2 Timothy 2:8-15 / Mark 12:28-34
We have often heard it said that silence is golden. But it certainly does not mean that we shut our mouths and don't say anything at all.
We need words in order to communicate. Yet silence is vital for good communication.
It means that our hearts need to be still and silent in order to understand the meaning of the words of a message.
But when our hearts are not still and silent, then our minds would be wrangling about words.
And the 1st reading tells us that all this ever achieves is the destruction of those who are listening.
Certainly, when everyone is talking and words are spewed all over, then no one is listening and nothing will be understood.
Yet, for the scribe who asked Jesus about which is the first of all the commandments, he listened to what Jesus said, and in the stillness and silence of his heart, he understood what Jesus told him.
And Jesus even commended him on how wisely he has spoken and even told him that he is not far from the kingdom of God.
May our hearts be still, may our hearts be silent, and we will know who God is and that He is indeed very near.