You Did It to Me: Showing the Mercy of Jesus to Others

We have these saint stories on CD called “Glory Stories.” Even though they're made for kids, I get drawn into the stories as much as the kids do.  They're really inspiring!  We listen to them in the car often so I know most of them by heart now. There's one on Mother Teresa and it starts out with her mother giving her a short religion lesson when she's a little girl. She tells her that she can say the gospel on just five fingers: You. Did. It. To. Me.

This is referring to Matthew25:31-46 when Jesus tells his disciples about the judgment of the nations. He talks about how He was treated by the righteous and accursed when He was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill, and in prison. He says, “Whatever you did (or did not do) for one of these least brothers of mine, you did (or did not do) for me.”

These are very similar to the Corporal Works of Mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and prisoners, give alms to the poor, and bury the dead

As we approach Holy Week and begin the Divine Mercy novena on Good Friday, I wanted to share some things that a priest recently taught in a class about this reading and some of my reflections as it's so relevant to the Divine Mercy devotion and how we are to show mercy to others.

In this reading, there are two groups of people: the righteous (blessed) and the accursed. Neither group of people recognized Christ in the poor, and Jesus didn't judge them on whether they did or not. What they were judged on was how they treated them. The righteous fed and gave drink to the hungry and thirsty, they welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the ill and visited the imprisoned. The accursed did not. Both groups of people were surprised when Jesus told them that how they treated “these least brothers” was how they treated Him.

When we see the poor, lonely, lost, marginalized, or forgotten people around us, do we recognize Christ in them? Probably not. Many times I've driven past a person holding a sign up on the side of the road and said a prayer for them and went merrily on my way forgetting all about them within the minute.

I used to work in downtown Minneapolis where I encountered many people begging for money on the street. Most people would walk right on by (myself included). There's this feeling of justice when you think to yourself, “Why should I give some of the money I'm working for to this person? Who knows what they're going to use it for. They're not even trying to find a job to provide for themselves. They don't deserve my hard-earned money.”

Whenever we encounter the poor do we look them in the eyes and even acknowledge their presence or are they invisible to us? What would happen if all Christians took Jesus' words to heart? How would we think about and treat the strung out drug addict, the drunk homeless man, the single welfare mom with 4 kids running around while she's talking on her new iPhone, or the prostitute on the side of the road if we saw Christ in them?

The thing is, it's hard to do and nearly impossible if we don't recognize that when we encounter the people who are the most hard to love, we not only encounter Christ, but we encounter ourselves! For one, we are just as poor and needy as they are. We are hungry for love. We're thirsty for acceptance. We're a stranger feeling unwelcomed and rejected. We are naked and vulnerable in our failures. We're sick in sin. We're imprisoned by habitual sin. And it is Christ who looks upon us in our own misery with mercy and compassion and ministers to our most basic human needs of love and acceptance.

We also encounter ourselves in the poor when we consider Christ's command to love our neighbor as ourselves. How often do we really do that? When you see someone else do you ever think about loving them as you would want to be loved? Imagine you're the begger on the street. How would you want to be treated? Would you want people to look at you with contempt? Would you want people to pass you by pretending you're not even there? Would you want people passing judgment on your life circumstances and the decisions you've made? If we loved our neighbors as ourselves, how could we ever justify these thoughts and actions, not only to the poor, but to all people?

Jesus doesn't turn a blind eye to us and say to Himself, “Why should I help this poor sinner? Look at him! What good will it do? Who knows if he'll ever really love Me in return. He gives Me lip service but his actions are not those of My disciples. He doesn't deserve my mercy and forgiveness.”

Even if He did think those things to Himself, would He be wrong? Do we really love Him (through others) in deed and truth, not just in word or speech (1 John 3:18)? When He is explicit in telling us how we should treat “these least brothers” do we ever stop to think that our passing judgments against them or indifference toward them are actually our thoughts and actions directed toward Christ Himself? They are immortal souls, after all, created in the image and likeness of God just as we are. Do any of us deserve Christ's mercy and forgiveness more than they do? 

Thanks be to God He doesn't treat us the way we treat others!

This Holy Week, I'll be reflecting more on how Christ has loved and treated me in my poverty and sinfulness. There's nothing I have ever done or could ever do to deserve His unfathomable mercy and forgiveness, yet He bestows it on me every day, and not begrudgingly but with joy. 

