer. She has taught at a number of schools, including Fordham University and the Washington Theological Union.