Fr. Tom McMichael,
husband, father and priest
A Pope
and a Priest with a Mother-in-law
February 5, 2012, 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Job 7:1-4, 6-7 I Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23 Mk
1:29-39
Alleluia,
alleluia.
A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Luke
Glory
to you, Lord.
On
leaving the synagogue Jesus went to Peter’s home, and there he saw Peter’s
mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. When He heard she was sick, He went to
her bedside, grasped her hand and helped her up. The fever immediately left her and she began
to serve lunch.
By sunset the courtyard was packed with
people who were sick and possessed by demons, who were brought to Him for
healing. A huge crowd from Capernaum gathered around to watch. He healed many of the sick and drove out many
demons. (But He refused to allow the demons to speak, for they knew perfectly
well who He was.)
Jesus rose very early the next morning and
went off by Himself into the wilderness to pray. Later on Simon and the others went looking for Him. Finding Him they said, “Everybody is asking
for you.” He said to them, “We must go to other towns as well and preach the
good news there also, for that is why I came.” So He traveled throughout the province of Galilee
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise
to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
A super event: a nesting robin
Here
it is February 5 --the first Sunday of the second month of the new year. Robins
have already arrived here in southern Texas. They will pause here a few days before
continuing their journey north. By early March they will arrive in Wisconsin.
After building their nests according to an eternal blue-print, marvelously imprinted
within them, they lay their nifty blue eggs in very fluffy nests made from
nature’s scraps. And when a late spring snowstorm strikes, mother robin protects
her eggs or newly hatched chicks with her extended wings. For some the yearly
return of robins with their nesting routine is a super event to behold. For
some it even beats Super Bowl XLVI which takes place
today.
A full day in the life
of Jesus
St.
Mark’s gospel (written before the others – sometime between 66 and
70 AD.) is the shortest of the
four gospels. It is fast-moving and begins not with Jesus’ birth as a babe in Bethlehem (as Matthew and Luke’s gospel begin) but
with Jesus’ baptism as an adult. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is
related in this first chapter of Mark, while it is found much later in chapter
four of Luke and chapter eight of Matthew.
Early one Sabbath Jesus and his
disciples went to the synagogue in Capernaum, where He taught with the ring of
authority and not as the scribes. There He drove out a demon from a possessed
man. Then He and his disciples left the synagogue around noon and went to Peter’s
home nearby for lunch. Peter’s mother-in-law, however, was sick in bed with a
high fever, and was in no condition to serve a meal. After Jesus commanded the
fever to leave Peter’s mother-in-law, the happily healed woman got up and immediately
served them lunch.
At sundown, however, the day was
not yet over. Since healing on the Sabbath was forbidden by the
Law, the townspeople had to wait till sundown (when the Sabbath ended) before
bringing their sick and possessed to Jesus for healing. By nightfall, Jesus had put in a really full day,
and He was exhausted. He who had no pillow of his own upon which to rest his
head (Lk 9:58) found one that night in Peter’s house, where at long last He
fell into a deep but short sleep. He rose early the next morning to find a
place where He could be alone and pray, and make some sense out of his very busy
life.
A full day in many people’s
lives
For the sake of their families, people
rise at early dawn to go to work. After a busy day at work, they wearily rush
home on crowded city streets or express-ways, to replenish themselves with
family, food and sleep. At home they might find a sick family member who needs
attention, or a nagging problem waiting to be solved, or an unexpected
eventuality to be dealt with. Early the next day they rise to start the round
all over again. Some, exhausted like Jesus, seek a place where they
can be alone and pray, in order to make some sense out of the race which daily
they’re forced to run. The race becomes even more stressful in economically
depressed times. The gospel account of a full day in the life of Jesus
resonates well with a full day in many peoples’ lives.
A pope
with a mother-in-law
The
gospel relates that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Peter (the man who in Catholic tradition is
considered to be the first pope) had a mother-in-law. In order to have a
mother-in-law Peter had to have a wife. The first pope not only had a
mother-in-law, he also had a wife! That, indeed, sounds strange to some
Catholic ears. For some it even sounds irreverent or blasphemous. It shouldn’t
sound irreverent or blasphemous. Peter
and the other apostles were real people with wives, mother-in-laws, kids, and
family dogs and cats. The fact that Peter, the first pope, was a married man
with a family immediately dismisses any claim that celibacy is a strict
theological requirement for ministry in the Church.[1]
A priest
with a mother-in-law
In
November of 2005, Pastor McMichael, a married man with two sons (19 and 21),
who served in Lutheran churches in Washington and Oregon for two decades,
informed his Lutheran congregation that he was resigning to become a Catholic.