Jesus, may I show this same mercy and compassion to others in my words and actions and constantly remind myself of the gospel in 5 fingers: You. Did. It. To. Me.

~Tami

“Bless the Lord, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God,

Who pardons all your sins, heals all your ills,

Delivers your life from the pit,

surrounds you with love and compassion,

Fills your days with good things...

[God] has not dealt with us as our sins merit,

nor requited us as our deeds deserve...

As far as the east is from the west,

so far have our sins been removed from us.”

Psalm 103:2-5, 10, 12

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead." 

James 2:14-17

UNEXPECTED SURPRISE!

We've been waiting to make the announcement of becoming foreign missionaries before we shared some other news in our family... Christmas Eve Day, God gave us a little surprise: we found out we’re expecting baby #7!!! Having six kids, one might wonder how many of them were surprises but this is actually our first. We had talked about whether or not we should try to have another baby earlier last year but my plan was to wait. God got a kick out of that one! “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the decision of the Lord that endures.” Proverbs 19:21

It's been comforting to me, actually, to become pregnant unexpectedly because since this wasn’t our plan (and looking back on my chart, I don’t know when it would have happened!), it’s clear that this new person has come into being because God willed it and has a particular plan for him or her. It’s incredible to think about how this person could only have been conceived at this time, and no other! And that, although Robert and I cooperated in being open to new life, we don’t and never will get to decide when a new person comes into being. That's God's call. He creates who He wills. Doesn’t that blow your mind? No person is ever really an accident or an “oops” because they were always known by the God Who gave them life.

Now, the timing of this pregnancy threw me for a loop at first. The baby is due just 18 days before we'll start our 3-month Intake in Louisiana. I've gone early, on time, and late with the other pregnancies so it's anyone's guess when this baby will be born. The day I found out we were expecting and estimated when the due date would be, I was glad that it wasn't going to be during Intake, at least, but wondered what it was going to look like being in transition already and then having a new baby on top of it all. I prayed the Joyful mysteries of the rosary three days later and it was while meditating on those mysteries that our Blessed Mother comforted me. She understood what I was going through. She herself had to undergo SO much more.

She was surprised, too, when she found out that she was going to bear God's Son. And at such a seemingly inopportune time: she wasn't even married to Joseph yet! Nevertheless, she trusted in God and said “Yes” to His perfect plan. Can you imagine what she was thinking and feeling after the angel Gabriel left as she tried to comprehend what just happened? Can you imagine how she felt when the Holy Spirit came upon her and she conceived Jesus in her womb? I can't imagine that that moment came and went without her knowledge. How incredible would it be to know that the Son of God is being entrusted to you! Instead of fear and apprehension, she responded with great joy and gratitude.

Then, just days before she gave birth, she and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem from Nazareth, which was 80 or so miles with rough terrain. This is always depicted as her riding on a donkey but Scripture doesn't actually say that. It's possible she walked. Either way, it would have been a rough trip to make at 9 months pregnant, and they barely made it to shelter before she gave birth to Jesus.

Mary didn't get to have him in the comfort of her own home. Instead she was given a barn filled with animals (think about those conditions, the smell). She couldn't lay him in his own little crib in the nursery she spent hours decorating and preparing, no doubt, with all the latest and greatest baby gear and essentials from Babies 'R Us (this was her first baby, after all, and it was the Christ Child, for crying out loud! He deserved the best!). Instead of a crib, she was given a trough to lay him in. Family wasn't even around to come visit and dote on this precious new baby of hers. Instead, God sent angels to tell the good news to nearby shepherds – complete strangers – to come visit and adore His only Son. I wonder what Mary thought about all of this. All we're told is that she “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19).

Then, forty days after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary make the trip to Jerusalem to present Jesus to His Father in His Father's house (the Temple) before returning, presumably, to Bethlehem, as the story of the Magi and flight to Egypt would not have taken place yet. We don't know how old Jesus was when the Holy Family finally returned to Nazareth, which was where Joseph and Mary would have called home, but older than two, perhaps even four years old.

In meditating on all of this, I became less concerned about how everything will work out in having a baby in the midst of transition. I realized I don't have to have everything figured out, just like Mary didn't waste time trying to figure out all that would happen in the days after the Annunciation. All she concerned herself with was being God's humble handmaid and faithfully give her “yes” to Him each day. He would work out the details. Doesn't He always? Maybe not in the ways we might expect but then again, His ways are better than our ways.  

Joining Family Missions Company

We learned on December 15^th that we've been accepted to serve as full-time foreign missionaries with Family Missions Company (FMC)!!!! We'll start a 3-month Intake in September at FMC's base in Louisiana.  There, we will prepare for missions as a family while we learn, serve, and grow together.  We'll then leave for our first mission in January 2019!

We're committing to doing this for 2 years. The first year, FMC staff will prayerfully decide which country we will be going to. They currently have missions in Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Haiti, Tanzania, India, the Philippines, and Taiwan, so it will likely be one of those places. In deciding where we go, they take into account their current needs at the time and what strengths/gifts they see in our family that would match up well with the people/needs of that area. We will be sent to an established mission where current missionaries will mentor us for that year. The second year we can decide to stay where we're at or go to a new mission. This could be an already established mission (one of the places above) or someplace completely new, as long as the local bishop has invited us.

Before our two-year commitment comes to an end, we will be discerning whether God is calling us to continue His work as foreign missionaries or if He is calling us to further His Kingdom in some other way. 

As missionaries with FMC, our focus will be to serve the poor while proclaiming and witnessing to Christ in our words and actions.  We will live among the people we serve, living out gospel poverty ourselves.  Having children on mission, we envision reaching out to many families around us and building fellowship and community among them, but we will follow where the Spirit leads us.  We likely will have a variety of ministries that our kids will participate in with us.  

We have learned through talking with current missionary families and adults who were missionaries as children that the witness and effectiveness of families in foreign missions is particularly impactful because of the children.  People seem to let their guards down more quickly and are less skeptical of a missionary family than they can be of singles sometimes.  Children also make excellent missionaries because many people are drawn to them, both young and old.  The adults that we've talked to who spent time doing mission work as children have shared how their experiences have had a tremendous impact on them.  They learned to appreciate and be grateful for what they have and are less indifferent to the needs of others, being more keenly aware of Christ's presence in the poor. 

   

In 1990, Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical titled, "Mission of the Redeemer" (Redemptoris Missio).  In it, he writes, "From the beginning of my Pontificate I have chosen to travel to the ends of the earth in order to show this missionary concern.  My direct contact with peoples who do not know Christ has convinced me even more of the urgency of missionary activity, a subject to which I am devoting the present encyclical."  Later, he says, "The number of those who do not know Christ and do not belong to the Church is constantly on the increase.  Indeed, since the end of the Council it has almost doubled.  When we consider this immense portion of humanity which is loved by the Father and for whom he sent his Son, the urgency of the Church's mission is obvious."  

He also speaks about how all the laity are missionaries by virtue of their baptism and that, "The mission ad gentes (to the nations) is incumbent upon the entire People of God... [It] is the task of all the Christian faithful."  He goes on, "It is clear that from the very origins of Christianity, the laity - as individuals, families, and entire communities - shared in spreading the faith." 

Certainly God doesn't call every person to a foreign missionary vocation.  We are all one body with many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12ff), each having our own role in participating in the work of evangelization.  So how can the supreme duty of the Church in bringing the gospel to all the nations be incumbent upon the entire People of God?  There are many ways! John Paul II lists several: 

1.) "Prayer should accompany the journey of missionaries so that the proclamation of the word will be effective through God's grace."

2.) "Prayer needs to be accompanied by sacrifice. The redemptive value of suffering, accepted and offered to God with love, derives from the sacrifice of Christ himself, who calls the members of his Mystical Body to share in his sufferings, to complete them in their own flesh (cf. Col 1:24)."

3.) "Cooperation is expressed above all by promoting missionary vocations... Preaching the Gospel requires preachers; the harvest needs laborers."

4.) "The material and financial needs of the missions are many... it is important to consider the spirit in which donations are made...the missions ask not only for a contribution but for a sharing in the work of preaching and charity toward the poor.  Generosity in giving must always be enlightened and inspired by faith: then we will truly be more blessed in giving than in receiving."

5.) "...Individual believers extend the reach of their charity and show concern for those both far and near...They help missionaries and follow their work with interest.  And when missionaries return, they welcome them with the same joy with which the first Christian communities heard from the apostles the marvelous things which God had wrought through their preaching (cf. Acts 14:27)" 

As we begin our missionary journey, we are in search of people who feel called to enter into mission with us in this way that John Paul II says by helping us with our financial and spiritual needs.  We may be called but we cannot be sent without the funds to do so.  The financial support that we receive will enable us to go proclaim Christ to all that we meet and to serve the needs of the poor with whom we'll be living alongside.  Likewise, without the intercessory prayers of others, our work won't bear much fruit. By having a team of people who are remembering us and those we serve in their daily prayers (even offering up sacrifices), we will be more effective in sharing the gospel, and hearts will be more open and receptive to hearing this Good News.  Therefore, the financial and spiritual support that we receive from those who partner with us in our mission is vital!  Mission partners are as much a part of our mission as we are.  

We will be sending quarterly newsletters along with other electronic updates to our mission partners to share glory stories and pictures so they can see how their support is making a difference in the lives of the poor and marginalized.  We'll also be praying for our mission partners every day.  In fact, we're already praying for these families and individuals - God knows who they are!  

If your heart is stirred to enter into mission with us, please let us know!  We're in great need of mission partners for both finances and prayers.  The work we do as missionaries can only be done by the generous support of a team of people who are just as involved as we will be in the Great Commission Jesus gave to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature."  

To learn more about Family Missions Company and see how other families and singles are serving the needs of the poor throughout the world, visit their website at www.familymissionscompany.com.  You can also see our own bio page on their website: www.erismanfamily.familymissionscompany.com.  If you are interested in supporting our mission through a donation, there is a place to do that on that page.  

In Christ,
Robert & Tami

Who is Family Missions Company? (5 min video) 

Preaching the Gospel & Serving the Poor // Family Missions Company (2 min video) 

“We talk of the Second Coming; half of the world has never heard of the first." – Oswald J. Smith

“Our God of Grace often gives us a second chance, but there is no second chance to harvest a ripe crop." – Kurt von Schleicher

Responding to a Missionary Call – Robert's Story

I felt the call to serve the poor at a very young age. When I was in Kindergarten, a guy from East St. Louis came to our school and talked about serving the poor and sharing the gospel message. We went on a trip as a school to serve the poor in East St. Louis, which wasn't far from where we lived. It really touched my heart and affected me. I think it really changed the core of who I was. We ourselves lived in a pretty poor community but my parents were better off than most there. We weren't rich but we did have money. I saw how my parents served our community with both their time and money. As a matter of fact, they were (and still are) the type of people who would give the shirt off their back. My dad once gave away his truck to a guy in our town. The point is, at a young age I had this desire on my heart to help those in need, which was something that my parents instilled in me, but it was also just the way God created me and the desire HE put on my heart.

I can remember riding in the back of the car and my brother and I sharing our dreams. He wanted to be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys (we were big Cowboys fans) and I wanted to be a missionary. We decided he would fund my missions with his millions. I recently told him I held up my end of the bargain and he told me he'll be applying to be the kicker for the Vikings.

As a young adult, I got involved in doing youth ministry, and during this time I still had a deep desire to be serving the poor, forgotten, and marginalized. For instance, while we were on the east coast I had a day off and on that day the Holy Spirit lead me into Harlem. I sat down and spent the afternoon sharing the gospel with a group of men. It was awesome! I was enriched because of the experience, and I can only believe that because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, they were too.

I lived in a number of men's households with St. Paul's Outreach (SPO), which is a college outreach program. As men, we were committed to a certain way of life in the Lord: communal prayers, meals, and formation. The funny thing is, though, that again, I found myself drawn to the poor and the marginalized. I would from time to time get talks from the house leaders about the type of people that we were called to serve in this ministry, which was college-aged youth, because I kept reaching out to the poor and forgotten within the area. One such time, our household was in a rough neighborhood and I formed a relationship with an older lady whose daughter was a prostitute. We would pray for her together on the front steps of our house, and really I was just someone who would listen to her. She just needed someone to talk to and needed to be loved and God put a deep love for this woman on my heart. When her daughter got out of jail, she came over to the house with her mom and I read to her out of Romans where Paul talks about being children of God, and heirs of God with Christ. We talked about this being where she gets her self-worth and dignity and it being the only thing that's important. The Holy Spirit was present and it was amazing! However, the guys I lived with didn't think it was very amazing when they saw I was sitting there with what appeared to be a homeless woman and a prostitute.

I was in the Marine Corps and got to see plenty of third world countries where I came across extreme poverty to the point of malnourishment, tragic suffering, and real pain. It broke my heart to see these people. My heart went out to them. It was hard to see their dire need when in America there is so much excess that we have clothes sitting in our closets that we never wear or we just throw them away when they're worn out or even just because they're not in style anymore. We have food in our refrigerators that expire and get thrown away, or food that just gets scraped off the plate into the trash. I had wanted to serve in foreign missions my whole life but while I was in the Marine Corps and experiencing the realities around me, something inside me just broke.

