Crumbs from the Table

This past Sunday's Gospel lesson was Matthew 15:21-28 - the story of Jesus and the Canaanite Woman.

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (ESV)

So this text was on my mind the entire service. However, the text became a physical reality for me as a knelt at the Lord's Table to receive Christ's Body and Blood in the Sacrament. As I took the bread, a quarter of the broken consecration host, I immediately thought "crumbs from the Master's table." Here in my hands and then in my mouth was crumbs from my Master's table given to me - a gentile dog begging and waiting at the foot of my Master's table. That's the grace and mercy and love of our God who offers his Son as crumbs falling from his table. The power of crumbs from God's table! - forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, salvation, eternal life - all offered through the Son of God, broken and bleeding on the cross in order that those crumbs - himself - might be given to so many.