Philemon 1:8 For this reason, though I am
bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 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. 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus,
whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is
indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back
to you. 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; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your
consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something
forced. 15
Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so
that you might have him back forever, 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. 17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome
him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you
anything, charge that to my account. 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. 20 Yes,
brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in
Christ. 21
Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will
do even more than I say.
So
what does one say about this letter? St Paul is in prison, where he meets Onesimus,
a runaway slave. Paul becomes his spiritual father (vs10), and instructs him to
return to his owner, Philemon. Paul then suggests that the chance prison
meeting of the slave is so that Philemon “might have him back forever”. This is
outrageous! To tell someone to voluntarily return to slavery is bad enough, but
to write to the slave owner without condemning slavery is just plain wrong.
But
we read this with the benefit of hindsight. Today it is unthinkable for
Christ-followers to own slaves. But at the time of St Paul slavery was embedded
in the economy and social construct of the world. So while Paul cannot end the
system of slavery – he does the unthinkable: he asks the slave owner to treat
his slave as a family member. Paul urges Philemon to see Onesimus as “no longer as a slave but more
than a slave, a beloved brother “. Here we see that following the way of Jesus
profoundly changes our relationships. We no longer see people as objects.
Instead we become brothers and sisters to one another, offering the gracious
love of God unconditionally to all.
For Thought
We are one in the Spirit
We
are one in the Lord
We
are one in the Spirit
We
are one in the Lord
And
we pray that all unity
May
one day be restored
(chorus)
and they'll know we are
Christians
by our love, by our
love
yes, they will know we
are Christians
by our love.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
We will work side by side.
We will work with each other,
We will work side by side.
And we'll guard each man's dignity
And save each man's pride.
(chorus)
and they'll know we are
Christians
by our love, by our
love
yes, they will know we
are Christians
by our love.
copyright
1966 Peter Scholte, F.E.L. (licensed)
The Fourth Sunday in Lent
Crucial Choices
The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Rueben Job and Norman
Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville,
The Upper Room 1983), 123.
This
reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.
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