We do not presume... (or do we?)

Kathryn has pointed out on her blog what many of us have been thinking for the last few years... that the respositioning of the Prayer of Humble Access AFTER the invitation to communion destroys its sense.

I suppose it wouldn't matter so much if it weren't sucha  stunningly beautiful prayer. In the BCP it comes after the Eucharistic Prayer but before the Words of consecration. In the ASB it was positioned even better-  before the Peace, the Offertory and the Eucharistic Prayer, as the congregation began to contemplate the shift in liturgical focus from the Word to the Sacrament - it succinctly and elegantly expressed the extraordinary grace of God, without wallowing in overdone humility.

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness, 
but in thy manifold and great mercies. 
We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. 
But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy; 
Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, 
so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, 
(that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, 
and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and)
that we may evermore ever dwell in him, and he in us.      Amen 

The prayer of humble access was repositioned in Common Worship. I don't have the full gen on this, but I was told by someone on the liturgical commission that basically they couldn't figure out where to put it, but knowing that the English at prayer would be more appalled to lose this than any other prayer, felt it couldn't be ditched. So they bolted it in, not entirely in agreement as to whether the positioning was good. It is now placed at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, after the invitation has been made - "Draw near with faith... remember that he died for you, and feed on him in your hearts, by faith, with thanksgiving."

By that point in the liturgy, it has been well established that we stand at God's table through the grace and love of God. This is the moment of consummation, not the moment to step back and protest one's humility. Said at this moment, "we do not presume..." is in danger of taking on the oiliness of an Obadiah Slope, over-anxious to demonstrate his own righteousness, and doing so by protesting his own humility.  It feels like answering back to God - "oh, you may think you're very merciful, Lord, but you clearly don't understand how seriously humble I am...". It's not a competition with God to prove that we're at least as humble as he is merciful. There comes a point in a relationship when you either say "yes" or say nothing at all. And liturgically speaking, the invitation to communion is that moment.

I may be flouting Canon Law, but I know I'm not the only priest who has either reinserted the Prayer of Humble access back where it belongs, or left it out altogether.

Kathryn also has nice things to say about George Herbert - link here