Articles by Brian Pizzalato
Second Sunday of Advent
Dec 2, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – Bar. 5:1-9Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6Second Reading – Phil. 1:4-6, 8-11Gospel Reading – Lk. 3:1-6In the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, we have a profound confluence of scriptural texts. Beginning with the Prophet Baruch who spoke during the time of the Babylonian captivity and exile of the southern Kingdom of Judah, we are led across the spectrum of salvation history to the Gospel of Luke, who quotes from the prophet Isaiah. Baruch and Isaiah speak about the end of the exile, the regathering of the People of God and the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s covenant plan.In Jesus’ day, centuries after the Babylonian captivity, the people of God still saw themselves as exiles in their own land. This continued exile is indicated by the prophet Daniel who is told by God that even though they would physically come back after seventy years, they would still be spiritually in exile. Daniel says, “Seventy weeks of years have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city” (Daniel 9:24). This basically means four hundred and ninety years. He also mentions how “an anointed one shall be cut off…” (Daniel 9:26). It is not by coincidence that when Jesus comes he proclaims “liberty to captives” (Luke 4:18).With regard to Isaiah 40:3-5, it must be understood within its context. Isaiah 40-55 begins what is known as the book of consolation within the book of Isaiah. This comes after chapters 1-39 which speak of unremitting punishment for their sins, and how they would be taken into exile. Importantly, Isaiah 40-55 uses language reminiscent of Israel’s first exodus --when, as former slaves, they came up out of Egypt. The original exodus outline of being delivered from Egyptian bondage, journeying through the desert, and entering into the Promised Land is transformed into a current hope for a new and greater exodus.However, Isaiah 56-66 speaks to those who have now returned from Babylon. This section of Isaiah says that this new exodus will not yet come about in Isaiah's time, even though they are physically out of captivity. Isaiah says that the new exodus would be delayed until the future messianic suffering servant comes to deliver them. Moreover, there is to be a preparation for the coming of Yahweh (God’s covenant name given to Moses in Exodus 3:14) to lead them out of captivity. This we read, “Prepare the way of the Lord [Yahweh]” (Luke 3:4b).The prophet Baruch tells the people of the exile to “take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever” (5:1). Both Baruch and Isaiah are giving the people hope in the midst of trial. Baruch speaks to the regathering of the twelve tribes of Israel. “Up Jerusalem! Stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One…” (Baruch 5:5). The people are called to look to the east. The east, in the Old Testament, was seen to be the place of exile, beginning with Adam and Eve being sent east of the Garden of Eden, and Cain being sent even further east of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:24). As Genesis says, “Cain went away from the presence of the Lord…east of Eden” (Genesis 4:16). To be in exile is to be away from the presence of the Lord. However, God promises that his scattered children will be once again gathered.Luke speaks of the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s saving plan. This is important on a couple of counts. First, it has always been God’s plan to include all peoples under the umbrella of his saving mercy. This is made obvious through God’s calling and covenant with Abraham. We are told that Abram’s name is changed to Abraham precisely because he will be “a father of a multitude of nations [Gentiles]” (Genesis 17:5).Second, the northern Kingdom of Israel, which included ten of the twelve tribes, was taken into captivity and scattered among the nations by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. In essence, the tribes were never to be seen again. They were forcibly intermixed and integrated into the various nations over which Assyria ruled. However, there are prophecies which speak of the regathering of all of the twelve tribes. The only way this is possible is through God bringing together all the nations. Isaiah prophecies, “…all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (40:5). All the nations being included in God’s saving plan would, of course, be important to Luke, a Gentile.One last point needs to be made clear: Luke is introducing John the Baptist so that we might more plainly understand the identity of Jesus. John the Baptist is the one who is to prepare the way for the coming of Yahweh. John, as we know, prepares the way for Jesus. Therefore, Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus’ name means “Yahweh’s salvation” and Isaiah prophecies that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (40:5). Jesus is at one and the same time Yahweh and Yahweh’s salvation.
