This
Sunday, June 23rd, I will continue my summer sermon series, “Supporting Cast Members in the Bible.” With this series, I hope to help my faith
community get to know some of the “supporting cast” of the scriptures. By “supporting cast,” I’m referring to Biblical
characters, who have interesting stories, even though they are not as well-known
as more major characters, such as Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, Peter, and Paul. To launch the series last week, we got to
know Eli, who was a priest at the temple at Shiloh and who also served as a
surrogate father for the young boy, Samuel.
This week,
I’d like for us to become better acquainted with Philemon, an early Christian. Philemon was a rich, well-to-do man from Colossae,
a city in Asia Minor. He converted to
Christianity under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. As time went on, he and Paul developed a
close friendship. We learn about
Philemon from a letter which Paul wrote to him.
The letter is simply entitled, “Philemon,” and it is one of the epistles
in the New Testament.
Paul writes
his letter to Philemon because of a man whom Paul has befriended, named
Onesimus, which means “helper.” Earlier Philemon
had owned Philemon as a slave. Slavery
was commonplace in the Greco-Roman world of the early church. Due to his wealth, Philemon undoubtedly owned
a grand, extravagant home, which required much upkeep and maintenance. It is also likely that Philemon had a large
family to feed and clothe. So, in order
to ensure that all of the domestic tasks were completed, Philemon owned
servants, including Onesimus.
For some
reason, Onesimus ran away from Philemon.
The Apostle Paul does not go into these details. Perhaps Onesimus did not feel that he was
being treated fairly by Philemon; perhaps he had stolen from Philemon; perhaps Onesimus
just wanted to have his freedom. Whatever
the reason, Onesimus fled from his servitude in Philemon’s household.
Then, the
story takes an unexpected turn. Onesimus
finds himself with the Apostle Paul.
Paul had been imprisoned because he continued to preach the Gospel of
Jesus Christ and challenge the status quo.
It is not clear from the Letter how Onesimus found Paul. It would be odd for Onesimus, a run-away
slave, to seek out someone in prison.
Perhaps Onesimus and Paul met prior to Paul’s arrest and imprisonment.
Once again, the text does not
provide many details. However, we do
know that at the time the letter was written, Onesimus is helping care for Paul
during his incarceration. More
importantly, under the guidance of the Apostle Paul, Onesimus has become a
Christian. Paul writes, “I
am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during
my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you
and to me” (verses
10-11).
Since Onesimus is a run-away slave, Paul is sending him back
to Philemon, his rightful master under the law of the land. Paul writes his letter, with the intention
that Onesimus will carry it with him and present it to Philemon:
“I am sending him, that is, my own heart,
back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service
to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to
do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be
voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a
while, so that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a
slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much
more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord” (verses 12-16).
In this letter, Paul makes several requests of Philemon. First, it is implied that Philemon should
welcome Onesimus back into his household with love—not with sanctions or
punishment. Since Onesimus had run away,
Philemon was legally entitled to have Onesimus whipped or severely punished in
some other way. However, Paul appeals to
Philemon as a fellow Christian, whose life and actions should be filled with Christian
love. Secondly, Paul asks Philemon to
consider returning Onesimus to the prison, where Paul is currently
incarcerated. Note from the text that
Paul believes Onesimus could be of useful service to him while he is imprisoned.
Throughout his letter, Paul has been gracious and indirect—not
commanding Philemon, but suggesting options to Philemon. This is especially true in Paul’s final
request. Paul suggests the possibility
of manumission for Onesimus. Paul makes
this request based upon Christian love, which we are called to manifest as
followers of Christ. Following this third,
radical request, Paul closes his letter by reminding Philemon that they are
partners together in serving Christ:
“So if you consider me your partner,
welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything,
charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I
say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let
me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to
you, knowing that you will do even more than I say” (verses 17-21).
Fortunately,
we do not have legal slavery in our society today,[1] which raises the question
concerning what this Biblical story means for us today. In my proclamation this weekend, I will
suggest that the story of Philemon indicates that Jesus calls his disciples to
a higher standard of ethical conduct than the established standard in secular
society around us.
Paul’s
requests of Philemon exemplify this higher standard. Within his society, Philemon would have been
perfectly within his rights to whip and severely discipline Onesimus. Yet, Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus
and be reconciled. Within his society,
Philemon would have been perfectly within his rights to keep Onesimus in
slavery, with no possibility of manumission.
Yet, Paul suggests that Philemon should free Onesimus out of his love
for Onesimus as a Christian brother. All
of Paul’s requests represent a higher standard than the expectations of
Philemon’s secular society.
The
challenge of this passage for contemporary Christians is to discern what form
this higher standard should take in our personal lives. For Philemon, the higher standard involved forgiving,
loving, and freeing his run-away slave, Onesimus. The challenge for us today is to discern what
the higher standard is for us, living in twenty-first century America.
If you live in the Lincoln,
Nebraska area and do not have a place to worship, then I invite you to come and
join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, June 23rd. Join us, as we explore God’s higher standard for
our current circumstances.
Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A”
Street. We have three worship services
on Sunday mornings at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00.
The 8:30 and 11:00 services feature a traditional worship format and the
services are held in our Sanctuary. My
proclamation on Philemon will be part of the 8:30 and 11:00 services.
“The Gathering” at 9:45 is held in our Family
Life Center (gym); it is more informal and interactive. In “The Gathering” this summer, we will
explore areas of Christian discipleship, using a different Disney film each week. This Sunday, June 23rd, we are exploring Christian
love, based upon 1 Corinthians 13 and the Disney film, Frozen.
Come, join us at any of our three services.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because
God loves us all.
[1]
We do have illegal slavery today, which
authorities tell us is very rampant. Working
to identify, halt, and punish illegal slavery is a matter of justice for
contemporary Christians.
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