Question:

I am a seeker investigating the Eastern Orthodox faith. My background includes membership of a very conservative and legalistic Protestant church that advocated penal substitutionary atonement, so I am encouraged by what I find in the Orthodox tradition. The theology seems so beautiful, but I am having difficulty understanding something in the Divine Liturgies of Saint Chrysostom and Saint Basil.

In the Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn, we find verses that say:

• … No one bound by carnal desires and pleasures is worthy to approach, draw near, or minister to You, the King of Glory. 
• … Your sinful and unprofitable servant, and cleanse my soul and heart of a wicked conscience. 

Before Holy Communion, we find a verse that says

• I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. 

I find healing in thinking of God as a loving Father, but the above stanzas make me question that understanding of God. Can you please point me in the right direction? 

During the Trisagion, there is a verse that says,

• You have granted us, Your humble and unworthy servants, to stand even at this hour before the glory of Your holy Altar of sacrifice and to offer to You due worship and praise.

If we are children of a loving Father, then how is that compatible with thinking of ourselves as unworthy servants?

Finally, in the liturgy of Saint Basil there is a verse in the Trisagion Hymn that reads

• Your lowly and unworthy servants, 

I find that when I think of myself as lowly and unworthy, thoughts of shame come to mind. Since Christianity is about healing, this shows that I might not be understanding this verse correctly.

Response:

What a good and (ahem) worthy question. Truly worth thinking through. 

The Rhetoric of Unworthiness

As I think about the rhetoric of unworthiness, I am reminded not only of the Divine Liturgy, but of our Scriptures, and how even Jesus’ words have been misused as bludgeons. The following points are important to consider. I offer them for your consideration: