STOP murmuring!

In today's Gospel Jesus tells the Jews STOP murmuring.  You see they did not like Jesus' teachings that He is the bread come down from Heaven.  There are two parts to this.  The Jews in today's Gospel did not want to follow the teachings of Jesus and they sought to diminish who Jesus is; to make Him less than He truly is.  You could say they struggled with the truth.

How this resonates with me today as we reflect on the teachings of the eternal bride of Christ, the Church.  There is plenty of murmuring within the Body of Christ.  There is plenty of murmuring among those who want to compartmentalize the Church.  In just the week past there is much murmuring over the decision by Cardinal Dolan to have both President Obama and challenger Romney to dinner.  I understand both sides in this debate; I don't understand all the murmuring, most of it in public by those who have made a cottage industry, and probably a pretty penny, by criticizing the Church.  I guess to be more accurate, these folks love to attack the hierarchy of the Church. 

Among brothers and sisters who claim to be Catholic there is plenty of murmuring going on as well, particularly on facebook, twitter and the blogs over how Catholic one is based on their political party affiliation, who they support, what they believe relative to issues we call life issues and social justice issues.  Let's be clear, most who drone on in these forms of social media are just trying to feel good by making someone else feel bad.  Don't get confused here; we, as Catholics, should pretty darn well know the official teaching of Holy Mother Church on things like abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia and same sex marriage.  Yet we apparently dont.  Then when one folk discovers another on the social media scene touting their personal viewpoint, the self-righteous then calls them names, deems them un-Catholic or condemns them to hell. 

At this point, maybe it would be good to not only focus on those two words from Jesus, STOP murmuring, but to also go to today's 2nd reading from St. Paul written to the Ephesians.  He instructs them, and us: all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling MUST be removed from you , along with all malice.  He continues: be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

We are encouraged to correct the wayward; and Scripture tells us how to do this too.  It certainly does not ask us to rush to facebook or twitter and insult your brother or sister.  Nor does Scripture encourage us to constantly berate and batter clergy because you are making money in the process.

And while I am at it, what about all of us that make crazy statements that show little trust in God's plan or in Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior, of both the world and our personal life.  No matter who wins an election, no matter how good or bad the economy performs, no matter how well your team performs against my team, God is still on the throne!  God is still in control!  Jesus Christ is still the same Jesus who lived, died and resurrected for you and me!  Jesus Christ is indeed the same yesterday, today and forever!

This is also a good lesson to remember when things don't go our way; at work, at school, a doctor's visit or countless other things that, on a human level, will let us down. 

So in the days and weeks aheads can we STOP murmuring and treat each other with kindness, compassion and forgiveness?  We can, with the help of Jesus!