“Unworthy”?

　　As I studied theology, I noticed that many theologians emphasized “faith seeking understanding.” As I delved deeper into worship study and practical theology, I observed that teachers of worship theology like John Witvliet¹ applied this motto to church traditions, music, and worship ministry. Accordingly, I have paid more attention to the content of our prayers to see if they express the truth of the Bible and our faith in the Lord. I have also looked at how our prayers and the life witnesses of the church community could be integral to each other through faith in today’s context (Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, and thus Lex Vivandi).²

　　Although evangelical churches seldom use scripted prayers for public worship, there are some common sayings that worship leaders use inadvertently when they pray. Some believers habitually end their prayers with the words “Our prayer is unworthy.” Would saying “Our prayer is unworthy” over and over again weaken our faith in the Lord? Is it not the role of ministers to encourage believers to affirm their identity as sons and daughters of God and to pray boldly to the Heavenly Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? What biblical interpretations or church traditions give rise to saying a prayer may be “unworthy”? ³

“The Crumbs That Fall from the Table”

　　In the Synoptic Gospels, both Matthew and Mark record an incident in which Jesus, retreating into the territories of Tyre and Sidon, granted an “unworthy” request of a Canaanite woman and commended her great faith. This unnamed woman pleaded with Jesus repeatedly because her daughter was suffering from demonic possession. Jesus did not respond to the Gentile woman’s pleas until she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (cf. Matt 15:21-28). This woman’s repeated pleas to the Lord may be the most humble example of certain human attitudes toward Him. She was not angry at being called a “dog.” Out of motherly love and eagerness to seek help, she knew exactly what she wanted, even when the disciples were in the way and Jesus’s response seemed cold and uncaring, she humbly supplicated to Jesus over and over again, saying, “Lord, help me.”

Breaking “Safe Social Distance”: Bowing Down at the Lord’s Feet

　　In the Gospel of Matthew, this incidence is preceded by another story where Jesus had a dispute with the Pharisees and the scribes over hand washing, and after the dispute, He said to the people, “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Jesus, as Messiah, had not yet been able to transform the scribes and Pharisees of His people from the inside out. Then Jesus departed from the land of Israel and encountered this Gentile woman’s persistent pleading. In contrast to the lost or faithless sheep Jesus saw in “the house of Israel,” this Canaanite woman believed wholeheartedly that Jesus was the “Son of David,” the Savior, and Messiah. In this story, she did not even need to bring her daughter to touch Jesus’s garment; He simply spoke and her daughter was healed at that very moment. This not only foreshadows that Gentiles would also be saved through faith but also means that the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah were going to be fulfilled in Jesus.

　　The Jews had always taken their national identity and the laws of purity very seriously, so they kept a distance from the Gentiles who were considered unclean, not to mention interacting with the Canaanites who were worshipers of other gods. Looking back at Old Testament history, Joshua conquered Canaan, but throughout the ages, there were still people in Israel who intermarried with the Canaanites and worshiped their gods, resulting in tensions within the nation.

　　In the past, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land, was a magnificent event. On the contrary, the incarnate Christ retreated to the territories of Tyre and Sidon, keeping a low-profile, and Mark 7:24 tells us that Jesus “entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.” This woman heard about Jesus and believed that this was her hope, so she came to Jesus and bowed down at His feet. The Greek word for “bow down” means to worship. Because of the woman’s desperate plea, Jesus stopped and finally responded to her, “Be it done for you as you desire” (Mt 15:28). And Jesus commended the woman’s great faith. Do we have the same faith when we come to the Lord? Do we have such a humble attitude? The Canaanite woman’s prostration to Jesus showed her heartfelt surrender to the Lord and her total dependence on Christ’s authority and power.

Who Is “Worthy” to Receive the Body and Blood of the Lord?

　　In light of this passage, we will now examine “The Prayer of Humble Access,” a prayer that is often used by many Christian denominations at the Lord’s Supper. This was first composed in 1548 for the administration of the Lord’s Supper by Thomas Cranmer, an English Reformation leader. Through this prayer, we may understand the meaning of “unworthy” prayer when we pray and live our lives.

　　First of all, the prayer centres on the statement, “We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table.” Does this single statement contrast with the Canaanite woman’s response of faith? According to the liturgical order of the Lord’s Supper, this prayer is preceded by a confession of faith, a confession of sin, and the song “Agnes Dei” (“Lamb of God”), and followed by an invitation to the Lord’s Supper—so is it not a bit “anti-liturgical” to say this prayer? Is there not a risk that the congregation will take the prayer literally and not come to the Lord’s Supper because they feel themselves to be “unworthy”?

　　Hyperbole is used in the Scripture passage as it refers to the woman as a puppy gathering up crumbs from under the table, which is an expression of “self-humiliation” and humility. It goes the same with the prayer. Both express a humble attitude in coming to the Lord and begging Him to be gracious and merciful to sinners like us. In fact, the first line of the prayer also conveys such meaning: “We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant and great mercies.”

　　It is just as Jesus proclaimed on the mountain, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3). From the perspective of theology and worship, this prayer is not hyperbolic at all: we are indeed poor in spirit, and we are beggars before the Lord. This prayer helps us confess that we are in desperate need of the Lord and that we need to turn to His gracious embrace. As Paul said, both Jews and Gentiles are sinners before the Holy Lord (Rom 3:9), and none are “worthy” to come to the Lord but by His grace and mercy.

