Church of St. Matthew

A visible expression of God's love

  • Home
  • Mission & News
    • Parish Pastoral Council
    • Parish Bulletins & Inserts
    • Staff & Programs
    • Safe Environment
    • Volunteer Opportunities & Parish Needs
    • Liturgical Ministry
    • Music Ministry
    • Funeral Ministry Opportunities
    • Facility Rental
    • Parish History
      • Our History
      • Fr. Steve Homilies
      • West Side Paintings
      • 50th Anniversary of 1968 Church Fire
      • 50th Anniversary of Our Church Building
    • Men’s Club
    • Rosary Society
      • Funeral Ministry Opportunities
    • Serving Our Neighbor
      • Casa Guadalupana
      • Loaves and Fishes
      • St. Mary’s Health Clinic
  • Worship
    • Mass Times & Reconciliation
    • Worship Online
    • Online Mass videos
    • Funeral Planning and Liturgies
  • Faith & Learning
    • Sacrament of Baptism
    • Faith Formation
    • Community of Saints School: Pre-K through 8
    • The Good News newsletter
    • Safe Environment
  • Alums-Family-Friends
    • About Alums & Family & Friends (AFF)
    • AFF Committee
    • The Good News newsletter
    • How to Give to Community of Saints School
    • Alums Scholarship Fund
    • Scrip Fundraising
    • Missing Alums List
    • Class Reunions
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Messages from Fr. Bob / The Love Song We Sing! (Fr. Bob reflection)

The Love Song We Sing! (Fr. Bob reflection)

As we join together to celebrate Oktoberfest at the Church of St. Matthew, I want to welcome the different communities that are a part of our St. Matthew family:  Current Parishioners, Casa Guadalupana, Community of Saints Regional Catholic School, West Side Summit Charter School, Loaves & Fishes, St. Mary’s Health Clinic, Neighborhood House, and the People of Praise.  I also want to welcome former parishioners from the Church of St. Matthew and St. Michael as well as our St. Paul neighbors and business partners. When we gather to celebrate long-time relationships that are nurtured by our faith and trust in each other, we become a song whose melody, rhythm, and words somehow speak to our brains and touch our souls. A song can bring a tear to our eyes, a smile to our faces, change our mood for better or for worse, and calm our thoughts.

Knowing that music has the capacity to soothe even the most savage of beasts, the Prophet Isaiah wrote a lullaby about a vineyard that we heard in the first reading today. A song is written about a vineyard because at the time the prophet lived, grapes and wine represented happiness and joy—something that we human beings certainly like to sing about.  Even though grains, like barley and wheat, were the principal foods of the time, the fact that the prophet talked about the people of Israel not as God’s field of grain but rather as God’s vineyard suggests an extraordinary goodness of life they had with God. While bread fed the people on a day to day basis, grapes and wine celebrated their lives with God. Grapes and wine enabled the Israelites to be joyous in the many blessings that God had given to them.

The purpose of Isaiah’s lullaby is to first invite the Israelites to remember the blessings they have received from God and then to pass judgment on themselves as to whether or not they have responded whole heartedly to God’s generosity. The prophet’s song is like the traditional American lullaby Hush Little Baby.                     

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word.
Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird won’t sing,
Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat

And if that billy goat won’t pull,
Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover

And if that dog named ‘Rover’ won’t bark
Papa’s gonna buy you a horse and cart

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

After papa buys the baby a mocking bird, a diamond ring, a looking glass, a billy-goat, and a cart and bull, and a dog named ‘Rover’, papa knows but the infant has to decide with his or her own free will whether or not he or she will be the sweetest little baby in town. 

In the gospel reading today, Jesus recalls the lullaby of Isaiah and makes it into a parable. The purpose of the parable is to again invite the Israelites to remember the blessings they have received from God and then to pass judgment on themselves as to whether or not they have responded whole heartedly to God’s generosity. 

I believe that we as hearers of the song and the parable are challenged to reflect on how we live the love of God in our homes, our places of employment, and our neighborhoods? Maybe our billy-goat stubbornness, our bull in the china closet assertiveness, and our clear as glass perfectionism has somehow overshadowed the love of God rather than bring the love of God to others? Our stubbornness, our forcefulness, and our perfectionism have become ends rather than means for bringing the love of God to our world by working for gospel justice and equity for all.

In the words of the gospels, good fruit comes from our willingness to be salt, light, and servant for others and to be untiring champions of the poor; the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. We don’t have to go out into the streets of St. Paul or anyone of the many suburbs.  We don’t have to travel to the farthest reaches of world.  All we have to do is listen and look around us to find people who need our persistence, who need our boldness, and who need our thoroughness to help them through the difficulties of their lives.   

Today’s readings challenge us to see how good God has been to us and to ask ourselves how we have responded and will respond by bringing God’s goodness to others through the love songs that we sing. 

Fr. Bob Kelly

  • Share this page to Facebook
  • Share this page to Twitter

Published October 5, 2017. Filed Under: Messages from Fr. Bob. Posted by Fr. Bob Kelly

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter

Parish Bulletins

Download bulletins and inserts

Online Mass Videos

Online Masses as individual posts

Recent Posts

  • Parish Administrator’s Note – January 29, 2023
  • Upgrade the Electrical Box: $150,000 Fundraiser
  • Reflection from Father Steve – January 29, 2023
  • Volunteer Opportunities and Parish Needs for the week of 1-29-2023
  • Lector Workshop: Proclaiming the Good News! February 4, 2023
  • Volunteer Opportunities and Parish Needs for the week of 1-22-2023
  • Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra Family Concert – Peter and the Timberwolf, with Hip Hop, History and the Arts – 2/5/2023
  • Faith Formation News, January 22, 2023
  • Liturgical ministry scheduling for Ash Wednesday – May 28
  • Parish Administrator’s Note – January 22, 2023
  • Reflection from Father Steve – January 22, 2023
  • Volunteer Opportunities and Parish Needs for the week of 1-15-2023
  • Isaac’s Blessing Bags 2022 – Thank You
  • Parish Administrator’s Note – January 15, 2023
  • Faith Formation News, January 15, 2023

See all blog posts

Blog Categories

  • Advent and Christmas
  • Alums & Family & Friends
  • Catholic Leadership
  • Class Reunions
  • Community of Saints School
  • Community Service
  • Faith Formation / Religious Education
  • Fall Festival
  • Food events
  • Fr. Steve's Reflections
  • Free food
  • Fundraising and Donations
  • General News
  • Gospel Readings
  • History
  • Homilies Weekly
  • Job Fair
  • Lent and Easter
  • Liturgical Ministry
  • Maintenance and repair
  • Memorials and Dedications
  • Men's Club
  • Messages from Fr. Bob
  • Music
  • Parish Pastoral Council
  • Pastoral Ministry
  • Prayer and Adoration
  • Reflection
  • Rosary Society
  • Sacraments
  • Scouts
  • The Good News newsletter
  • Vocations/Religious Life
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Worship
  • Youth Ministry

Subscribe to us!
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Site development and design by Schletty Design • Contact if you have trouble using this website.