Music Notes: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, October 4, 2026
Dr. John Michniewicz
The readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time again revolve around the imagery of the vineyard, reflected in a song by the prophet Isaiah and a parable told by Jesus himself. In the First Reading, Isaiah 5:1-7, the prophet Isaiah begins, “Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard.” Here, the owner of the vineyard lovingly puts much care into its development by clearing the ground, planting choice vines, and even building a watchtower and a wine press. But at the harvest, the vineyard yields only wild grapes. The song shows the grief of the vineyard’s owner, who has given everything and contemplates what more could have been done. Isaiah explains the meaning by writing that the vineyard is Israel and that the fruit God longed for was justice and right living. Isaiah essentially writes a parable that is meant to wake those who hear it and encourage them to follow God’s way. In the Responsorial Psalm that follows, the refrain states, “The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.” This refrain is not taken from Psalm 80 itself, but is from the closing verse of Isaiah’s song in the First Reading, where Isaiah explains that the vineyard “is the house of Israel.” In this Psalm, God is asked to restore the people and let God’s face shine upon them, so that they may be saved. The Psalm’s verses, in a way, give a brief history of Israel through the image of a vine. God transplants the vine from Egypt, drives away the nations, and plants it in the promised land, where it spreads its branches “to the Sea” and its shoots “as far as the River.” The Psalmist prays to God: “Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine.”
The Second Reading, Philippians 4:6-9, then explains what good fruit actually is. Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned, but it is said to contain some of the most joyful and calm passages of the New Testament. Paul writes, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” He promises that “the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Paul then explains to the Philippians the attributes that should be developed: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” He closes with an invitation drawn from his own example: “Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.” The vineyard in Isaiah’s parable produced wild grapes.
Paul outlines the harvest that God desires and the peace that comes from following God’s will.
In the Gospel Reading, Matthew 21:33-43, Jesus tells the Parable of the Tenants. A landowner leases his vineyard and sends servants to collect the harvest. Instead, shockingly, the tenants actually beat and kill them. Then the owner, instead of just giving up on the vineyard, sends his own son, saying, “They will respect my son.” The tenants again shockingly do not; instead, they seize the son, throw him out of the vineyard, and kill him as well. Jesus then quotes Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes.” In this case, the servants in the parable represent God’s message through the prophets, and the son represents Christ himself. Like the son in the parable, Christ is rejected and put to death, but God raises him from the dead: the rejected stone becomes “the cornerstone.” Jesus explains the meaning of the parable by telling the religious leaders that the kingdom of God will be “given to a people that will produce its fruit.” Jesus’ message is clear: all are called to bear good fruit. The vineyard is planted and tended with great care, and the harvest God desires is a life of justice, peace, and faithfulness.
Sunday’s Entrance hymn, All Creatures of Our God and King (Worship Hymnal No. 607), is based on the Canticle of the Sun, written by St. Francis of Assisi near the end of his life, around the year 1225. Francis wrote the Canticle while he was ill and nearly blind, staying at San Damiano, the small church near Assisi where he had first heard his calling. Written in the Umbrian dialect of Italian, it is considered one of the earliest works of Italian literature. In it, Francis praises God through all of creation, addressing Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Wind, Sister Water, Brother Fire, and Mother Earth. The Canticle’s recurring Italian phrase, “Laudato si’, mi’ Signore” (“Praised be you, my Lord”), is reflected in the title Pope Francis gave to his 2015 encyclical on care for creation, Laudato Si’. Sunday, October 4 is also the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, making this hymn a wonderful way to begin Sunday’s Mass.
The English paraphrase is by William Henry Draper (1855-1933), an Anglican clergyman, who wrote it for a children’s Whitsuntide (Pentecost) festival in Leeds, England. Draper follows Francis’s Canticle closely, moving from the sun and moon, to the wind and clouds, to water and fire, to the earth itself, and finally to all people, calling each to praise God. The tune, LASST UNS ERFREUEN, first appeared in a German hymnal published in Cologne in 1623, where it was sung to an Easter text, and was harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams in The English Hymnal of 1906. The tune’s repeated alleluias give the hymn its joyful, celebratory character.
The hymn also reflects Sunday’s readings. In the fourth verse, the flowers and fruits of the earth are called to give God glory, echoing the image of the vineyard and the harvest God seeks in both the reading from Isaiah and Jesus’ Parable of the Tenants in the Gospel Reading. The fifth verse calls on those who bear pain and sorrow to cast their care on God, recalling Paul’s words to the Philippians: “Have no anxiety at all.”