He took that bold step without any assurance he would be able to continue his
clerical calling which he greatly cherished. He later remarked, "Perhaps
the most difficult part of this was giving that up, and not being sure if I
would be able to continue [to minister]. There was no guarantee that this door
would open." That door, indeed, did open. McMichael finally
got word that the Vatican approved his ordination to the priesthood, after a
three-year process of tests and interviews.
With
his wife of 23 years and his two sons at his side, Tom
McMichael was ordained a priest on January 10, 2009, in St. James Cathedral,
making him the first married priest in the Seattle Archdiocese. Father
McMichael, who doesn't want to be a poster child for the married priesthood, is
careful to tell us, “This is not the first step into married clergy." He
makes it a point to emphasize that he's simply “an exception to the celibacy
rule.”
On Jan. 11, Father McMichael celebrated his
first Mass at Assumption Church in Bellingham, WA -- a parish which is a rainbow of ethnic groups, income levels and
theological viewpoints. After Mass he stood
in front of the altar, and the diverse congregation was united as it clapped
its hands in heartfelt acceptance and blessing.
‘Tea-pot-tempests’
Some
Catholics might find it hard to interiorize the idea of a married pope or a
married priest. Many of us remember the not-very-long-distant past when we
found it very difficult to interiorize married deacons who could baptize our
children, or lay people (male or female!) who could be ministers of the
Eucharist. More importantly, we recall now how easily and how quickly most of
us have weathered those storms – those ‘tea-pot-tempests.’
It is not
possible.
The
ordination of McMichael, husband and father, took place in 2009. Sixteen years
before, in 1993, Archbishop Rembert Weakland OSB of the Archdiocese of
Milwaukee went to Rome for his ad limina[2] visit to the Pope. Two years before in
1991, Archbp. Weakland, wishing to address the problem of priest-shortage
afflicting his archdiocese and the Church at large, wrote a pastoral letter to
his archdiocese. In it he courageously wrote:
If
it became evident that no resident priest would be available for a parish, and
that there was no prospect of getting one in the near future, I would be
willing to help the community surface a qualified candidate for ordination to
the priesthood – even if a married man
- and without raising false expectations or unfounded hope for him or the
community, present such a candidate to the Pastor of the Universal Church [the
Pope] for light and guidance. (Catholic Herald, January 10, 1991)
On the
occasion of Weakland’s 1993 ad limina
visit, a letter was hand-delivered to him from the prefect of the Congregation
for Bishops. The letter scolded Rembert for suggesting that the Church should ordain
married men to solve its critical shortage of priests. The letter made it clear
to Weakland that “Among the requirements of Catholic unity there is the need
[for you Rembert Weakland] to accept the tradition of the Church. According to
ecclesial practice, reinforced by a Synod of Bishops, it is not possible to present married men for ordination to the
priesthood.”
It is
possible.
That
was in 1993. Sixteen years later, strange to say, it suddenly is possible to present married men for
ordination to the priesthood! On January 10, 2009, Tom McMichael, husband and
father of two, was ordained a priest!
The voice of the people
An old dictum says Vox populi – vox Dei – “The voice of the
people – the voice of God.” Both truth and untruth lurk in every proverb, and
this one is no exception. We remember, because we cannot forget, that the voice
of the people in Germany shouted “Heil
Hitler.” That could hardly have been the voice of God, as the Nazi
proceeded to put to death six million Jews. At most and at best, Vox populi – vox Dei means that
sometimes in the voice of the people there is, indeed, an echo of the voice of
God, and we must discern and heed it.
The
voice of one of God’s people reacting to the ordination of Tom McMichael (husband
and father) said,
This is a good thing.
It’s a start and a good argument for ending the celibacy rule. Suppressing
one’s natural sexual tendencies is not healthy, and it leads to evil acts
committed against children. Only the Roman Church has a celibate priesthood,
and it’s time to stop.
Another
voice said,
I don’t see the Church
surviving without changing her ways. There are places where one priest has to
drive 50 miles to serve 4 or more churches on a typical weekend where there
used to be at least 3 full-time priests. It is not possible to get the
spiritual support you need in these conditions.
Still
another voice said,
The first married
priest in the Archdiocese of Seattle and one of only about 100 in the whole
US – I never thought I’d see the day! Like
Obama’s inauguration which gave me hope for our nation, I have great hope again
for the Church. Change comes slowly, painfully slow for many, including myself,
but change is happening, has happened and I couldn’t be prouder.
Conclusion
No such thing as married or unmarried
After his first Mass Father McMichael stood
in front of the altar and before a congregation which was a rainbow of ethnic
groups, income level and theological viewpoints. Despite that great diversity, the
whole congregation broke out into a resounding applause, clapping its hands in
heartfelt acceptance and blessing. That congregation had Paul’s word to the
Galatians ringing in its ears: “There
is no such thing as Jew or Greek, slave and freeman, male and female, [married
and unmarried], but all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
