Proper 18, Year C – Philemon 1-21
The Rev. Charles Everson
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
September 4, 2016
Audio file here.
In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
In Matthew chapter 17, Jesus says,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. And nothing will be
impossible for you.” Some take this to
mean that if God doesn’t answer your prayers, you don’t have enough faith.
In
Luke 12, Jesus says, "And everyone who speaks a word against the Son
of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will
not be forgiven." Does this mean
that if you “blaspheme against the Holy Spirit,” whatever that means, you have
no chance of being reconciled to God?
In 1 Corinthians 6,
Paul says, "Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom
of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male
prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers--
none of these will inherit the kingdom of God." I remember stealing a
rubber stamp off of my teacher’s desk in kindergarten. This passage must mean that I won’t make it
to heaven. And those who get drunk –
it’s obvious that they’re destined for hell.
Lastly, hear these
words from Paul in 1 Cor. 14: "The women should keep silent in the
churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as
even the law says." Sorry to break
it to you, Mother…you know what that means!
It has been common
throughout history for believers to use passages of Scripture, usually taken
out of context, to support their own belief system. In particular, some use Scripture to
reinforce their own power over an entire group of people…as a way of excluding
others from being able to receive the love and the grace of God.
The second lesson
this morning is from the book of Philemon, a passage of Scripture that was commonly
used to justify slavery.
Paul writes this
letter from prison. It is there that he encounters
a slave by the name of Onesimus. Onesimus has converted to Christ under Paul’s
influence while in prison. There are two
possibilities as to why he’s with Paul – either he was sent by his owner,
Philemon, to serve Paul in prison, or Onesimus ran away from his master for
some reason. We really don’t know for
sure.
The traditional
interpretation of this text is that Paul is asking Philemon to receive Onesimus
back as a slave, and forgive him whatever transgressions he had committed. This is the interpretation that has been used
throughout the centuries to justify slavery. But I’d like to ask you to
consider another way of looking at this story.
Paul addresses this
letter not only to Philemon, Apphia (A-phia) and Archippus, but to the entire
congregation of the church that meets in one of their homes. He uses plural pronouns when he greets
everyone at the beginning of the letter, but switches to singular pronouns for
the majority of the letter and appears to be speaking directly to
Philemon. He says, “Though I am bold
enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet, I would rather appeal to
you on the basis of love...I am appealing to you for my child Onesimus.” Paul speaks diplomatically in order to try to
persuade Philemon to come to his own conclusion, rather than Paul forcing him
to do it, even though he had the authority to do so.
Think back through
your life, and think about who your favorite boss or teacher or priest was. The one you respected the most – the one you
wanted to be like. The person you’re thinking of was probably like Paul: he or
she didn’t lead by issuing edicts from on high, but instead, encouraged you and
taught you and gave you the freedom to make your own decisions, even if that
resulted in failure. Paul could have
ordered Philemon to do what he wanted him to do, but he instead showered
Philemon and the others with thanksgiving and blessings and encouragement, and
then made his argument to try to persuade Philemon to make the right choice.
What exactly what he
asking Philemon to do? Was it to receive
Onesimus back as a slave? Beginning in
verse 13, Paul says, “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, but I preferred to
do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be
voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason that he was
separated from you for awhile, so that you might have him back forever, no
longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother.”
Perhaps Paul is asking Philemon not to receive Onesimus back
as a slave, but to receive him back as a Christian brother, free from the bonds
of slavery.
Although he’s asking
Philemon to voluntarily commit this good deed, he isn’t shy in doing so. In verse 22, just after the last verse we
heard in the reading, Paul says, “One more thing – prepare a guest room for me,
for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.” He’s hinting to Philemon, and to the entire
congregation, that he will be following up to see how this ends up shaking
out! Watch out, I’ll be checking in
personally to see what you decide!
The letter to Philemon
is more than a “diplomatic coup” on the part of St. Paul,[1]
it’s his attempt to use loving, thoughtful language to urge two individuals who
fall under his pastoral charge and authority who are at serious odds not only
to be reconciled to each other, but also to model the new life in Christ to
which all baptized Christians are called.
Reconciliation
between Onesimus and Philemon means that their entire relationship would
change. The standards of the society of
the day, which involved human beings owning
fellow human beings, won’t cut it. Last
week, we heard Jesus say, “Indeed,
some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” The
Christian life is one in which the standards of society are often completely
turned upside down. The slave is set free and welcomed as a brother, a fellow
member of the family.
In today’s world,
think about illegal immigrants. Now, I’m
not talking about the political battles on immigration, I’m talking about the people who for some reason or
another find themselves in the United States illegally. What if José, a man here illegally from
Guatemala trying to earn money for his family back home, walked into St.
Luke’s? How would he be received? What about Jenny, the single mother with
three children from three different men?
Or the rich doctor who makes five times what you do and drives a car
worth more than your house? Or the older
couple who live together but choose not to get married because of the economic
consequences?
The Gospel teaches us
that through our baptism, we are all welcomed equally no matter our rank, or
income level, race, sexual orientation, moral decisions, or legal status. At our baptism, when we are received into the
household of God, we are no longer defined by any of those labels, but instead as
brothers and sisters – equal members of the family. Our identity is no longer found in human
labels and categories, but instead our identity is found in the love of Christ.
In other words, we find our identity in
the one who loves us and adopts us as beloved children.
There is no longer
Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and
female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
In the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
