The 13th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18C), Sept. 5, 2004
Deut. 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-20; Luke 14:25-33
September 5 should be Philemon Day. After all, he and his 25 verses won’t reappear until the year 2007, and who will notice? How many congregations in your diocese are named for either Philemon or his slave Onesimus? How many Bible character sketches include either of this pair? Yet this is a man and a letter which should not be overlooked by the Church. Wrapped up in this epistle lies a drama which carries beautiful subtleties of leadership, joy and relationships.
Consider approaching Philemon as a one-act play, and the exercise will open up the story. When we look at the elements of a play, we have before us a jewel that glows more strongly the closer we look.
The cast: Paul, of course, the elder apostle, spiritual father of the church in Colossae and of Philemon and Onesimus; Philemon, a leader of the church in Colossae, whose slave has fled; Onesimus, the fugitive slave whose punishment could be execution, and who turned up in Paul’s company in Rome where he was solidly converted; and the minor characters Mark and Demas, also with Paul, and who can lend irony to certain angles of the plot.
Location and circumstances: Paul is a prisoner in Rome; Philemon and his wife, Apphia, are in Colossae where they lead a house church; Onesimus has become indispensable to Paul and his household; and Mark and Demas work with Paul in Rome.
Relationships: Onesimus is bound to Paul, his father in the Lord, and also bound to Philemon, his master; Philemon is bound to Paul, his elder and founder of his church; Paul, bound in chains, receives great respect from Philemon as his elder and as apostle; Mark, of course, had abandoned Paul on an earlier trip, and Demas would abandon him later.
The heart of the matter: Would Philemon take back Onesimus as both returned slave and as brother in the Lord? Would Paul insist on this by using his position, or would he lean upon honor and encouragement? Who was captive and who was free?
Values: For Paul the priority was joy, so he urged refreshment of spirit; for Onesimus he knew what obedience required of him; for Philemon the appeal would be to Christian acceptance; and, hinted at by the presence of Mark and Demas, for all the challenge of reconciliation after transgression.
St. Philemon and St. Onesimus surely deserve their day.
Look It Up
Paul and Mark (Acts 13:13; 15:37-40; Philemon 24) and Paul and Demas (Philemon 24; 2 Tim. 4:10).
Think About It
Legend tells us that Onesimus became Bishop of Ephesus. How would you trace his journey from his return to Colossae to the episcopate of Ephesus?
Next Sunday
The 14th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19C), Sept. 12, 2004
Exodus 32:1,7-14; Psalm 51:1-18 or 51:1-11; 1 Tim. 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-10
