Some of you may remember that line from the film Wayne’s World. If you’ve never seen it you have missed a funny film with some classic moments (Bohemian Rhapsody in a little blue car anyone?). Wayne and his friend Garth are fans of rock music and have their own cable TV show called Wayne’s World which they film in his basement. I won’t spoil the plot but there are a couple of times when Wayne and Garth meet some of their heroes – Aerosmith and Alice Cooper. Their response is: “We’re not worthy!”

Do you ever have that feeling about Jesus? You wouldn’t be the first and you won’t be the last. Indeed there’s an account of Simon, who would shortly become one of his friends and followers, responding to Jesus with “I’m not worthy!”*

Any honest assessment of myself will lead me to that response to Jesus. I am not worthy. I let him down, I let others down, I let myself down. I have a propensity towards selfishness that I sometimes give in to. (If you are ever tempted to put your minister / vicar / pastor on a pedestal please don’t because they will probably tell you the same thing). Like all of us “I’m not worthy.”

And, if he was being honest, (which he always is) Jesus would say, “You’re right: you’re not worthy.” But instead of it being an accusation or a put down, there is no full stop in that sentence. The sentence actually reads: “You’re right, you’re not worthy, but I love you and I have made you worthy.”

When I become aware of my own failings (and I can sometimes almost hear a little accusatory voice telling me how rubbish I am) I need to listen for his voice offering amazing grace, forgiveness, fresh starts, his Spirit to help me, and so much more that I don’t deserve. And when I feel unworthy he helps me to turn that guilt and shame into worship and gratitude because when God looks at me he sees someone who is worthy because of what Jesus has done for me.

[Shiver down the spine moment.]

Be blessed, be a blessing.

I first came across this joke on The Vicar of Dibley. There was an inflatable boy who went to an inflatable school with inflatable teachers and inflatable pupils. One day he ran amok with a drawing pin and was sent to see the headmaster. The headmaster looked at him sternly and said, “You’ve let your classmates down, you’ve let yourself down, you’ve let the whole school down!”

*slight paraphrase