Scripture Text (NRSV)
Philemon 1-21
1:1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear
friend and co-worker,
1:2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your
house:
1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God
1:5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord
Jesus.
1:6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all
the good that we may do for Christ.
1:7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the
hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
1:8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty,
1:9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love--and I, Paul, do this as an
old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.
1:10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my
imprisonment.
1:11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me.
1:12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
1:13 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;
1:14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed
might be voluntary and not something forced.
1:15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you
might have him back forever,
1:16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother--especially to me
but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
1:17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
1:18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.
1:19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about
your owing me even your own self.
1:20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in
Christ.
1:21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even
more than I say.
Comments:
While Paul was in prison, he was aided by a runaway slave named Onesimus. The slave's
master, Philemon, was a Christian friend of Paul. Paul told Onesimus to return to his
master but encouraged Philemon to receive Onesimus back as a brother.
Paul reflecting, pondering on his own enslavement to Christ, and recognizing that the
service of God is the way of perfect freedom, he returns Onesimus home to his former
Master, Philemon, that he be received as a fellow member of the Way and no longer bound by
economic hold.
Paul acts as Jeremiah in the potter's house, as Jesus in the little parables of the
tower and military might; we too are called to ponder, to focus on the issues of our own
daily life, to discern the presence of God's grace in the midst of this terrify world.
tom in ga
I am struck by how Christ-like Paul has become at this stage in his ministry. 'If he owes you anything...charge it to my account...for he is my child.' 'I could command you...but instead I appeal to you in love.' This ability to love and connect relationally with this much grace is the thing that attracts people to the gospel and to the church. Not a bad thing to remember as we are gearing up for the year ahead and asking many people to volunteer to do ministry within the church.
Pat in PA
When I look at this passage and compare it to other prison epistles, I wonder, Did Paul Write this? Not with his usual writing style when you go to the greek.
Onesimus is an interesting person...is he a slave? Or perhaps he's Philemon's real brother, and paul is helping to get them together. Things read different in the original greek.
Maybe a good title for a sermon on this is like Austin Powers phase- "He aint heavy, He's my brother"
Whether Onesimus is slave or brother, Paul his teacher-guide, is returning him better... coming to assist Paul in prison a sinner returning saved by grace.
Onesimus in greek means slave. It was a common Name.
although would be neat to research and see, a little later in Ephesus there is an Onesimus as Bishop there. Fascinating. But, it is common name.
I am not preaching on this. But, it this helps one who is feel free to use it!
clerically blonde in West Ohio
In the Greco-Roman world of the first century, a Roman citizen had the legal right to put to death any member of his household, whether slave or free, for any reason. That was "the law" of Rome. Under the law, Philemon would be justified in killing Onesimus, his slave, especially if—as appears to be the case here (vv. 11, 18)—Onesimus had wronged his lord in some way. Paul even asserts his own hold over Philemon in the form of an unstated indebtedness; thus Paul's "ownership" over Philemon (v. 19b). This, too, is a law or principle of reciprocity, and as such can be "commanded" (v. 8). Still, Paul would rather appeal to Philemon on the basis of love (v. 9) in order that Onesimus be received back as a "beloved brother...in the Lord" (v. 16). The question of who owns whom, and thus also of obedience can be answered either according to the law of reciprocity or according to faith in Christ. Paul takes the life-or-death risk that Philemon will answer according to active, "effective" faith (vv. 6, 17, 21), but as a back-up Paul also argues on legalistic, personal-moral grounds that Philemon "owes" Paul (vv. 18, 19) - in this way compensating for any perceived wrong done by Onesimus.
The question thus put to Philemon is, "Who is your warden? Who rules your heart?" Paul would like that answer to be "Christ the Lord" (which Paul may even expect, v. 21) but - to Paul's dismay—it might just as well be Paul himself to whom Philemon believes he is indebted. To this extent, Philemon remains a prisoner to the flesh (v. 16), that is, to the law of give and take. Paul's relentless argument to the contrary, that he and Philemon share a common ministry in the Lord (vv. 1, 5, 7), in part due to Onesimus (vv. 11, 13, 17), is designed to release Philemon from the "forced" (v. 14) law of slave and master in all its forms, including the more subtle personal-moral form of the law. Although Paul is not averse to making his own claim upon Philemon, albeit for the sake of Onesimus, that claim remains legalistic because it does not rely on the opposite claim of Christ.
Ultimately, the origin of the law of reciprocity, its true warden, is the God who demands justice—whether among slaves and masters, among close friends, or even between God and God's creation (thus, the Golden Rule). The problem is, as this letter exemplifies, we are all ineluctably indebted to one another, and more so to God, not only for our lives but for the continuance of the gospel. The impulse to life implies indebtedness (even as suckling children, toward our mothers and thus also toward our mothers' God), indebtedness implies slavery (which money never completely satisfies), slavery implies sin, and sin implies death. We cannot escape the God who made the law of reciprocity necessary for all living things, yet who simultaneously holds us responsible for every inevitable failure, most especially the failure to trust in such a God. As regards the law of God (that is, God himself), we are sinners - slaves to sin - which leads to death (Rom 6:16-18; but see Gal 3:24).
Instead of remaining prisoners to the law of reciprocity, better to become, like Paul, a "prisoner of Christ Jesus" (vv. 1, 9) "for the gospel" (v. 13). This is a change in wardens, but what a change for us! Christ takes the consequence of the law of reciprocity upon himself without charging it to our account, and thereby ends the law. According to the law of God, we, not Jesus, should have been crucified. That would have been "right" under the law of reciprocity. But according to the Gospel-in the freedom of God alone-Jesus became a prisoner of sin in our place: the Innocent for the guilty. Our debt is paid in full by God himself! No more balancing of accounts, no more give and take. No more master and slave with accounts that are never balanced. No more accounts, period. As regards our relationship with God, our new warden has "flung wide the gates." Now, the only question is, "Is the new warden trustworthy, and what does this mean for our other, still-bound-by-the-law relationships?"
