HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.–Luke 7:40
Jesus Christ Has Somewhat to Say
It is one of the notable things about our Lord that always He has somewhat to say. No hour of need ever finds Him silent. The intrusion of the woman into Simon’s dining room was an entirely unexpected incident. It was a painful and perplexing moment when she made her way into the feast. But our Lord had somewhat to say then, and one of the wonderful things about Him is that, always, He has somewhat to say still. Listen to the speaker at the street corner discussing Socialism or industrial unrest, Black Lives Matters and the protests against Police brutality, inequality and Racism. Join an eager company of young fellows gathered to reconstitute the universe. Socrates and Shakespeare are not mentioned, but almost always Christ is summoned in; they all feel He has somewhat to say still. Heaven and earth have passed away, but His words have not passed away. We live under different heaven now, and the earth has been displaced from her centrality. Yet still, on every problem which emerges, Jesus Christ has somewhat to say. It is a fact which is well worth considering.
Jesus Has Somewhat to Say When Everybody Else Is Silent
He has somewhat to say, it should be noted, just when everybody else is silent. My impression is that when that woman entered, you might have heard a pin drop in the dining room. Some of the guests would hang their heads, and some would look at each other “with a wild surmise.” A sudden quiet would fall upon the table; conversation would instantly be hushed. And just then, when there was silence, when nobody else had a syllable to utter, our Lord had somewhat to say. So was it in the house of Jairus, when the father and mother could do nought but weep? So was it outside the gates of Nain, when the widow was stricken dumb in her great sorrow, and the wonderful thing is that so is it still. When all the philosophers are dumb, and cannot give one word of help or comfort; when learning has no message to inspire or to console the heart; when sympathy hesitates to break the silence, lest it gives “vacant chaff well-meant for grain,” the Lord has something to say. Nothing can rob Him of His message, not even the bitterest experience of life. He never grows silent when the way is dark, nor when the feet go down into the valley. There are many voices, and none without significance; but the hour comes when they all fail us, and then we find how in such hours as that. Jesus has somewhat to say. And so, many of us have some things to say with the recent happenings in this country and around the world how many officials have kept quiet and not a single word has been uttered, but I have somewhat to say. God is still in control and He is the same yesterday, today and He will be forever.
He Has Somewhat to Say to Those Separated from Him by Great Distances
One notes, too, that He has somewhat to say to those separated from Him by great distances. What a gulf there was between our Lord and Simon! It is true that Jesus was sitting next to Simon, for that was the place of the chief guest. But sometimes one may sit beside another, and all the while being thousands of miles away. Just as two may live in the same dwelling, and sleep under the same roof at night, and yet seas between them “broad may roar.” Many a young fellow is nearer Georgetown or New York than he is to the fellow-clerk on the next stool. Real nearness differs from proximity. And that night, though seated next to Simon, our Lord was really separate from Simon by a gulf it is impossible to measure. The One a provincial from Galilee; the other trained in the learning of the schools. The One with love filling His great heart; the other discourteous and cold and legal. And yet across that gulf, the Saviour reaches, with His searching and revealing word, “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.” That is the wonder of the word of Christ. it is universal. It bridges every gulf. Men hear that word in their own tongue, as they did at the miracle of Pentecost. He has somewhat to say to the millions of India. He has somewhat to say to the myriads of China. He has somewhat to say to the New Guinea cannibals. He has somewhat to sat to the White House and Government in Washington, DC. When one thinks of our industrial civilization and compares it with the environment of Jesus, it might seem incredible that that lone Man of Galilee should have anything to say to us. yet there come times when we most profoundly feel that there is no one who understands us and our problems like the Guest who was in Simon’s house that night.
The Lord Has Somewhat Personal to Say
Then, too, we must not forget that our Lord has somewhat personal to say. To his intense surprise, Simon discovered that. I imagine that when he invited Christ to dinner, he was counting on some splendid talk. Had he not heard from the assembly officers that never man spake like this man? Simon was a man who loved the good talk, and had an abhorrence of gossip at the dinner table, as every decent person ought to have. He would get this prophet to talk of the Old Testament–He was said to have strange views of the Old Testament. He would get Him to speak about the Coming One. He would urge Him to tell one of His beautiful stories. And then, suddenly, and in the deathlike silence, came what he was never looking for: “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.” It was a word for him and him alone. It was intensely personal and individual. It reached his solitary, selfish heart. It probed his conscience and convicted him. And that is the abiding wonder of the Lord, that He speaks to each of us in such a way that there might be no one else in the wide world at all. He holds the answer to the vastest problems. He has a message for international relationships. But when we listen to Him He never leaves us brooding on international relationships. He speaks to me, I come to realize that the problem of all problems is myself. “Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.”
I am wondering with all that is going on in the church today if we are prepared to listen to the silent voice. “Church I have somewhat to say unto you.” Oh, my brothers and sisters can you fathom the silence within the walls of the church? God is speaking and the handwriting is on the wall. Can you read the writing or to understand the message.
