(Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time-Year A; This homily was given on October 4, 2020 at Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy; See Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80 and Matthew 21:33-43)
“Beauty will save the world.” That is perhaps one of the most often quoted lines of Dostoevsky, from one of his greatest novels. Countless essays, articles and even books have been written trying to interpret what he meant. I will not add to that this morning (truth be told, I already tried to do so in a previous homily on this blog!). What I would suggest this morning is a paraphrase of Dostoevsky’s quote. I would suggest, from our readings this weekend, that music will save the world!
Our readings this weekend begin, actually, with a song. Isaiah the Prophet sings for us:
Let me now sing a song of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside: he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines: within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a winepress. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes.
—Isaiah 5:1-2
But that song is suddenly interrupted! It turns into a lament, and becomes even a polemic as the owner of the vineyard contends:
Inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?—Isaiah 5:3-4
It is a rhetorical question that could only have left an awkward silence. What began as a pleasant song has now turned into a strong rebuke:
The vineyard is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant; he looked for judgment but see, bloodshed! For justice, but hark, the outcry!
—Isaiah 5:7
This song, it would seem, is OVER.
And yet, looking at Sacred Scripture, it becomes clear that the song is not over. It is far from ended! But it has changed.
The Song of Songs, which is a love song between a bride and groom (Israel and the Lord), is literally filled with imagery and symbolism. Many times the bride is referred to, among other things, as a vineyard (Song of Songs 1:14; 2:13-15; 7:8-12; 8:12) . The bride in that song is longing for her bridegroom and lamenting that she has hurt him through her infidelity (see Song of Songs 1:5-17). She is pining for him and seeking her beloved, he whom her soul loves (Song of Songs 3:1-5).
That longing is continued in our Responsorial Psalm this morning (Psalm 80). We did not recite that Psalm. No, we sang it! We musically intoned:
Once again, O Lord of hosts, look down from heaven, and see. Take care of this vine . . . O Lord, God of hosts, restore us; if your face shine upon us then we shall be saved.
—Psalm 80: 14, 19
We sang with the Psalmist that the Lord would shine His face upon us, that this would be our hope. Psalm 80 sets to music the great desire that God would shine His face upon us and reinvigorate this devastated vineyard. Our hope and desire is that the face of God would shine on us.
That longing is answered in the Gospel of Saint Matthew this morning. The face of God shines out upon the people gathered before Christ 2,000 years ago, and here before us this morning in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Jesus Christ gives us the parable of the vineyard. It is a familiar story for His listeners. They have heard about that vineyard and even sung about it many times. But there is much at stake as He relates that familiar story. In great detail He tells about the rejection of the tenants and the killing even of the owner of the vineyard’s son. The conclusion is even more dramatic than that of Isaiah. Christ declares to those who are unfaithful:
The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.
—Matthew 21:43
Our eternal life in the Vineyard of the Lord is not automatic. We are called to be faithful and to bear great fruit for our Beloved. Have we considered that essential aspect of our life in the Church? On a positive note, if we look at the end of the Sacred Scriptures, and the final Book of the Bible, we can hear the song of the blessed in heaven being sung with great joy (Revelation 5:9-14). They sing together the Song of the Lamb who was slain and rose again, the Bridegroom who has taken them to live with Him forever (Revelation 19:5-8). We are being called even now to join in that awesome song.
There is a beautiful story I heard many years ago by the Evangelical preacher, Steve Brown, of KeyLife Ministries. The story is about two brothers, close in age. The older brother was tall and good looking, a real leader who was loved by everyone. His little brother was small in stature and hunched over, and often fell victim to the scorn and mockery of those around him. One thing about that little brother, though, was that he could sing. He had the voice of an angel! People loved to hear him sing in the choir or whenever he was spontaneously moved to chant some magical melody.
The two brothers went away together to a boarding school and, not surprisingly, the older brother quickly made many friends. He was, in fact, very popular . The young brother was not well received at all and was bullied frequently. One day, while the older brother was walking through the halls of the school, he heard shouting and laughter coming from one of the classrooms. He quickly entered that place, and was sickened to see that some of the students had pulled his brother’s shirt up over his back, and they were pushing him around the classroom. He wanted to run into the midst of them and stop it, but he was afraid. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to turn away and leave rather than risk losing some of the friends that he had gained at that school. But before he turned away his little brother saw him. The older brother never forgot the look upon his face.
Eventually the older brother finished boarding school and went on to be a very successful young man. The younger brother, however, in the weeks following that terrible incident of his brother’s betrayal, left the school of his own decision. Never again was he to sing in the choir and inside he became a different person all together.
Many years later, while the older brother was halfway around the world on business, he was out sitting beneath the stars on a beautiful summer night. Suddenly he felt very close to God, but also felt the Holy Spirit convicting him of what he had done so many years before. He was deeply moved by shame and sorrow, and made the decision to find his brother and do whatever he could to reconcile that awful situation.
When he finally located the house where the brother lived, he was anxious that he might not be received as he knocked on the door. Nonetheless, when his brother opened the door, he immediately welcomed him with open arms. They embraced and wept, and then sat together all evening. Eventually they were exhausted from talking, laughing and crying, and the older brother crashed out on the bed in the guest room and fell fast asleep. In the morning, he was awoken to the most beautiful sound that he had ever heard. It was the voice of his brother, and he was singing.
There are a lot of things wrong in the Church today. We can read about them in the newspaper, and we hear about them all the time. But one of the problems in the Church is that we are not singing as we should! We have been forgiven for so very much, we have been given so very much; we have the Sacraments of the Church, the grace of God, the teachings of our faith, and so much love, we should be singing! We have been touched so deeply by God that we should be able to forgive others, and be set free to sing.
Christ in the Gospel this weekend is inviting us to sing in the vineyard once again. He is calling us to learn anew the Song of the Lamb, and to rejoice in our Christian faith in a way that allows us to be transformed and to heed the exhortation of St. Paul to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
The world around us is literally dying to hear that song. Because in the end, the world will be saved by music. But in order for that to happen, we have to allow every aspect of our lives to enter God’s song of love.
