October 4, 2026 -- 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Isaiah 5:1-7; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43
H O M I L Y
Among the books of the Old Testament, there is one—the Song of Songs—that is entirely a love song, or a series of love songs. Although Cartesian thinkers have often expressed surprise at finding this kind of poetry in the Bible, the great Jewish and Christian mystics of all ages have seen in it an image of the loving relationship between God and his people. And more than one of these mystics—St. Bernard, for example—has commented on it at length. Yet we find other similar examples throughout the Bible; and the song of the beloved to his vineyard, which we heard in the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, is a fine example of this.
Isaiah was undoubtedly writing several centuries before the author of the Song of Songs, and Jesus Himself would take up the image of the vine several centuries later. He does so in today’s Gospel, just as He did in last Sunday’s. Isaiah’s text likely draws on a popular song in which the beloved laments his vineyard—from which he expected good grapes but received only bad ones. He calls on the inhabitants of Jerusalem to judge between him and his vineyard, toward which he is extremely harsh. Clearly, Isaiah—or the author of this popular song—did not yet know the Master of the vineyard well enough. He did not know the Father of Jesus.
With Jesus, the use of the image is entirely different. The owner of the vineyard has no problem with the vineyard itself but with the vineyard workers to whom he entrusted it—who, instead of devoting all their energy to making it bear good fruit, want to profit from it selfishly and even go so far as to kill the very son of the vineyard’s owner. Obviously, this parable, addressed to the chief priests and the Pharisees, describes their own attitude both toward the people and toward Jesus himself, whom they would soon put to death.
And yet, even toward them, Jesus’ attitude is quite different from that of the Beloved in Isaiah’s song. Jesus is not interested in punishing them. He is concerned only that His vineyard—His people, His Church—bear fruit. When He asks, “When the master comes, what do you think he will do to these vineyard workers? ” His listeners reply: “Those wretches—he will put them to a miserable death. He will lease the vineyard to other vinedressers, who will hand over the produce to him at the proper time.” In His response to this answer, Jesus takes up only the second part: “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” He is not interested in punishment, much less in vengeance. Furthermore, this is not about taking the kingdom away from the Jews to give it to the Gentiles, as a quick and superficial reading might lead us to believe. In reality, the house of God is and remains the chosen people, to whom the nations are added. Those at issue here are the shepherds. There is a stern lesson here for anyone who exercises a ministry of any kind among the People of God. This ministry is for the good of the People and not for one’s own satisfaction.
But what stands out most strongly throughout this parable is the need to bear fruit. And this applies to all of us. We did not receive the Gospel message simply for our own personal satisfaction or simply to secure our salvation. We received it so that we might bear fruit—fruit of righteousness and justice, according to the text from Isaiah. Together, we are the Church, and the Church exists for the world. Let us ask ourselves, deep in our hearts, whether, through the way we live, we are helping to bring about this reign of righteousness and justice in our world.
Armand Veilleux