Crumbs of Compassion

Oh My God!  I finally did it!

After many months of trying to make the most perfectly puffy loaf of bread, I finally did it! They have pillow tops, browned crust, and soft centers.

 They are a thing of beauty!

If you remember a few months ago, I made the asetetic opposite of these puff top beauties.  It was the most delicious, yet most deflated loaf of bread.  So I've gone from flat loaf A, to puff loaf B.  Amazing!

  

I delight in this accomplishment, but in my journey from perfectionist to delightfully flawed human, I confess I didn't start this blog and baking adventure to make the perfect loaf.  I instead started this to think about ministry, communion, and the bread of daily life.  While this blog adventure is no where near the end (nor is the delightfully flawed journey), I find myself at the close of one chapter - The DC chapter.  I'm packing up to head to Switzerland for 6 months and while the communion will continue, the bread baking will take a break for a while.  The pause on baking makes these final loaves feel a little more delightful in their glorious rise!

I currently have lots of lists of things to pack, things not to forget, and things to be left behind.   I'm really looking forward to Switzerland, but I also can't help but look back over the last 8 months.  

This bread crumb trail of daily communing with God leads me to one of my favorite texts.  I've always loved the Canaanite woman from Matthew's gospel (Mt 15:21-28) because she challenges Jesus and extends the table to include everyone.  I love imagining how her small, yet strong voice expands the table, lengthening to reach the far corners of the earth, and widening to make sure every last crevice is reached!  Chairs, bread, love for all!

And the bounty of this text doesn't stop there.  Today I see another morsel of wisdom.  As a foreigner to Jesus, she pleads with him to heal her daughter.  Claiming God's table is not meant to feed dogs, or the likes of her; she responds to Jesus' hurtful statement with a crumb of compassion: "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table"(Mt 15:27).  The tiniest statement moves Jesus to heal her daughter, have compassion for her, and heal himself of his own prejudice.

Small in stature, 

large in worth;

crumbs fall from God's table

carrying blessings

bigger than belief.

Being one for over-the-top expressions I lean toward the abundance of life, the overflowing table, and crowded family gatherings often overlooking the tiny morsels left behind.  As my bread rose to fullness, my back pack fills to stuffed, I hold onto the small moments of these last 8 months.  I realize that while I'll always seek out the fullness of life, these 8 months of bread baked life have taught me that communion is also about the brief moments of hand holding, the time to visit and cherish friends; the time to realize I too am a small and valuable part of God's world, flaws and all.  

We're filled to the brim at the table; but the rest of the week is scattered with small moments so we might linger over the crumbs of quietly sharing a newspaper, sweet kisses, and phone prayers with friends.  These small moments fall from God's table as brief blessings throughout our lives.

While I'll always have an affinity for flair, I am so grateful for the lessons of this Canaanite woman and deflated bread.  Bits of God fall into every crevice, filling the world with morsels of blessing and crumbs of compassion.