Crumbs from the Table

Text: Matthew 15:21-28

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          Have you ever had a meal so good that you just couldn’t help but take your fork and squish the last few morsels through the tongs in order to get the crumbs from the plate into your mouth? And then maybe take your finger and run it over the plate to get the last few morsels that just won’t stay on the fork? And then picked the plate up and licked it clean until there was clearly nothing but plate left? Maybe not that last one if anyone else was around, but there are some meals that are just so good that it would be a crime to let any of it go to waste. We used to be encouraged in this behavior by my grandfather who would reward anyone who ended the meal with nothing left on their plate with an induction into the clean plate club. There were no membership cards, or really any benefits of membership at all, but we all wanted to be in the club.

Because we all want to belong. We all want to be a part of something. And by faith we all do belong. We belong to the body of Christ. Where we don’t have to settle for just the crumbs, but are given the full meal.

BY GRACE, THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST,

WE ENJOY THE FULLNESS OF GOD’S GIFTS.

          Today’s Gospel reading gives us a wonderful example of faith. Not faith that was simply instilled by having been taught it from an early age. Not faith that simply showed up every Sunday because you were told that was what you were supposed to do. Not faith that believes that if you’re simply good enough the blessings of God will fall on you. But faith that sees Jesus. Really sees Him. And recognizes that He is the only way. Faith that sometimes feels like you’re on the outside looking in and then becomes real when Jesus invites you to the table. And when He does that, that same faith recognizes that what Jesus has to offer is greater than what you can get anywhere else.

That Canaanite woman was on the outside looking in. She wasn’t part of the club. And yet, she sought Jesus out and “came out and was crying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.’” That’s our cry when we recognize our sin and separation from the Lord. Because sometimes we too can feel like we’re on the outside looking in. Which is where our sin puts us. But faith in the One who restores us is what causes us to be welcomed back to the table with the Lord.

I can think of a couple examples of being on the outside and looking in on where the real action and benefit is and they’re both baseball related. There are 16 rooftops surrounding the outfield of Wrigley Field in Chicago. Since 1914, fans have been able to enjoy pretty good views of Cubs games by sitting on those rooftops. Now, of course, with capitalism and commercialism being what it is, since the 1980s those rooftops have been built up and now require tickets. But there still is a place where fans can catch an exciting game from outside the stadium without having to pay for the view. At the Little League World Series, which begins this week, fans without a ticket, and without needing to pay a cent, can sit on the hill behind the outfield fence at Lamade Stadium and catch all the action. That’s the place where you can see all the kids running to collect the home run balls hit over the fence. I think about those kids, many of whom are probably the same age as the players in the game, and imagine that where they’d really like to be is on the field.

In the same way that Canaanite woman recognized something in Jesus that she knew she wanted to be a part of. She understood who she was, what she needed, and where she could get it. Which is why she turned to Jesus. She was an outsider to the Jewish club but wanted in because she was convinced by what she had seen and heard that there was something about Jesus that she was missing in her life. This is what faith does. It recognizes the need and looks to the Provider. Faith doesn’t despair but rather leans into the Source.

But the disciples didn’t yet understand that God grace, being delivered by Jesus, could extend beyond their firmly built walls. They couldn’t grasp a love that could be offered to those outside the covenant with Abraham. So, they “begged [Jesus], saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying out after us.’” And even Jesus initially seems to rebuff the woman’s cry for mercy as “He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” Some of the sin that separates us from Jesus is acting like those disciples. Concerned that someone else, someone from the outside, might also be a loved recipient of the grace God so freely offers. As if there was only so much to go around and that if Jesus gives some to others that there might be less for us.

But the truth is, Jesus was sent for everyone. His grace and mercy, shown in His own sacrifice on the cross, covers the sin of all mankind. It covers your faults and your failings. And it also covers your doubts and your fears. It covers loneliness, and death, and the days when it seems like nothing could possibly go right. And even when all these things conspire to make us believe that we’re on the outside looking in, Jesus invites us to the table. Through our repentance and the great mercy of God in Christ Jesus, we are forgiven, brought from the position of outsider and given a place the table.

That Canaanite woman didn’t give up. Even when Jesus at first wouldn’t answer her. In faith, “she came [again] and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’” That’s tenacious faith. It’s faith that won’t give up and won’t give in. It’s faith that knows exactly who its object is. And it’s faith that knows that even “the crumbs that fall from [the] master’s table” are far better than any feast that could be eaten elsewhere. This woman realizes who she is. And she recognizes who Jesus is. Which is why she receives some of the greatest praise that Jesus gives in all Scripture. “O woman, great is your faith!”

Those are the words we should all long to hear our Savior say. Because it’s that great faith that keeps you coming back here. It’s that faith that keeps trusting and praying. It’s that faith keeps you believing, and believing, and believing that even when the road is difficult – even when the way seems narrow, that God is the only One who can carry you. And He’s the only one who offers the feast so beautiful and delicious that we want to receive it all. And even though the crumbs from the table would be plenty to satisfy us, He gives us everything. Just as He gave everything to that woman. A word of encouragement regarding her faith, but even moreso, He did for her as she desired. What she came to ask – the reason she was crying out – was because her “daughter [was] severely oppressed by a demon.” And once Jesus saw the depth of her faith “her daughter was healed instantly.”

God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” And He takes pleasure in giving to those who have faith in Him exactly what we need. And we don’t have to settle for the crumbs. We’re not on the outside looking in. We’re in the club. Not the clean plate club, but the church, which is the body of Christ. And as part of the club, we’re entitled to a seat at the table. Where the full feast is served. Every week, right here from this altar. And for all eternity at the Lamb’s high feast.

But our feast isn’t only at the altar or in heaven. Our feast is everywhere that God delivers His gifts to us. May we recognize these gifts all around us and give thanks for the great blessings of being welcomed from the outside into the church. From sin to salvation. From separation to the loving arms of Jesus. And may we forever enjoy this feast that knows no end. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.