Of Bread and Crumbs

 

 

If it tastes as good as it smells

It’ll take just a crumb,

Just a crumb or two to prove

My assertion is not dumb.

 

The crumb tastes no different

From the entire bread

And if I couldn’t have the loaf

I’d have a crumb instead.

 

Or maybe two or three

As they fall from the table,

After all, bread is the staff of life

That means, it’s a staple.

 

And so, she approached Jesus

With her critical request,

She wanted healing for her daughter

That was not at her best.

 

At first, he ignored her,

At least, that’s how it appeared

But she was persistent

About her daughter’s welfare.

 

The disciples were annoyed

And wished she be sent away

And the answer Jesus gave to her

Said it was not her day.

 

He had come to Israel’s house

And she was of the Greeks,

Most would have gone away

But she continued to speak.

 

 

Ignored the first time

Abruptly brushed off the second,

This time she knelt and worshipped him

Hoping something would happen.

 

The answer Jesus gave her

To me seemed rather harsh

And I must confess if it were me

I’d surely have gasped.

 

Did he call her a dog?

Goodness gracious, but why?

Then again, that he needed rest,

None would dare deny.

 

After all, he was human then

And could crack under strain

And people just kept on coming

Again, and again.

 

This may have been so

For the disciples and all others

But in the case of Jesus

It was a different matter.

 

 

A lesson was truly unfolding

For them and for us,

It was what great faith looks like

As one responds to Jesus.

 

This woman was focused

And to me this is clear

As she demonstrated to all and sundry

A faith greater than her fear.

 

The bread was not for her

The disciples would have said,

And Jesus mirrored their feelings

As the woman pled.

 

You would recall that they said

To send her away

But what hope would she have had

When Jesus is the way?

 

If they learnt the lesson then

I really cannot tell

But Jesus commended the woman

And made her daughter well.

 

She had had a demon

But didn’t we all

Until we put faith in Jesus Christ

And were drawn to God.

 

One way to God the Father

And it’s through Jesus the Son,

For both Jew and Gentile

In one predetermined kingdom.

 

Herein is the lesson

Re the lost house of Israel,

In Abraham’s seed all will be blessed

Meaning all earth’s people.

 

Of Jews, Gentiles and Greeks

And of Syro-Phoenicia too,

Like this woman and her daughter

And like me and you.

 

Jesus commended her faith,

It was of the persistent type

But understand Jesus did the healing

Not some emotional hype.

 

While faith is important

It does not replace God,

God must always be faith’s object,

Beware of Satan the Fraud.

 

 

The bread was for the children

But not merely the Jews

And this miracle sent this signal

Though many Jews refused.

 

They that come to Christ

He will in no way refuse

And it matters not their ethnicity

Be they Germans or Jews.

 

Despise not the crumbs

They’re the same quality as the bread,

I believe not a crumb was wasted

When Jesus thousands fed?

 

Jesus is the living bread

That came to us from heaven

And they that live by his every word

Are eternally forgiven.

 

Stewart Russell © April 29, 2024