Sermon – Philemon
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
September 9, 2007
This morning is the beginning of Christian Education Week. Our preschool opens tomorrow. Many children in our community have already returned to school. And we are starting to organize our own Christian Education Program for children and youth. If you would like to be a part of this please come next Sunday at
Lord Jesus, we thank you this day for allowing us to assemble in your name for worship. We thank you for all the teachers that have influenced so many children and adults in the years past. Bless our continuing efforts to educate adults, children and youth in your Holy Word. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Onesimus
Onesimus was a slave. He was probably a foreigner captured in battle. As a slave he would have been kept away from others in his ethnic group to prevent rebellion. All slaves were considered inferior to those who were free and they were viewed with a general disdain. Onesimus was not allowed to marry nor have children. His identity was given to him by his master, Onesimus means “useful”. Since Useful, or Onesimus, was human, laws were in place for his protection but that did not prevent the possibility of mistreatment. Often the only recourse to mistreatment was for a slave to run away. A slave could be freed in his master’s will, or for some it was possible that a redeemer would purchase his freedom.
Image what might have gone through Onesimus’ mind when he heard that a redeemer was coming, a redeemer in whom no one was a slave, who could redeem someone even from the bonds of sin. As Onesimus was being useful to his master he may have heard the wonderful message of hope in Jesus Christ from the Christians meeting in his master’s house. Onesimus may have wanted to find this redeemer more than anything else. So he ran away from his master and made his way to the apostle Paul.
Philemon
Philemon was a wealthy merchant. His wealth allowed him to purchase a slave named Onesimus. During one of his travels he may have run into a very special person named Paul who told him an amazing story about a rabbi from
Paul
Paul was in prison with Epaphras. Nearby were Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke. When Onesimus arrived Paul was confronted with a problem. How could the Christian ideal of the equality for everyone in Christ be reconciled with a society that condoned slavery? Onesimus by running away had committed a serious offense. Paul may have begun composing a letter to the church at Colossi telling them that in Christ there is neither slave nor free (Col. 3:11). And he had warned the church and Philemon as a slave master to treat his slaves justly and fairly (Col. 4:1). But here was Onesimus demanding his freedom from slavery in the name of Jesus Christ. What was Paul to do?
Paul called on Timothy for help writing a letter. In it he refused to invoke his apostolic authority and order Philemon to free Onesimus; rather he identified himself with Onesimus as a prisoner and wrote to persuade Philemon from a position of weakness. The letter was addressed not only to Philemon, but to the entire church that was meeting in his house in Colossi. But it is clear that Paul was speaking one to one, Christian to Christian to Philemon. He started by commending Philemon’s faith and love for all the people in his community. This was a sure sign of Christ’s presence among them. Faith and love is what binds a church together. This shared faith led them to the understanding of the blessings that they have received in Christ. God’s ultimate goal for these blessings was to lead the community into conformity with Christ. Thus Paul was telling Philemon that the shared faith of the community would lead to a shared practice of that faith. A faith that believes that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, will lead to a practice of reconciliation that would require receiving Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother.
So Paul appealed to the shared faith and love of the Christian community in Philemon’s house church. If the bond between apostle and converted slave is based on love, and the bond between converted master and apostle is based on love then what is the bond between the converted master and his converted slave? Is it not also love? Or put another way, if Paul has received a new brother in Onesimus, has not Philemon also received a new brother with Christ as the father to both? Without ever asking Philemon to free Onesimus, Paul argued that in Christ, master and slave are now members of the same family, they are brothers. This new relationship was formed when both became Christian forming new relationships with Christ and transforming the relationship they had with each other. Paul urged Philemon to act in light of this new relationship with Onesimus. His motivation is not based on obedience to the law but on sharing the love that all Christians have received in Christ. What Paul wants Philemon to do is take Onesimus back not as a slave, but to welcome him back as a brother and member of his church. So Paul, expressing his deep love for Onesimus, offered to pay Philemon whatever debt was owed thus becoming intimately involved in the reconciliation between the slave and his master.
Reconciliation in Christ is therefore not just being reconciled to God, nor is it just the reconciliation between Jew and Greek, but it is the reconciliation of people who come into new relationships in Christ. It is unclear whether Paul wants Philemon to free Onesimus or not. It seems that what Paul wants is a new permanent relationship between them as brothers in Christ.
This simple letter from Paul divided the Presbyterian Church for over one hundred years. In the 19th century some believed that Paul’s omission of a direct condemnation of slavery or a demand that Philemon free his slave sanctioned the practice of slavery. After all, they argued, Paul did send the runaway slave back to his master. But what Paul was arguing for goes far beyond the issue of slavery. He was saying that in our acceptance of Christ as Lord, Christians take on an entirely new way of relating to one another. The model for Christian relationships is as brothers and sisters in a family. Thus rather than arguing for a change in the structure of society, Paul offered a vision of a transformed community based on mutual love reflecting God’s intention for humanity. A transformed community based on mutual love is certainly incompatible with the institution of slavery. This was the conclusion that the church and our society eventually reached. Slavery was ended by Abraham Lincoln with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Presbyterian Church which was divided over the issue of slavery in 1860 was finally reunited in 1983 forming the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Acceptance of International People
Two years ago I had an experience that radically transformed my life. I had been going to a church that was almost all white and middle to upper class. But after coming to seminary I got involved with an international student ministry. Here, for the first time I was able to develop relationship with people from other countries who spoke other languages and had different cultural behaviors. The differences between me and them were as significant as the differences between Philemon and Onesimus. But through the transforming power of Christ I was able to relate to these international students as sisters and brothers, and in one special relationship as husband and wife. Before I did not think that this was possible. The language and cultural difference were just too great. But in Christ the barriers which divided us fell and we became a family.
Paul is addressing not only Philemon but the church as well. The church is called to relate to all people, regardless of the ethnicity or language or economic status, as brothers and sisters in Christ. And this is what Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church is invited to do today. Look around and you will see people from other countries and cultures who speak other languages. The differences are great. But in Christ we are all sisters and brothers and we are part of one church. So be transformed in worship today. Let the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the new family you have around you. Welcome the newcomers with a handshake or a hug. Make new friends across ethnic barriers. Invite someone new for lunch. And make our church a place where people who look and speak differently from us are welcomed into our family.
Conclusion
You may be wondering whatever happened to Onesimus. According to the book of Colossians Paul sent Tychicus, a faithful minister, to Colossi. Presumably he had two letters with him, one for the church, Colossians, and a personal note for Philemon. Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, went too. We don’t know what happened when they arrived, how Philemon reacted to the return of his slave or if the church welcomed Onesimus as a brother. What we do know is that Onesimus did go on to have an important role to play in the early church. Ignatius of Antioch, fifty years later, called him “a man of love beyond recounting”. Onesimus became the Bishop of Ephesus where he was able to collect many of the writings that went into the New Testament including this personal letter from Paul that was so important because it redeemed him from slavery. In Christ, Onesimus was no longer a slave, but a brother.
Holy Spirit be with us now as we greet those who look and speak differently from us. Help us to see each of them as brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.
Bibliography
Thompson, Marianne Meye, Colossians & Philemon,
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