“It takes a village to raise a child” says the African proverb, made widely known by Hillary Clinton. This resonates deeply within me. When I raised a child as a young single mother, being surrounded by supportive family afforded my daughter an upbringing and lifestyle I alone could not provide. It also provided me the space to reimagine a life filled with purpose and a launching pad to pursue a call to ministry. Along with living as a testament to the power of love and sacrifice, my daughter embodies our family narrative in a way that seeks to honor the many stories she has heard from family members. Instead of growing up under the shadow of one person’s season of struggle, she was raised to find her path to flourish amid a cast of characters. They have become her cloud of witnesses, influencing her every step.
This week’s texts encapsulate the need for such a cast of characters, a village of voices, to guide us as followers of Christ. Both the Acts text and our Gospel reading from John 21 highlight God’s use of different personalities, in different positions, to shape our lives in Christ.
Often when we read the famous Damascus road story in Acts 9, we end with verse 6, when the just-blinded Saul has just been told by Jesus to go into the city, where he will be given further instructions. The focus tends to be on what happens there on the road—the effect of Jesus’ words on a man who has delighted in the pursuit and persecution of those who followed Jesus’ way. We see this passage—especially those of us in ordained ministry—as the apostle Paul’s call story.