Our Lord Jesus Christ the King
Nov 18, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – Dan. 7:13-14 Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 93:1, 1-2, 5
Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
Nov 11, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – Dan. 12:1-3Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11Second Reading – Heb. 10:11-14, 18Gospel Reading – Mk. 13:24-32We must begin by considering the context of this Sunday’s first reading which is taken from the prophet Daniel. Daniel is a prophet who spoke during the time of the southern kingdom of Judah’s exile in Babylon. The Babylonians had overtaken Jerusalem and destroyed the city, its walls, and most importantly, it’s Temple.The Kingdom of Judah would return from exile seventy years later and build a new temple, but spiritually they were still distant from the Lord. God told the prophet Daniel that even though the Jews would physically return after seventy years, they would still be spiritually in exile. Daniel says, “Seventy weeks of years have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city” (Dn. 9:24). This is about four hundred and ninety years. He also mentions how “an anointed one shall be cut off…” (Daniel 9:26). It is not by coincidence that when Jesus comes he proclaims “liberty to captives” (Luke 4:18).With this background we are led to the passage of Mark in this Sunday’s Gospel. God came in judgment upon Israel and Judah in 722 B.C. and 587 B.C. respectively. He would also come in humility, with the coming of Jesus in the Incarnation. But when Jesus came he met a generation he would call “evil and unfaithful [adulterous,]” (Matthew 12:39) which indicated that the Jews are still spiritually in exile. Thus, Jesus too would have to administer words and deeds of judgment.What does the larger context of our passage from Mark tell us? In chapter 11, Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem and one of the first things he does is to mete out a preliminary judgment upon his generation through his cleansing of the temple. This is a foreshadowing of things to come.In chapter 13, Jesus, as he makes his way out of the temple, foretells of its destruction, “There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down” (v. 2).In v. 24-27, he once again foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple with a bit different language, “But in those days after the tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.” This points ahead to the end of time, but, first and foremost, it is a reference to Jerusalem, and the temple in particular. How so?The type of language used by Jesus is not new. It is used by the prophets in order to foretell the destruction of a nation. For example, Isaiah prophecies the destruction of Babylon with these words: “Lo, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and burning anger; to lay waste the land and destroy its sinners within it! The stars and constellations of the heavens send forth no light; the sun is dark when it rises, and the light of the moon does not shine” (13:9-10). The sun, moon and stars were the way the ancients told time. This prophetic language is a way of saying, “your time is up.”Jesus was foretelling the destruction of the temple. Among many important things that can be said of the temple is that it represented the cosmos; it was the universe in miniature. The cosmos was also seen to be a macro-temple, that is, the whole of the universe was seen as a temple. By referring to the sun, moon and stars, this was a way of saying that the old temple will be destroyed in judgment in order to make way for the new temple, Jesus and his body, the Church.As foretold, the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed this second temple. Jesus had said, “Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place” (Mark 13:30). Forty years was considered to be a generation in Jesus’ day. Within a generation, in 70 A.D., all these things had taken place and Jerusalem was still under the Romans.Knowledge of this context is integral to understanding Sunday’s Gospel reading. Jesus tells his followers to be ready, to be prepared, and to be watchful because they would not know when this would take place. However, they were called to read the signs of the times. Jesus said that when the many things he predicted would begin to take place, his followers (Christians), who are in Judea and Jerusalem, should “flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:16). We are told by the first century Jewish historian Josephus that one million Jews perished in the siege of Judea and Jerusalem under the Romans, but that he cannot account for the death of one Christian.However, as mentioned earlier, all of this also points ahead to the end of time when we will all undergo judgment at the resurrection of the dead. We, too, do not know when the Lord will come in glory. What we do know is that we must be on the watch, and to be on the watch we must be alert and we must certainly not be caught asleep spiritually. We can prepare for Jesus’ real presence at the end of time by being in a state of grace and receiving his real presence in the Eucharist here and now.
Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Nov 4, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – 1 Kgs. 17:10-16 Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
All Saints
Oct 28, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – Rev. 7:2-4, 9-14Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6Second Reading – 1 Jn. 3:1-3Gospel Reading – Mt. 5:1-12aThis Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. The Church, in proclaiming Jesus’ words in the Beatitudes, instructs us on how we can become part of the church triumphant by living a saintly life now.One point must be made abundantly clear, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “The Beatitudes depict the countenance of Jesus Christ and portray his charity” (1717). Therefore, the Beatitudes are another way of saying we must be like Christ. The Beatitudes are about imitating Christ, and it is in imitating Christ that we will be blessed in this life and in the life to come.Jesus was poor in spirit, which means he was humble. For us, it means recognizing, in truth, our own spiritual condition. St. Paul speaks about Christ’s humility. He says, “Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves…Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be [exploited], but emptied himself, taking the form of a [slave], being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:3, 5-7).Jesus mourned over the spiritual condition of his people. Jesus cried out, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” (Matthew 23:37).Jesus was indeed meek, which is not even close to meaning that he was weak. Meekness is strength controlled by God. Jesus tells us to, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am [meek] and [humble] in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).Jesus hungered and thirsted for righteousness sake. At his baptism Jesus tells John the Baptist to baptize him because “it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Being righteous means doing the will of the Father, which Jesus would do from beginning to end. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prays, “…not as I will, but as thou will” (Matthew 26:39).Jesus was perfectly merciful. He tells his followers to be as merciful as the heavenly Father was merciful in the sending of his merciful son. The whole of Christ’s life was to bestow mercy upon everyone he met. This is obvious through his encounter with the lepers, the lame, the blind, etc. However, his mercy is based on truth. Mercy does not mean ignoring sinfulness, but calling the sinner to holiness. He was merciful even to the Pharisees by castigating them for their self-righteousness and hypocrisy.Jesus was pure of heart. The pure of heart shall see God, and this Jesus did. John tells us, “No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus is the Word who was with God, and was God, in the beginning. Jesus contrasts a pure heart with a defiled heart in order to help us understand purity of heart. He says, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).Jesus was a peacemaker. St. Paul says, “He [Jesus] is our peace…And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near…” (Ephesians 2:14, 17). The Letter to the Hebrews tells us to “strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). So we don’t misunderstand peace, Fr. Servais Pinkaers, O.P. notes, “Those who have an inner love for peace are certainly most likely to spread peace around them; even to fight for it. The peaceful person is not necessarily a mild, timid creature who cannot take a stand” (The Pursuit of Happiness – God’s Way, p. 146). Jesus was a peacemaker who surely was not mild, timid, or unwilling to take a stand.Jesus was persecuted and reviled. Peter tells us, “…Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps…when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on a tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:21b, 23-24a).The Beatitudes “shed light on the actions and attitudes characteristic of the Christian life…they proclaim the blessings and rewards already secured, however dimly, for Christ’s disciples; they have begun in the lives of the Virgin Mary and all the saints” (CCC, 1717).
Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time
Aug 19, 2009 / 00:00 amFirst Reading – Josh. 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b