Murmuring

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John

     The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
     “I am the bread that came down from heaven, ”
     and they said,
     “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? 
     Do we not know his father and mother? 
     Then how can he say,
     ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 
     Jesus answered and said to them,
     “Stop murmuring among yourselves. 
     No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
     and I will raise him on the last day. 
     It is written in the prophets:
     They shall all be taught by God.
     Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 
     Not that anyone has seen the Father
     except the one who is from God;
     he has seen the Father. 
     Amen, amen, I say to you,
     whoever believes has eternal life. 
     I am the bread of life. 
     Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
     this is the bread that comes down from heaven
     so that one may eat it and not die. 
     I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
     whoever eats this bread will live forever;
     and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”


     Murmuring.

     When I was at St. Joseph Seminary College (affectionately known as St. Ben’s), I loved sitting and gazing upon the beautiful artwork in the Abbey church. In the apse is Christ in glory, the Word through whom all things were made, rising above scenes of creation. But hidden beneath the grandeur of the Garden of Eden lurks paintings of the demonic, a testament to the fallenness of man and creation wounded by the sins of our first parents. There are nine demons in all. Satan is in the center and is flanked by demons representing each of the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, avarice, wrath, sloth, lust, and gluttony. This accounts for eight of the demons. I remember wandering in the sanctuary straining my neck as I looked up at them, trying to figure out what each one represented. Why were there nine? The revelation came one day as one of the monks was giving us seminarians a tour. The ninth demon, he said, represents the eighth deadly sin of monks according to St. Benedict: the sin of murmuring, grumbling, or complaining-- that vicious cynicism that creeps and grows in whispered conversations behind closed doors, exasperated sighs with rolled eyes, sarcastic comments under our breath. This demon, above all others, most threatens the harmony of community life.

     This demon of murmuring made an appearance most famously as the Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert. In their hunger and thirst they began to murmur among themselves about their sorry lot and who was to blame for it. I, too, have succumbed to the temptation to murmur, even during my time in the seminary as I gazed upon those paintings. In an increasingly more polarized political and ecclesial environment, it can be all too easy. Murmuring makes me feel like I’m not part of the problem. Murmuring makes me feel like I’m right. Murmuring makes me feel safe. But murmuring is destructive. Murmuring breeds division within families, communities, and within the life of the Church. Like the Israelites in the wilderness and the Jews before Jesus, we cannot listen to what the Lord wishes to tell us when we are busy murmuring among ourselves. Murmuring interrupts the Divine Word with human words. 

     We need to hear these words of Jesus anew with their full arresting force: “Stop murmuring among yourselves!” And what should we be doing instead? Jesus says to listen to the call of the Father: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him…. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.” If we are murmuring among ourselves, we cannot hear the call of the Father to enter more deeply into intimacy with Christ. 

     When big events happen in the church or in our country that cause us distress, where do we turn-- to the murmuring of YouTube personalities or to the voice of the Lord? When can you make the time this week to visit Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist and offer Him the murmurings of your heart?


About the Author: Fr. Taylor Sanford is an ex-chemical engineer turned newly-ordained priest (one of five for our diocese) and currently serves at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and the Mission of the Sacred Heart in Denham Springs. When he isn’t working in the parish or volunteering across the diocese, Fr. Taylor enjoys running.
How do you like your coffee? Like my clothes: black!
What was the 1st CD (or cassette if you’re old school) you remember listening to as a kid? Backstreet Boys, “Millennium”
What food would you eat every day for the rest of your life? Crunchy peanut butter
If you could eat dinner with anyone from history, other than Jesus, who would you eat dinner with? St. Jerome- master of the sacred page and a fiery grump for most of his life.
What is a random life hack you have? My coffee-maker has a timer option to auto-brew in the morning so that there is coffee already made whenever I wake up. I realize most people also have this life hack but it is still my favorite in the world!

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics

The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .