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Sermon: “A PERSONAL LETTER FROM PAUL” - 05th September 2010
St Aidan’s Anglican Church West Epping 8:30 am
Readings: Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-18; Philemon 1-25; Luke 14:25-35
The books of the Bible come in many sizes and forms. In the New Testament we have the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Book of Revelation, and 21 epistles or letters. Thirteen of these come from the Apostle Paul: from the substantial letters to the Romans and Corinthians to the letter we read in full this morning, the Letter to Philemon: one chapter, 25 verses, less than a page in length, and very different from those other letters. It is personal, and the issue it deals with is basically personal rather than moral or theological: although as I hope we shall see, there is more to it than might appear to be the case.
The letter may be personal, but it never was private: it is addressed to Philemon and two others, and to the church in Philemon’s house. Philemon was a church leader who had been converted under the ministry of Paul. Presumably he was wealthy enough to have a home which could be used as the church’s meeting place. He was also wealthy enough to own at least one slave, perhaps a number of slaves. He apparently lived in Colossae in Asia Minor, for Paul’s letter to the Colossians seems to have been delivered at the same time.
Philemon owned a slave called Onesimus, a word which appropriately means “useful”. However, Onesimus did not like the idea of being useful to Philemon, and he ran away to the big city – perhaps Rome, perhaps Ephesus - where he would be hard to find. There are hints in the letter that he also stole things from his master before making his escape.
Onesimus also ran into Paul and was converted: he became a follower of Christ; he began to live a completely changed life, and became a very useful helper and friend to Paul, who was in prison. However, Paul was very much aware that Onesimus was still legally Philemon’s slave. He was bound to return to his master, to accept the punishment which would be meted out, and if he was not executed by his master, take up the life of a slave again.
This letter is a “covering note” from Paul as he returns Onesimus to his legal owner. In the letter, Paul explains what has happened and why Onesimus is returning. But Paul goes rather further than that.
Paul makes a big request of Philemon, for the fact that Onesimus has become a follower of Christ makes all the difference. No longer is “useful” just a name attached to him: he really is useful now.
And Paul makes a radical request of Philemon. He asks him to recognize Onesimus not just as a slave, but also as a fellow-member of the family of God, as a brother in Christ, one to whom he is bound in love through Christ, who breaks down the boundaries between slave and free.
And so Paul asks Philemon to treat him as a brother. In fact he says: “Welcome him as you would welcome me”. If Philemon does that, he will be treating this runaway slave, perhaps a thief, as if he had done nothing wrong: he will forgive him, he will put the past aside, in fact he will give him a warm and genuine welcome.
As I said, it is a radical request indeed, especially in a world where slavery was part and parcel of life. Paul, of course, came from a Jewish background, where the laws of the Old Testament insisted that slaves be treated justly and even generously, as people not things. But Paul seems to have gone further than that. Forgiving Onesimus was a big ask, and Paul knew it.
But he hints at rather more than that. Reading between the lines, perhaps there is a suggestion that Philemon might set Onesimus free, or that he might even send him back to become Paul’s helper. Whether that is the way Philemon understood Paul’s letter, we can only guess.
And that is the letter. No attempts to teach doctrine, to correct false theology, to explain Christian morals. And yet it found its way into the New Testament. I suspect that means that Philemon did what Paul requested: otherwise surely he would have quickly buried the letter! But 2000 years later the letter is read in full every three years in our Sunday eucharists. Why?
The letter certainly indicates how Christ changes people’s lives. Onesimus, this rebellious slave, has his life turned inside out, and is actually willing to go freely back to his master, knowing that Philemon has the legal right to punish him savagely, even kill him. Philemon himself, presumably a man of substance, can be asked by Paul to forego his legal rights over Onesimus, to do what virtually no one else would do, to show him remarkable mercy in the name of Christian fellowship. When we allow Jesus to have his real impact on our lives, it can indeed make a huge difference.
The letter also talks of a new basis for relationships. Brotherhood in Christ was to override all the power structures which got in the way of loving relationships. In Christ slaves and their owners were brothers and sisters: so were men and women, and people of different races and colours and status and age. Not that those differences stopped existing, but they were seen as secondary, and were not to get in the way of love.
No matter who we are, all followers of Christ are one in him, and that is meant to be seen in all our relationships.
And therefore the letter also points to a new dignity through Christ. Legally in those days a slave was simply a thing, a living tool, which happened to be in the form of a human being. As Paul pointed out, for Christians this was no longer the case. In Christ we are all fundamentally equal as human beings in God’s image. Christ brings some of us down to size, and elevates others to a significance they would never have dreamed of.
The Letter to Philemon does not directly condemn the institution of slavery. But it certainly undermines it. At this stage in the story of the church, Paul wasn’t trying to achieve political change, but personal change. And while many Christians over the years took on board the call to treat slaves with justice and compassion, many did not. Of course, it was only in the last 200 years that western Christendom took seriously the implications of this teaching about human dignity and Christian brotherhood and love to the point of beginning to outlaw slavery.
Slavery is not an issue for us in Australia. But not all people treat their employees with justice and understanding. And not all people treat everyone they deal with as truly human. And we all can be tempted to refuse to forgive those who have wronged us.
So this little letter of Paul still has its challenges for Christians today, and to society. Above all, it calls us to allow the love of Christ to determine the way we relate to others: welcoming, forgiving, reaching out with generosity, as Christ has welcomed us and forgiven us and reached out to us with generosity and compassion. He calls us not only to trust him, but to follow him along the path of generous love. Amen.
Paul Weaver