_THE SILENCE OF JESUS_
"_He answered him nothing!_"
--LUKE xxiii. 1-12.
And yet, "Ask, and it shall be given you!" Yes, but everything depends
upon the asking. Even in the realm of music there is a rudeness of
approach which leaves true music silent. Whether the genius of music is to
answer us or not depends upon our "touch." Herod's "touch" was wrong, and
there was no response. Herod was flippant, and the Eternal was dumb. And
I, too, may question a silent Lord. In the spiritual realm an idle
curiosity is never permitted to see the crown jewels. Frivolousness never
goes away from the royal Presence rich with surprises of grace. "Thy touch
has still its ancient power!" So it has, but the healing touch is the
gracious response to the touch of faith. "She touched Him, and...!"
"_And Herod ... mocked Him._" That was the real spirit behind the eager
curiosity. And I, too, may mock my Lord! I may bow before Him, and array
Him in apparent royalty, while all the time my spirit is full of flippancy
and jeers. I may lustily sing: "Crown Him Lord of all," while I will not
recognize His rights on a single square foot of the soil of my
inheritance. And this it is to be the kinsman of Herod. And this, too,
will be the issue; the heavens will be as brass, and the Lord will answer
us nothing.