Reading: Philemon, Psalm 24

We come today to one of the oddest parts of the Scriptures, the epistle to Philemon. Along with the two letters to Timothy and the one to Titus, this is a personal letter. But unlike those pastoral letters, this one is does not deal with ministry per se, but concerns Paul’s relationship with a well to do Colossian named Philemon, and an escaped slave named Onesimus. The ancient world was full of letters written in this style, for even back then there was a “pop culture” of sorts. In our day this consists largely of movies and television. Then it was a matter of oratory and writing style. Paul wrote his personal correspondence in a style developed by Cicero, a Roman statesman and one of the most important figures in the development of western languages. Cicero was also an apologist for the Roman Republic, and was executed for opposing an imperial government following the death of Julius Caesar. Anyway, Paul used his popular writing framework.

The story behind this letter appears to be that a slave named Onesimus had run away from his master, Philemon. Now, before we get pictures from the 19th century American south in our heads, lets consider what this meant in the Greco-Roman world. Being a slave was not easy, but there were mechanisms for dealing with disagreements between slaves and masters that did not exist in modern incarnations of the practice. One of the ways for a slave to disagree with his master in a somewhat socially acceptable way was to flee to a close friend or colleague of the master, explain what was going on, and ask them to write a letter of explanation to their master. We have a number of records of this happening. It is also possible that Onesimus simply fled and later realized Paul would be a good candidate for restoring him to good graces. What is least likely is that he was caught and met Paul in prison. It is highly unlikely an escaped slave would have been imprisoned with Paul, a Roman citizen awaiting trial before the emperor. In any event, Onesimus became a believer in Christ during his time with Paul, and now Paul is sending him back to Philemon with this letter and a rather radical request.

In the recent past, this letter has been decried as supportive of the practice of slavery. It is my opinion that those who see it such have not read it. Even in the most simplistic translation, at the most cursory read, it is obvious that Paul has nothing at all to say about the institution of slavery. If we go a little deeper, and take into consideration the rest of Paul’s letters, we get a picture of a man who believes human institutions of value are invalid. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ. Paul doesn’t attack slavery because he doesn’t believe in it, any more than he believes in racism or sexism. I think Paul would see movements for social change as a waste of time, since nothing but the lordship of Jesus will change the human heart and put an end to all such practices. Paul is not interested in attacking the institutions of an invalid society. Within the church and the kingdom of God, it is another matter altogether, as we will see.

So why does Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon? He says himself that he would rather keep him with him. He uses a pun on the name Onesimus, which means “profitable,” with his line about him becoming useful to you and to me. But keeping him there would not afford Philemon the opportunity for a public display of goodness. Paul is motivated to send Onesimus home in order for Philemon to make a public choice to accept him as a beloved brother. Note that there is no question made about freedom, because as a brother in Christ Paul considers Onesimus already free. What he is asking Philemon to do goes well beyond freedom. He is to acknowledge his slave as his brother.

The argument he uses for this is fascinating. First, he plays on Philemon’s good reputation. Then Paul reminds him that he has the authority to give orders, but would rather Philemon make this choice himself. He identifies himself as father to Onesimus, and calls him my very heart. Paul is carefully tying Philemon’s treatment of Onesimus to Paul himself, teaching that lesson that the body of Christ is not divided. To mistreat Onesimus would be to mistreat Paul, and Jesus himself. He tells Philemon that if there is any wrong, to charge it to my account… I will repay it. Paul is putting the substitutionary act of Jesus into practice, putting himself in Onesimus’ place. If there is any debt owed, Paul will assume it.

This says a great deal about how Paul believed the Christian life was to be lived out. Social categories which would normally preclude being family were to be cast away. Leadership was to act like Christ, assuming the debts of even an escaped slave. It was a revolutionary letter in it’s day, and it is no less so now. Far from being a defense of slavery, it is a subversion of its necessary tenant that humans are of anything less than infinite value.