Sermon at St. John’s Church, West
Grimstead - Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – Morning Worship – Sunday 8
September 2013
Philemon
May I speak in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
As I child I used to enjoy those I-Spy books – remember-
I-Spy road signs, or I-Spy star constellations, or I-Spy castles or I-Spy
cathedrals. The object, just like taking steam locomotive numbers and bus numbers (another great hobby of mine)
was to complete the books so that you could say that you have spotted or
visited each of the objects in the book – and I think you also got a prize of a
badge or something if you completed the book and had your observations
verified.
Well today you tick off a complete book of the bible – one of
the 66 books which make up our accepted and authorised versions of the Holy
Bible (only another 65 to go) – Philemon, an odd little book tucked in at the
end of the weightier and, on the face of it, much more theological tomes
written by St. Paul. The Lectionary for
today had the Philemon reading assigned as being two verses shorter than we
heard - but I thought that if we are going to have the Philemon reading at
today’s service we might as well have the whole book because, I think, by
reading the whole of Paul’s letter to his friend Philemon we can get a better
understanding of its structure and
purpose.
As with all of Paul’s writings contained within our bibles,
Philemon is actually a letter – but unlike most of Paul’s letters this one does
not appear to be in answer to a request from one of the churches founded by
Paul on his missionary travels but, rather, seems to be a very personal frank
plea to his good friend Philemon who was, we believe, a church leader living at
that time in Colossae. It is more of a
pastoral letter than a letter of teaching or preaching and for this reason is
one from which we can learn much of how Christians should approach one another
in circumstances where the subject matter could be one of great
controversy.
The letter itself was written when Paul was in prison with
his assistant and co-missionary, Timothy.
We are not certain where this prison was but most scholars believe it
was Ephesus but what we do know is that for the most part Paul would dictate
his letters to a scribe or assistant who would actually put the pen to paper –
whereas the letter to Philemon appears to have been written personally by Paul
in his own hand for he says this himself to emphasise the importance of this
correspondence and his personal assurance to Philemon concerning any debts owed
to him by Onesimus.
It seems, on the face of it, an odd piece of scripture to
include. In all probability it was sent
along with the more theological letter to the Colossians as a side and it
concerns the most delicate matter of the Philemon’s runaway slave.
Back in those days, slaves were a “must have” just like our
mobile phones and pcs today. It was
unthinkable that anyone of any standing should not have at least one slave and
the Christian leaders, such as Philemon, were no exception. A slave was a chattel, a possession and to
lose one or worse still, for one to run away, was something which would cause
loss of face to the owner and, as for the slave, punishable by death if caught.
Paul’s letter concerns one of Philemon’s slaves, Onesimus (“Own-E-Simus”)
whom it appears did just that, run away from his master. It also appears that he turned up on Paul’s
doorstep, probably in Ephesus, where Paul was undertaking a trade as a seller
of leather goods at the same time as spreading the gospel. Onesimus probably knew Paul because of his
visits to his master’s house in Colossae and perhaps, at some time in the past,
had shown him true Christian kindness.
Whatever reason, it appears that Onesimus became useful to Paul and
helped him in his ministry – we are not entirely sure in what capacity but it
does seem certain that Onesimus became a devoted follower of Christ and a
strong friendship grew up between the two men including after Paul became
imprisoned – presumably for being a nuisance to the authorities with his
preaching in the city. Paul, however,
would also have known that Onesimus was not his property and that he should be
rightfully returned to his proper owner, Philemon.
Here was the dilemma.
If he did that then he might be sending Onesimus back to retribution
which could include capital punishment – something which Philemon would have
had every right to have carried out – yet if he kept him, he Paul was equally
guilty of stealing property belonging to another. Both, according to Jewish law were great
crimes punishable under Leviticus law – so, in this letter, Paul uses his words
most carefully – flattering the recipient as well as calling upon him to
exercise grace and pardon in accordance with the New Covenant of Jesus
Christ. This letter, therefore, is a
wonderful example of where the early church leaders were faced with a situation
where the new teachings of Christ could affect what would be the normal
procedure under the old Jewish law.
By writing the letter himself, Paul is indicating the
personal and important nature of the letter and in so doing catching Philemon’s
attention to his words. It should be
noted that nowhere in the letter does Paul tell Philemon to do anything – he is
more subtle than that – he expresses the view that he hopes that Philemon will
do the right thing; but before that, even, he flatters Philemon by telling him
that he is constantly in his prayers and that whenever he prays about Philemon
he praises God for having instilled such wonderful Christian ideals and
principles in Philemon and reminds him that he is aware of the wonderful love
and hospitality which Philemon has shown to his fellow Christian believers.
Having buttered up Philemon, he then introduces the Onesimus
situation – by telling Philemon what a useful chap Onesimus has been and how he
is, like those others to whom Philemon has shown love and grace, a dedicated
follower of Christ and even if he was “useless” to Philemon before (by running
off) he has more than proved his worth as an assistant to Paul, and that to
treat Onesimus as a simple criminal slave would no longer be appropriate, any
more than punishing any other follower.
Indeed, Paul suggests, but does not insist, that Philemon should take
him back as a fellow Christian follower and not a slave. Paul emphasises his belief in Onesimus’s
worth by offering to pay from any costs and damages occasioned by the slave’s
sudden disappearance.
Now we have no idea what Philemon did when Onesimus turned up
on his doorstep with Paul’s hand-written letter. I like to think that he did what Paul
suggested he should do – act like the father in the story of the prodigal son –
welcome him back as a more useful individual for all his experiences away from
home. Paul, I believe, certainly had
confidence in Philemon to send him back with the letter and I have read that
later on a Bishop Onesimus appeared at Ephesus and I would like to think that
this is the same person as the slave in our story.
When I first read this book I could never quite understand
its inclusion in the bible – it seemed an odd one – on the face of it no clear
theological or spiritual message – but as I have read it over and over again I
have come to understand a much deeper meaning than simply the story of an
errant slave. Paul, in this letter,
challenges the very social structure of society in those days. He is exercising the grace which Jesus
himself showed to sinners – even to the thief on the cross. If the errant Onesimus can make amends –
become “useful” – then surely a church leader like Philemon can exercise
Jesus’s teachings and show grace, compassion and love to a returning slave.
The one thing which Paul clearly does, in this letter, is to
leave the decision up to Philemon. He
does no more than make suggestions as to how the slave should be received
back. Likewise, in our lives, the
scriptures are not simple codes of conduct, laws, rules and regulations to be
observed religiously – and I use that term purposefully, for many people
outside of the church see the bible as a book of “don’ts” and not “do’s”
whereas the true teaching of Christ is to empower us, the followers and
disciples of the true and living God, to sometimes act outside our comfort zone
and that of established society. To do
what is right – not necessarily what is expedient or expected. Oscar Wilde once said “The mark of true intellect is to expect the unexpected”. I
think that quote can be applied equally to true
faith and I am sure that Onesimus’s sudden appearance at Philemon’s
door with a handwritten letter from Paul was most unexpected.
If we were Philemon how would we have reacted? When God puts us into an unusual or
unexpected situation how will we react in the future? Some reflections for us until the next time
we read this amazing letter.
Amen
