We Are One Body:
The Gift of Unexpected Encounters

One of my favorite hymns is “One Bread, One Body” by John B. Foley, SJ. “One bread, one body, one Lord of all, one cup of blessing which we bless. And we, though many, throughout the earth, we are one body in this one Lord.” Over my past five and a half years here, as director of senior adult and social outreach ministries, those words have taken on new significance for me as I have bonded with a variety of individuals in totally unexpected ways.

Not long after arriving here, one of our senior adults, Ann Thompson, invited me over to her home. As we got acquainted, she told me that she had served as a home health nurse in Waco, a city where I lived for a number of years. She would never forget one of her patients, a young man whose body remained the size of an infant for his entire life. When he died in his late teens, he was about the size of a two- year old. Suddenly I was transported back a number of years as I recalled being in his living room, captivated by his beautiful brown eyes. His sister had been my piano student. This created a lasting bond between the two of us.

Then one year I asked another couple in our parish, Joe and Charlene Trochta, how they had spent Thanksgiving. They said they had enjoyed a visit from some dear cousins of theirs, Fred and Kathy Stanley. I told them I had taught with a lady named Kathy Stanley at St. Mary’s School in Waco back in the 1980’s and that her husband, a music therapist, was named Fred. As it turned out, we were talking about the same couple. Joe is a retired Air Force officer and Charlene, a teacher. So, as an Air Force brat who followed in her mother’s footsteps as a teacher, I had bonded with the Trochtas. Now, with our mutual admiration for the Stanleys, we connected all the more.

One Wednesday evening while leading Bible study at Brookdale Northwest Hills assisted living, I was really impressed with all the research one lady had done in preparation for our session. She has studied her material, taken notes, and summarized and applied it to real life in a very eloquent manner. I said, “Jean, you should have been a seminary professor!” She smiled and said, “One of my college classmates became a seminary professor. His name was Roy Fish.” Roy Fish had been my evangelism professor in my Baptist days when I was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. We marveled at the impact this man had had on each of our lives. I always thought that “Fish” was an appropriate name for a professor of evangelism since Jesus said, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4: 19)

One afternoon I went to visit one of our parishioners in a memory care facility. I had just walked in the door when a pleasant looking lady who appeared to be in her fifties came up to me. She was beautifully dressed and groomed. I thought she must be a family member of one of the residents. She asked, “If you have time, could you spend some time with me this afternoon?” I replied, “Of course.” She said, “I’ll take you to my room.” We went to her room and sat down facing each other. She introduced herself. “I’m Chris and I have Alzheimer’s disease.” As our conversation proceeded, she told me how she had actively lived out her Christian faith for many years, but now she was afraid that God didn’t love her anymore. I affirmed her for her obvious love of God which she had expressed in many ways over the years. “What can I do?” she asked. I reassured her of God’s continuing care even when we feel abandoned. I encouraged her to express her true concerns to her Lord. She agreed to do so. A few weeks later we met again. She extended her hand and said, “I tried what you suggested, and it really has helped. And the people here are so good to me.” Through her example, she taught me a lesson about the power of prayer.

As I reflect upon the unexpected blessings coming from these relationships, I am reminded of the hymn stanza that says, “Many the gifts, Many the works, One in the Lord for all.” We come from many different backgrounds, with different gifts and abilities. But most important, we are “One in the Lord for all.” Let us be open and available to our brothers and sisters so we can truly be “one in the Lord for all.”