If, indeed, Philemon (like Paul, like Timothy, like Apphia, like Archippus, like us) is to believe that God-in-Christ has opened wide the gates of sin's inescapable prison, then all relationships are suddenly and forever changed. As our Lord, (who redefines lordship now as servanthood-in-freedom), Christ is completely trustworthy, worthy of our faith. As our new warden-who-sets-us-free, Christ sets all of us ("saints," vv. 5, 7) free. Freed for freedom! Freed from fear of the law's endless curse; freed in faith to the One proven to be faithful (and therefore whose promises are true); freed for a new life thriving in freedom. Death now is the blessed end of the law's reign, and the gateway to the true life of faith, that is, life thriving in God.
The end of the law is not justice but faith active (or "effective," v. 6) in love. If Philemon trusts in Christ, the benefit of which is freedom in Christ, he will trust also in Paul, his brother-in-freedom (v. 16). If he trusts in Paul, he will trust also in Onesimus, Paul's brother-in-freedom (vv. 10-13). Philemon will no longer be constrained by the law of reciprocity, whether of Rome or of personal morality. Philemon benefits from the fraternal brotherhood of freed slaves (from the law), which includes Onesimus his brother in the Lord. Philemon is no longer constrained to do what is merely just (under any law), for he will freely do what is right under the gospel. For Onesimus is indeed now "more than a slave, a beloved brother" (v. 16). Philemon will welcome Onesimus no longer as a slave, under the law of Rome, but as a brother of Christ and of all who trust in Christ. On this basis, Paul hopes that Philemon will make his faith "effective" (v. 6). Such "love" (v. 5) is "even more" (v. 21) than mere justice; it is the free "obedience" (v. 21). Paul trusts and expects this of Philemon as his "friend and co-worker" (v. 1) in the gospel.
Bruce Martin
This passage gives us an opportunity to preach on a little-read/known writing in the Bible, probably the least-known of Paul's writings.
One approach would be to focus on the power and promise of our Christian faith for breaking down walls and building bridges.
Paul's point here is akin to Gal. 3:28--"in Christ there is no slave nor free...all are one in Christ." In the epistle to Philemon, we see that principle put into practice.
I see three things at work in Paul's heartfelt plea to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus:
Christians have...
1. a different PERSPECTIVE (maybe it turns out to be a good thing you "lost" Onesimus for a while--because now you "get him back" for good)
2. a different RELATIONSHIP (he is now a brother in Christ; to welcome him is to welcome me)
3. a different OBJECTIVE (I urge you to act out of love for Christ; he is more valuable as a servant of Christ than as only your servant)
((I think it was Bonhoeffer who said, "We have each other only in Christ; but that for eternity."))
We are left wondering, how does this story turn out? (Like a "teaser" for next week's episode of some soap opera.. Will Onesimus find a place of welcome? Will Philemon have a change of heart? Will Paul lose a friend over this?) As for "the rest of the story," several resources point out the ancient bishop named "Onesimus" (from Ephesus); and Ignatius of Antioch names an "Onesiumus" as a travelling companion of Paul's. But the real "rest of the story" is up to us.
By the way, "Onesimus" means "useful"--so there is a pun at play here. And curiously, "Philemon" means "affectionate." In a way, Paul is simply asking both O. and P. to live up to their names.
We can all look around our lives and find and "Onesimus/Philemon" connection. Around us are relationships between Christians which are in need of restoration and healing. Somewhere, sometime we all need to name the realities of our "bodily" connection in Christ. Often, if Christians will simply live up to their name, we can raise a challenge to the world around us which wants to pit people in hierarchies: master/slave, white collar/blue collar, management/laborer, plaintiff/defendant, liberal/conservative, etc., etc. Over and above all such distinctions and divisions is the reality that "we ARE one in Christ." The only question that remains is, how should we then live?
TK in OK
Another approach here is to lift up the importance of "mentoring" people new in the Christian faith. Although "new creatures in Christ" we live in "old arrangements," so there is need for careful, prayerful guidance for new Christians. One could tell stories here of the differences certain Christians have made because when new to the faith they received good guidance. One could then challenge people to find and reach out and help guide someone around them who is a new CHristian.
TK in OK
In one of my New Testament Course of Study classes, the instructor told us about the Goodspeed theory on why the little book of Philemon might have been included among all of the letters of Paul. Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed,
translator of "The New Testament: An American Translation" (1923), also
published "An Introduction to the New Testament" including a chapter on
Philemon.
The basics of the theory are that Paul's letter to Philemon was written about 60 CE from prison in Rome and concerned a runaway slave named Onesimus. The fate of Onesimus after his return to Philemon is not known but Paul did ask that he be allowed to return and help Paul. Skipping about 50 years, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch was being taken to Rome under arrest. From Smyrna, Ignatius writes to the Ephesian church regarding their bishop, Onesimus. If Onesimus the slave was around age 20 in 60 CE then he would have been in his seventies in 110-115 CE when Ignatius was arrested. If Philemon had allowed Onesimus to return to Paul, it is quite likely that a close worker of Paul's might have been part of the leadership of the church. The collected letters of Paul, including Philemon, known as the Pauline Corpus existed as a collection as early as 90 CE in Ephesus. Goodspeed raises the suggestion that if Onesimus the slave and Onesimus the bishop were the same, who else might have a better reason for collecting the letters of Paul including the one that changed his life. Of course theis is all strictly speculation and no proof but an interesting thought nonetheless. Mike in Soddy Daisy, TN
