Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

My gooberhead niece. 

Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,
“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth
was able to open the scroll or to examine it.
I shed many tears because no one was found worthy
to open the scroll or to examine it.

In the Jansenistic religion of my childhood, worthiness was a big deal. Devout confession, intense prayer and studiously avoiding sin rendered one “worthy” of receiving communion on Sunday or First Friday. But, of course, thinking you were worthy proved that you were proud and, therefore, not worthy! It was a lose-lose spirituality that only encouraged the Irish Americans among us to go out and have a drink. Traces of that spirituality persist even today, especially among non-practicing Catholics in Kentucky.

Unfortunately Jansenist Catholics were also told not to read the Bible. They might have read the Book of Revelation and its proclamation: No one in heaven or on earth or under the earth… was found worthy to open the scroll. Only Jesus Christ is worthy.

But we should ponder the question of worthiness. Like the Seer of Patmos, we might  find ourselves weeping because no one was found worthy. This is shocking, especially when we consider all those we hoped might be worthy. How many times a week is another politician, minister, entertainer or athlete exposed as an adulterer, alcoholic, drug abuser, wife-beater, child-molester or embezzler? Just when you thought Glee was a pretty good show for your children, the actors exposed themselves for a men’s magazine.

Is there no one worthy of my admiration and trust? Despite the wisdom we think we might have, despite the cynicism we want to show toward the whole question, we still look for someone who is worthy. And no one is found. And we feel intense sadness.

But that is not the Bible’s final answer. An elder rebukes John for his weeping:

Do not weep.

In fact, the question was rhetorical! Meaning, the Mighty Angel and everyone else in heaven knew the answer. Only the foolish visionary lacked the vision to see:

The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,
enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals!”

The question of worthiness was not raised to make John or you or me feel bad about ourselves. It’s not about us.  It’s an introduction to the song; as when, during a musical, a series of remarks lead up to an aria. Suddenly everyone in heaven bursts out in a mighty and glorious song:

Worthy are you to receive the scroll and break open its seals,
for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for God
those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,
and they will reign on earth.

And silly me. I thought they were looking for me.