While my wife and I were engaged, I told her that my vocation was to foreign missions and kind of razzed her a bit about it but I was serious. She told me my vocation was either her or foreign missions. There was no razzing, she was just plain serious. Then, every year when the gospel readings would be about discipleship, God would put this overwhelming and great desire in my heart to go serve the poor and to share the gospel. So, naturally, I would ask my wife to pray about doing mission work, and her being the good Catholic wife she is, she finally came around 11 years later! (ha ha) You can imagine my surprise and excitement and joy!

It was through reading the daily readings and prayer that God changed her heart. Tami started praying for the desire for foreign missions if it was God's will to serve in that capacity, and He answered that prayer! He spoke to her heart in this very specific call, which I find to be a true testament to the power of prayer, that God would change her heart so dramatically to desire something that she had previously, and for many years, had no desire for. And not only have the desire but she became excited about doing foreign missions!

It has been an amazing two years for Tami and I. It's truly been a joy to get to discern this with her and to watch her grow in excitement and watch our children grow in excitement as well. Just giving our lives over to God in our discernment, there have been so many fruits in our lives. It's an exciting life filled with the Spirit of God and miracles.

"If ten men are carrying a log - nine of them on the little end and one at the heavy end - and you want to help, which end will you lift on?  

- William Borden, as he reflected on the numbers of Christian workers in the U.S. compared to those among the unreached peoples in China. 

Responding to a Missionary Call - Tami's Story

“Come, follow me.”

This invitation given by Jesus to the rich young man has always pulled at my heart. In Mark's gospel, it adds that Jesus “loved him” when he looked at the man and invited him to be His disciple. (Mark 10:21)   Imagine Christ, looking at you lovingly and saying to you: “Come, follow me.” His invitation is to all of us, individually, personally.

I have sought to respond to this invitation throughout my adult life, sometimes much better and more intentional than others, and now I'm embarking on a new path that I haven't seriously considered before: foreign missionary. This is a call that my husband, Robert, has felt for many years, since his childhood in fact.  Over the years he'd ask me to pray about whether God might be calling us to foreign missions and I said I would but to be honest I never really did.  I had zero interest in foreign missions and felt like if God was calling us to that, He would put the desire on my heart, too.  

About two years ago, Robert called me out about this and said, "You've never really prayed about this, have you?" and I had to admit I hadn't. So, I told him I really would take it to prayer this time, and I did.  Over the course of several months, I started praying with the daily readings and specifically asked God to speak to my heart and to give me the desire for foreign missions if that was His will for our family.  And He did!!  He spoke to me through Scripture over and over again.  It felt like almost every day (and sometimes is was), Jesus was inviting me to come and follow Him more intentionally, and was calling me to look beyond myself and my own little world and to see Him in others.  My desire for foreign missions grew so much during this time that it was an obvious answer to my prayer.  

I wondered, though, how we could go as a young family...of six kids!  One night, Robert came across a website for an organization called Family Missions Company.  They prepare and send out families just like ours - big in size but small in age - into foreign missions. It was another answered prayer, for me.  I poured over their website that night and watched the testimonials of the couples who answered the call to a missionary vocation, and read the blogs of families in missions.  The desire I had for foreign missions turned into joy and excitement at realizing this was a real possibility!  

We learned that we could come down to Louisiana, where Family Missions Co. is based, for a “Come &See” weekend to learn more about the organization and to work and pray with the staff and missionaries in town. Because of certain circumstances, we had to wait over a year before finally being able to attend a Come & See, which we did last August.  Being able to talk with the missionaries and work and pray with them was invaluable in our discernment. The kids made quick friendships with the missionary kids, and we were able to talk with some of them, too, about their experiences in missions. It was a weekend filled with joy and peace, and the last piece that confirmed the calling and invitation we both felt in our hearts.

Soon after coming back home, we decided to apply to join FMC as full-time missionaries.  We heard back from them mid-December that we'd been accepted.  We'll be starting a 3-month Intake in September and then leaving for our first mission in January 2019.  It seems like a long time away but we have so much to do in the meantime that it's going to fly by.  

Please pray for us as we prepare for this new chapter in our lives! 

In Christ, 
Tami

Some pictures from the Come & See