Here is All Creatures of Our God and King as sung by the Cantor, Congregation and Choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6526KjXS1bA
All Creatures of Our God and King
- All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing: Alleluia! Alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam And silver moon with softer gleam:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
- O rushing wind and breezes soft, O clouds that ride the winds aloft: Alleluia! Alleluia!
O rising morn, in praise rejoice, O lights of evening, find a voice.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
- O flowing waters, pure and clear, Make music for your Lord to hear. Alleluia! Alleluia!
O fire so masterful and bright, Providing us with warmth and light,
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
- Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfolds rich blessings on our way, Alleluia! Alleluia!
The fruits and flow’rs that verdant grow, Let them God’s glory also show.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
- O ev’ry one of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, Alleluia! Alleluia!
All you who pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and cast on God your care.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Sunday’s Presentation hymn is Lord of All Hopefulness (Worship Hymnal No. 686). The text was written by author Jan Struther, a London novelist and columnist. She wrote this text at the request of Percy Dearmer, with whom she prepared an edition of the Songs of Praise hymnal in 1931, and it was first published in that hymnal to the tune SLANE. In each of its verses the text asks for God’s care at different times of the day, from the morning, noon and through the end of the day. The second verse specifically addresses Christ as a working carpenter and asks for God’s presence during the day’s labor. It echoes the call to produce good fruits through faithful work, and to dwell on all that is good, reflecting Paul’s admonition to the Philippians. The hymn tune SLANE is an Irish folk melody, named for the Hill of Slane in County Meath, where, according to tradition, St. Patrick lit the Easter Vigil fire.
Lord of All Hopefulness
- Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever childlike, no cares could destroy, Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.
- Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe, Be there at our labors, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.
- Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace, Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.
- Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm, Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.
At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing The Tree of Life by K. Lee Scott as the Presentation anthem. The lyrics come from a text written by Hungarian writer Király Imre von Pécselyi (c. 1590-c. 1641), in an English paraphrase by Erik Routley (1917-1982), one of the leading English hymn writers and editors of the twentieth century. The paraphrase dates from 1976, and Scott’s tune, SHADES MOUNTAIN, from 1987.
The text draws on the image of the tree of life from Revelation 22, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, and identifies that tree with Christ. The third verse describes the tree as choked with thorns that are not its own: “our greed has starved it, our despite has choked it.” The verse continues though: the tree still lives, and neither grief nor fire has destroyed it.
The anthem also reflects Sunday’s readings. In Isaiah’s song, the neglected vineyard is left to be overgrown with thorns and briers. Here, in a similar way, the tree in God’s garden is tangled in thorns and actually choked by human greed. In the Gospel parable, it is essentially that same kind of greed that drives the tenants to kill the owner’s son, in the hope of taking the vineyard for themselves. But just as the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone, the tree in the anthem is not destroyed; it lives. In Revelation 22, the tree of life bears fruit all throughout the year, which echoes the kind of harvest of good fruit that God seeks. Here, the final verse offers Christ’s “healing, strength and pardon,” freely given to all peoples and nations.
The Tree of Life
There in God’s garden stands the Tree of Wisdom, whose leaves hold forth the healing of the nations;
Tree of all knowledge, Tree of all compassion, Tree of all beauty.
Its name is Jesus, name that says “Our Savior!” There on its branches see the scars of suffering;
see where the tendrils of our human selfhood feed on its lifeblood.
Thorns not its own are tangled in its foliage;
our greed has starved it, our despite has choked it.
Yet, look! It lives! Its grief has not destroyed it nor fire consumed it.
See how its branches reach to us in welcome; hear what the voice says, “Come to me, ye weary!
Give me your sickness, give me all your sorrow, I will give blessing.”
All heaven is singing “Thanks to Christ, whose Passion offers in mercy, healing, strength and pardon.
Peoples and nations, take it, take it freely!” Amen! My Master!
Here is a performance of The Tree of Life by K. Lee Scott: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc4RqhafcGo
At the 11:30 Mass, the choir will sing, for the Communion Meditation, the Canticle of Brother Sun by Jim Scott and Paul Winter, from Missa Gaia (Earth Mass). This musical setting of the Mass was written by Paul Winter together with Paul Halley, Jim Scott, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Kim Oler, in the early 1980s. It was originally written for and performed at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where it is still presented each year for the Feast of St. Francis, which includes a famous Blessing of the Animals. The text, adapted by Paul Winter, is drawn from the Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis with additional text from the Book of Job. Sunday is also the Feast of St.
