“Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof…”

Unworthy? Ummm…

Abraham was not only too old to have a kid but he enjoyed the company of a mistress and it wasn’t just for tea and crumpets. (Birth of the Muslim religion.) Abraham’s wife boldly laughed at God and got away with it. (Only person in the Bible achieving that feat).

It’s an endless list of struggling Biblical believers that looks a lot like a bunch of comedic characters in a TV show that we laugh about and move on to the next comedy. Yet, this is real. This is our faith and hearing about the faith of those who’ve gone before us.

Noah was a drunk. And, just telling me that Mary didn’t say her “Yes” with hints of both wonder and anxiousness? Miriam was a gossip. Jacob was a deceiver stealing his older brother’s birthright. Lazarus died and then needed to die again. John the Baptist loses his head over a silly pledge. The great King David had his best friend killed so he could marry his wife. What’s your excuse for your unworthiness?

These are our forebears before, during, and after Jesus. This is where we enter this comedic, serious drama of life. Before receiving the Body of Christ we admit we are not worthy…who is!? It is exactly our unworthiness that prompts us to prayer and to gather here.

For his done deed, Judas needs no introduction to belong to this motley group. He needed some extra cash. Moses stuttered and forty years later was refused entry into the promised land. What’s your major excuse for your unworthiness?

We come to this sacrament as the broken people that we are to be united, once and every time after. Joining our lives with the foibles and follies of centuries-old people. What a wonderful and complex company we keep.

And is the question, in spite of who we are, or is the question because of who we are?

Eve selfishly thought that an “apple a day kept God away.” The Brothers of Joseph sold him only to be saved by him, years later, when they were hungry. Thomas gets the dubious adjective “Doubting” added before his name until reality faces him in the face. Matthew kept his tax license, just in case. Brothers James and John? They both butted heads about who’s the better person. Predicted for after they’re dead! What’s your minor excuse for your unworthiness?

To paraphrase a philosopher, “What is it that you desire, you who aim at perfection? Your wishes need to have no measure. However much you may desire, I can show you how to attain it, even in and within its infinity…it is the present, [this very moment, this very passing minute] is ever filled with infinite treasure, it contains more than you will ever, ever have the capacity to hold and behold.

Before receiving Communion, let’s form that statement not as a statement but as a question. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof? Come on, Lord. You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

Be glad you are not worthy or else there is absolutely no other reason for us to be here. Just recall and remember the crazy company we keep.

Oh, and our first pope? He denied he knew the Son of God…let’s see, was it once or three times?