Tucked in between Titus and Hebrews
towards the end of the Christian New Testament is a letter from Saint Paul to
Philemon, a wealthy man from Colossae whom Paul had led to be a follower of the
Resurrected Christ and who was learning the implications of being a Christian
in his own contemporary culture. The letter, Paul’s shortest and most personal,
was probably written sometime during the timeframe of AD 60-61.
The subject of the letter is a
slave named Onesimus. He had run away from Philemon, his master, and had perhaps
stolen money or possessions from his master in the process of becoming a
fugitive. I believe that it was by divine design that Onesimus fled to the imperial
capital city of Rome and despite the teeming urban population there ran into
Paul. Onesimus, like Philemon, became a Christ follower through Paul. Now Paul is
returning Onesimus to Philemon with the letter.
The contents of the letter consist
of the usual salutary greetings to Philemon (and probably his wife and son) with
an extraordinary request from Paul. If Philemon grants Paul’s request, the implications
for Philemon’s assent to Paul will further enable the Christian faith to become
a global phenomenon beyond the wildest imaginations of the first disciples of
Jesus.
Paul requests Philemon to take
back Onesimus primarily as a fellow believer in Christ. Although Onesimus would
still be legally a slave belonging to Philemon, in the company of Christ
followers, they would be equal in status. Paul could have commanded Philemon to
do so but choose to use persuasion. Paul was surely aware that force could not
only push Philemon back into the old cultural master/slave relationship but
also put Onesimus into possible physical danger.
Paul’s request was a practical
application of two powerful biblical statements. The first statement is from
Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, “In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision
and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and
in all.“ (3:11) The second theological statement powering Paul’s request is
from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, “For those of you who were baptized into
Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free,
male and female.” (3:27-28) While the second statement is more popular today at
least from being memorized (and not having to explain what a “Scythian” was), the
first statement would have more of an impact on Philemon. He, after all, was
not only wealthy but also a leader in the Colossian congregation. My hunch is
that Paul knew that other Colossians- Christian, Jewish, and pagan- would see
the positive gospel example set by Philemon.
Slavery is a horrible human and
economic system whether practiced in the ancient world or not too distanced
American history, but they was not similar. The slave system practiced by the ancient
Greeks and Romans, among others, was different than the slave system practiced
in colonial America and later by the United States for the first 90 years of
its existence. In the ancient world, to be enslaved was often the result of
life’s fate, like being on the losing side of a war or even selling oneself
into slavery for economic reasons. Slavery was a common practice regardless of
a slave’s nationality or race unlike the American system which relied almost
exclusively on Blacks imported from Africa. The ancient system could also be
very harsh as witnessed by the results of the revolt led by the Roman slave
Spartacus in 73-71 BCE The Third Servile War, as the Romans named the revolt,
was concluded with great cruelty by the Romans towards their revolting slaves.
This was the world and culture of Saint Paul as he evangelized the Mediterranean
world for Jesus Christ.
We do not know what Philemon actually
did with Paul’s request. But the fact this letter is actually in the biblical
canon is reason enough for me to believe that Philemon did the gospel action
and welcomed back Onesimus as a new brother in Christ.
We can understand through this
pithy letter a revolutionary ideal of humankind that Christ is giving the
Church. While Paul’s letter deals exclusively with one runaway slave it nevertheless
opens the door to very broad implications for those who choose to follow
Christ:
1. Christ
calls us to follow Him regardless of our station in life- slave or free, male
or female, sophisticated or barbarian. While the Christian New Testament does
not condone slavery, the Scriptures do recognize the practice of slavery as one
condition of the sinfulness of humankind. The Church in the first centuries of
its existence did not have either the political power to end institutional
slavery by law or the military power to end it through violence. The latter is
antithetical to the teachings of Jesus while the former would short circuit the
agape power of the Gospel. McLaughlin (pp. 175- 192) shares that in the Early
Church and the American Church gripped in the antigospel clutches of slavery,
many slaves themselves were able to look past their often cruel taskmasters,
many who claimed at least some degree of religiosity or Christianity, to
embrace Jesus as their personal lord and savior. This is evidenced by the fact
the Early Church for many decades was comprised of more women, slaves, and
former slaves than freed men and that the Black Church grew under the
oppressive American slavery experience.
2. Christ
calls the Church to be multiracial, multicultural, and multinational (McLaughlin,
pp. 175- 192) as Christ’s saving love propels us Christians to give Him our
allegiance over our races, our cultures, and our nationalities. To be faithful
follower of Christ, whether alone or in community, is to follow Christ wherever
Christ commands us.
3. Christ
calls the Church to be communities of people from all strata of life including
urban dwellers, suburbanites, and rural people; the up-and-outs and the
down-and-outs, and those who enjoy secular success and those who scrape by the
on the margins of society including “..outcasts,
the whores and the cheats, the traitors and killers, the baffled and stunned,
the social outlaw, the maimed and hideous and contagious.” (Price, p. 33) In our communities of faith
all forgiven people regardless of backgrounds are spiritually equal as they
love another as they are loved by God through Christ.
In human
history, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Industrial
Revolution, and the Russian Revolution shook the world and changed the global power
dynamics, some for the good and some for evil, but none came close to the
Gospel Revolution exhibited by Jesus Christ. And those followers of Christ who
are seriously guided by Scripture for faith and practice are the true
revolutionaries who bring lasting changes the the hearts, minds, and practices
of folks on this planet.
Resources used:
Rebecca
McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity:12 Hard Questions for the World’s
Largest Religion (2021).
Reynolds Price, Three
Gospels (1996).
Holman
Publishers. CSB Study Bible: Christian Standard Bible (2017).
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