Shining City on a Hill

Pledging our allegiance to the City of God  

Luke 10:1-12, 17-20  

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.  He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.  Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.' Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say,  'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.   

          If you could live in any city in the world, where would you reside? What is your favorite city in the whole wide world? I suppose some would say Paris, France, also known as “the City of Lights.” “Oui, oui, Paris!” as the French say. Perhaps you’d prefer Dublin, Ireland, the “Land of Saints and Scholars.” Others would love Rome, the so-called “Eternal City.” But I would say “Fort Smith, AR” – I really do love this city! I remember when Fr. Joseph Shanitraj arrived last year, I thought: “Watch out, the Indians are taking over the Fort!” Now, people usually associate Fort Smith with Judge Isaac Parker, the notorious “Hanging Judge.” But did you know that Judge Parker, as he lay on his deathbed in 1896, actually converted and became Catholic? You see, he was married to Mary O’Toole, an Irish Catholic lady, who attended Immaculate Conception Church. Mary, together with the persistent prayers of the Sisters of Mercy, brought down God’s mercy on Judge Parker in his final days.   

          Have you ever read the novel called True Grit written in 1968 by Charles Portis? You probably watched the movie instead, like I did. The heroine, Mattie Ross, made this remark about Judge Parker’s death. She said sarcastically: “On his deathbed he asked for a priest and became Catholic. That was his wife’s religion. It was his business and none of mine.” She went on: “If you had sentenced one hundred and sixty men to death and seen around eighty of them swing (hung), then maybe at the last minute you would feel the need of some stronger medicine than the Methodist could make.” The reason I love this city of Fort Smith is because its culture is not only very “cowboy” but it’s also very “Catholic,” and that culture is symbolized in the life and death of its most famous citizen, Isaac Parker.  St. Augustine, in his classic work called, The City of God, explained that “the City of Man” – whether that is Paris or Rome or Fort Smith – was always at war with “the City of God” but that the City of God would ultimately triumph. You see, Judge Isaac Parker lived in Fort Smith, the City of Man, but he died a citizen of the City of God.   

          In the gospel today, Jesus sends out seventy-two disciples to announce his arrival at various other towns and places he intended to visit. Notice the specific instructions Jesus gives them. He says, “Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you’.” In other words, Jesus sends 72 disciples to establish the City of God – the Kingdom of God – in the hearts of those who live in the City of Man, just like Mary O’Toole helped Judge Parker become a citizen of the City of God before he died. C. S. Lewis described this tension between these two towns (these two cities) more colorfully, saying, “Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage” (Lewis, Mere Christianity).  You see, Catholic Christians are supposed to sort of “sabotage” the City of Man and make it little by little more into the City of God.   

          In 1989 President Ronald Reagan concluded two terms in office and delivered his farewell speech. In it he referred to the United States as a “shining city on a hill.” Do you remember that speech? Listen to what he said: “The past few days…I’ve thought a bit of the ‘shining city on a hill’…In my mind it was a tall, proud city, built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” Now, I gotta tell you, as an immigrant myself, I’m glad someone opened those doors when I came and knocked! You know, this weekend as we celebrate Independence Day, and our hearts swell with national pride, and we should be grateful we live in a great nation, a shining city on a hill.   

          But my friends, please do not mistake the City of Man for the City of God. For as great and glorious as our nation is, it is not perfect. For example, we have a long way to go to protect the life of the unborn baby in his or her mother’s womb. We still need to work on welcoming the stranger like Pope Francis preaches. We need to root out racism and destroy all forms of discrimination, especially against Indians! Like Lewis said, this is still a sabotage operation because we, like the seventy-two disciples in the gospel, are here to announce the Kingdom of God, the City of God, to everyone we meet. You know, when you look closely at the United States of America today, you see that St. Augustine was right: in many areas of life, the City of Man comes into conflict with the City of God. Don’t forget which City triumphs in the end.   

          St. Thomas More stated very serenely moments before he was executed (by beheading) for treason against the king of England, these memorable words. He said, “I am the king’s good servant. But God’s first.” So too, each of us should be ready to repeat on our deathbeds, like Judge Isaac Parker did, “I’m proud to be an American, but I’m a Catholic first.”

          Praised be Jesus Christ!