Cinnamon Roll Snobs

Crumbs From Our Master's Table, Primer Series - Pt. 4

When I was a kid, my mom would regularly make over-sized, sweet rolls, thick with rich cinnamon-sugar and plump raisins smeared between every layer. The outer layers were always sweet and flaky, slightly crunchy. They were perfect for dipping in milk or coffee, something we did regularly on school mornings.

But what my brother’s and I really loved was the center of the cinnamon roll, where all the sweet, buttery goodness absorbed and kept the pastry soft and gooey. If there wasn’t milk to dip the crunchy outer layers in, we would sometimes discard the outer layers, maybe even gives these “crumbs” to the dog, so we could feast on the rich gooey center. I guess you could say we were cinnamon roll snobs.

Crumbs are not the most desired part of a meal. Crumbs are mere morsels, beggar’s food. They are not what the rich and deserving eat; they are mere niblets for the desperate and humble. Snobs abhor crumbs. They do not suffer paupers’ vittles. Their palates crave the rich, choice cuisine. They will not tolerate the crumbs. But those who are hungry happily find satisfaction in the crumbs that Jesus drops for us.

When the Canaanitess in Matthew’s gospel (chapter 15) said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table,” she wasn’t asking for the center of the cinnamon roll. She was content with the discarded crusty edges because they were more than she deserved, more than enough to meet her needs, and more delicious and satisfying than any of the delicacies the world had to offer.

The world's cinnamon roll centers left her spiritually destitute and desperate; but, mere crumbs changed her life because they were crumbs from the Master’s table.

Crumbs will not sustain a person long term. To grow strong and live a spiritually healthy life, you must have water, then bread and wine, and grow up from drinking milk to eating meat—along with more bread and wine. That means Crumbs are not a substitute for the weekly meal of Word and Sacraments dished generously from the Lord’s table on the Sabbath. However, they can offer sustenance for the in-between times.

And even though they’re often just scraps, mere leftovers from the table, because they come from the Master’s table, there is nourishment in every morsel—and they’re great with your morning coffee.

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