Insights for Believers from the Worship in the Book of Revelation

　　When apocalyptic literature in the Bible speaks of salvation, it tends to be black and white, pitting good versus evil. In Revelation 5:1-10, John reminds us not to be saddened or trapped by earthly things, but to grieve that we do not see Jesus in the present. Why is that? According to the passage, John saw various visions in heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth, but he did not see Christ at first, and no one was able to open the scroll and the seven seals, so he wept loudly. However, when he saw the Lamb standing between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, his sorrow turned immediately into joy and worship. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints, fell down before the Lamb and sang a new song, “Worthy are you to take the scroll, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Rv 5:9-10).

　　While we emphasize the “priesthood” of believers, the passage highlights the fact that we will inherit the kingdom of heaven and reign on the Earth. However, learning to sing this eschatological hymn of faith and hope on Earth would be a tension-filled process. Are we “able” to sing this song, especially in the face of extreme adversity or the loss of a dear friend or family member? What song can we sing to support those families and friends who are still here on Earth in the midst of trouble and grief?

　　During the rehearsal of this year’s Spiritual Revival Concert “Apocalyptic Vision, Victorious Lamb,” the HKBTS choir made an attempt to present the ultimate worship described in Revelation 14 in the form of a dramatic reading of the Scriptures. The story begins in Revelation 12 and involves different characters and scenes, including the battle between the red dragon and the woman, and the persecution of the unyielding believers by the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth. One of the beasts imitated Christ and used both hard and soft tactics to lure believers into obedience. Yet, believers conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (Rv 12:11).

　　God loves the world, and His grace and mercy are freely given, but the chorus of the “Song of the Lamb” dedicated in ultimate worship is not to be sung by all the people of the world. The Scriptures reveal that this song is exclusively for the heavenly choir of this heavenly worship, which consists of the followers of Christ. “No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth” (Rv 14:3). This is a song of salvation, declaring that the Lamb will triumph. The believers’ victory is by the blood of the Lamb; this saving power of His blood not just worked in the past but works forever. Through Christ and in union with His resurrected body, the Church becomes a heavenly worshiping community awaiting the consummation of the kingdom of heaven.

The “Goodness” and “Beauty” of Humble Access

　　Can we see the Lord’s presence in our daily lives? Theology and hymns tell us that this world is not our home! The tension of the “already but not yet” is still there because we have not yet seen the full manifestation of God’s kingdom.

　　Every Monday when we come to HKBTS, we see “everywhere” (in hyperbolic terms) the traces left behind by the visitors who came to the pebbles beach nearby to “kite-fight” on weekends and holidays. We are often caught in the strings of kites that drifted to the entrance of our canteen or the chapel. Even though we try to be good neighbors and regularly clean up the kite debris scattered around the campus, there are still many kites with broken strings hanging outside the windows of the campus buildings and in the trees along the road. Passers-by takes extra care to avoid getting scraped by the kite strings. No matter how hard our staff try to remove the kites and strings with gloves on, and even to build a platform to clear up the mess for them week after week, there is still endless cleanup work to be done. However, the Lord showed me one thing which I find most grateful in all these: we have someone to walk together, to give reminders to each other along the way, to build our dreams together, and to watch over each other.

　　In this pilgrimage, we have all come across times when we have felt ourselves “unworthy.” Such experiences of introspection and repentance allow us to realize that when faced with challenges and opportunities in life and in ministry, we can only plead for the grace of the Lord. When every one of us comes forward to the Lord with a humble heart, and utilizes the gifts our Heavenly Father has given us to worship the Lord together, just like God’s people in the old days who came to Jerusalem, singing Songs of Ascents and marching together to Zion, we will be able to catch a glimpse of the vision of this heavenly worship: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man” (Rv 21:3).

　　I am thankful to be able to receive the Lord’s Supper with all the teachers and students at the Spiritual Formation Camp every August. Since the COVID pandemic in 2019, the seminary has not held an off-campus camp until recently. I remember the one held at the end of August 2023, many students said it was their first time to taste the experience of “when brothers dwell in unity” (Ps 133:1). Students left their summer internships and ministries behind and came to the camp to make room for listening to God’s Word and to learn listening to one another and living in fellowship.

　　The Lord’s Supper is not only a reminder of His unceasing grace but also a stimulus for us to long for unity in the Lord: to look upon the Lord with all our hearts, to abide in Christ, and to discover the goodness and beauty of God with us. What we receive at the Lord’s Supper is never leftovers or crumbs under the table, but the most precious of all—the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though we may find our prayers “incomplete” or we may not be able to understand the will of God right away, God is loving and merciful, so we just need to humbly come to Him in faith and make supplications in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! Hallelujah!

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¹ John D. Witvliet, Worship Seeking Understanding: Windows into Christian Practice (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
² Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi refers to the integration of faith into practice, which means that prayer reflects the law of practice of faith (Lex Vivendi).
³ Part of this article was presented by the author on September 14, 2023 in the morning chapel service of HKBTS. This article is a revision of the author’s article “Gathering up Crumbs under the Table—Is It Also ‘Unworthy’?,” which was published in the publication of the HKBTS Alumni Association, Soul Care (Issue 51, November 2023).