We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy; Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore ever dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
Years ago, just after I had begun to use the prayer book in my personal devotions, I was showing a friend one of my favorite prayers, “The General Thanksgiving”, from Morning Prayer. My intention was to show him how rich and meaningful the prayers were and suggest he give them a try. He was unimpressed. He objected to the phrase “we your unworthy servants”. He chided me that this language made people feel like sinners and that we ought to emphasize grace and forgiveness and reconciliation with God. That we ought not to “grovel” when we come to God. At the time I had little response to offer. I’ve heard the argument since in regard to the “Prayer of Humble Access”. But I think I’m beginning to understand something now that I didn’t years ago.
We are unworthy. But not just for the reasons people think we have in mind. It is not a matter of my sinfulness that makes me unworthy to approach the Table. Had I never sinned I would still be a man, a creature of God who, though bearing God’s image, is far removed from the infinite and incomprehensible glory of God. Proximity to God was as much a work of grace for the couple in Eden before the Fall as it is for us now; it was, after all, he that came down rather than they who went up! And yet we do approach the Table.
The passage from the Gospels alluded to in this part of the prayer is the story of the Canaanite woman who approaches Jesus begging for her daughter’s healing. Rabbi Jesus, followed by his Jewish students/disciples, is not to be disturbed by the concerns of the Gentiles. He responds that he is sent only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. It is not right for the bread intended for the master’s table to be given to dogs. She does not dispute him. She receives the apparent insult and replies that even dogs may eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Dogs don’t eat because they’re worthy, but because food is dropped. Jesus responds to her faith – a notably Jewish characteristic never ascribed to the Gentiles by other rabbis – and heals her daughter. The woman has turned out to be one of the lost sheep of Israel after all. “Israel” is a term Jesus redefines in terms of faith in himself rather than lineage. She wasn’t worthy of the blessing, but her Gentile heritage – what would have been ascribed to her as sinfulness – was not the issue there.
Unworthiness is a basic property of humanity that keeps us from approaching God. Quite independent of sin, we just don’t have access to heavenly blessing without it being an act of God’s mercy. But mercy is one of God’s basic properties. He is always merciful. We do not presume, even as the forgiven people of God, to gather blessings for ourselves at the Lord’s Table. But he is always merciful. Were we worthy, we’d come to the Table and grab what’s ours. We aren’t, so we don’t. We approach, often we kneel, and we lift our hand to receive as a mercy what is granted, not what is taken for granted.
