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.