Francis, and this Canticle, along with the Entrance hymn, honors St. Francis, singing his text that praises God through the invocation of the sun, the earth, and all of creation.
The Canticle also reflects Sunday’s readings. In his original Canticle, Francis praises God through “Sister Mother Earth,” who sustains all creatures and brings forth fruit, flowers, and herbs. Here, the earth actually produces the abundant harvest that God, the master and creator of the vineyard, seeks in both Isaiah’s song and the Gospel parable.
The words from the Book of Job, taken from Job 12, show that all living creatures, including the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, can teach the beauty and wisdom of God, whose hand upholds the life of every living thing. Francis’s Canticle also praises God through those who forgive for the love of God and who endure trials in peace. In this way, it recalls Paul’s words to the Philippians, “Have no anxiety at all,” and his promise that “the God of peace will be with you.” Paul encourages the Philippians to think about “whatever is lovely.” Francis’s Canticle shows God’s goodness and the beauty of creation.
Canticle of Brother Sun
All praise be yours through Brother Sun, All praise be yours through Sister Moon, By Mother Earth my Lord be praised,
By Brother Mountain, Sister Sea, Through Brother Wind and Brother Air, Through Sister Water, Brother Fire, The Stars above give thanks to Thee.
All praise to those who live in peace.
All praise be yours through Brother Wolf, All praise be yours through Sister Whale, By Nature’s song my Lord be praised,
By Brother Eagle, Sister Loon, Through Brother Tiger, Sister Seal, Through Sister Flower, Brother Tree.
Let Creatures all give thanks to Thee.
All praise to those who live in peace.
Ask of the Beasts and they shall teach you the beauty of the Earth. Ask of the Trees and they shall teach you the beauty of the Earth. Ask of the Winds and they shall teach you the beauty of the Earth. Ask of the Flowers and they shall teach you the beauty of the Earth.
Here is a recording of Canticle of Brother Sun featuring the choirs of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkj07q-cGJs
The Final hymn, Rejoice, the Lord Is King! (Worship Hymnal No. 564), is by Charles Wesley and was first published in 1746 in his Hymns for Our Lord’s Resurrection. Each verse ends with a refrain taken from Philippians 4:4, the verse right before Sunday’s Second Reading: “Rejoice; again I say, rejoice!” The tune, DARWALL’S 148TH, is by John Darwall, vicar of Walsall, England, who composed tunes for all 150 metrical psalms; this one was written for Psalm 148 and published in 1770.
The hymn also reflects Sunday’s readings. Wesley wrote it as a resurrection hymn, celebrating Christ who, after his suffering and death, now “took his seat above” and reigns as King. The hymn reflects the Gospel parable: the son who was rejected and killed by the tenants is raised, and the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone. In the third verse, Wesley writes that “His kingdom cannot fail,” recalling Jesus’ words that the kingdom of God will be “given to a people that will produce its fruit.” Although Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison, he invokes a spirit of rejoicing, echoed in the hymn’s refrain. In the final verse, Wesley writes that “Christ the judge shall come,” a reminder that the owner of the vineyard will return, seeking good fruit.
Rejoice, the Lord Is King!
- Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing, And triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice! Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
- The Lord, our Savior, reigns, The God of truth and love;
When he had purged our sins, He took his seat above.
- His kingdom cannot fail,
He rules o’er earth and heav’n. The keys of death and hell
Are to our Jesus giv’n.
- Rejoice in glorious hope!
For Christ the judge shall come And take his servants up
To their eternal home.
Here is Rejoice the Lord is King with organist Samuel Metzger and the Choir of the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldxiwbX_72Q
In all, Sunday’s texts center on the image of the vineyard, planted and tended with great care by God, and the good fruit God hopes to find there. The message is clear that all are called to bear good fruit, a life of justice, peace, and faithfulness, in God’s vineyard.
Sources
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- Roman Catholic Lectionary for Mass, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A: Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew
21:33-43
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- Worship, Fourth Edition, GIA Publications
- K. Lee Scott, The Tree of Life, SATB and organ, MorningStar Music Publishers, MSM-50-3000 (1987)
- Hymnary.org, “There in God’s Garden” (text and tune information)
- Hymnary.org, “Lord of All Hopefulness” (text information and notes)
- UMC Discipleship Ministries, “History of Hymns: Lord of All Hopefulness”
- Diocese of Missouri, “Hymn of the Week: Lord of All Hopefulness”
- Wikipedia, “Missa Gaia/Earth Mass”
- Pelagos Music, Missa Gaia / Earth Mass, SATB choral/piano score (HL08744396)