David Bahn – Reflections

“Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table.” Somehow this sentence convinces Jesus that this Canaanite woman has extraordinary faith. I say it’s “crumby” faith not “crummy” faith. There’s a big difference.

Crummy faith is one thing: poor and pathetic, weak and ineffectual. Crumby faith is quite another. The Canaanite woman sees past the rebuke, insinuation, and initial rebuff of Jesus. She doesn’t let these things prevent her from continuing the conversation with Jesus and seeking his help. Her daughter is in need. The Savior is at hand. She will not go quietly away. She is willing to have even a crumb that might fall from the master’s table. And she continues the conversation in order to receive it.

Matthew 15:21-28

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And 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.” ²³But 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.” ²⁴He answered,  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Is it her desperation, her love for her daughter, her conviction that Jesus could help, or something else that compels her to continue in the face of this opposition? It might be all three. But her faith is heroic. Crumby, in this case, means heroic. She realizes that a crumb from this Master’s table is a gourmet’s delight compared to the fare at any other table.

We might debate the sensitivity or inadvisable nature of Jesus’ comments here. We could get stuck on whether she saw herself as a dog. One thing, however, is clear. Her faith kept her in the conversation. And her faith was rewarded.

A crumb from this Master’s table is a gourmet’s delight to a starving man. Perhaps we do not hunger enough for God and his grace. Or maybe we don’t realize how desperately we need his food.