Philemon's End

We have been studying Paul’s letter to Philemon the last couple of weeks at Asbury on Sunday mornings and in our daily Scripture reading. This is a very short letter that often gets ignored. I have rarely heard it preached or taught and when I have it has always been taught as a letter about community and conflict. These themes certainly show up (along with the issue of slavery), but they are certainly not what the letter is about. For me, the letter is about forgiveness. Forgiveness goes far beyond confrontation, conflict and conflict resolution.

Until last week, I have always understood the letter of Philemon as being simply about a specific situation that merited a call to forgive. This has always been a story about Paul, Philemon and Onesimus. Then last week I began to see something much deeper in the story. The story between Onesimus and Philemon began to reflect my relationship with Christ. You see, Onesimus was a runaway slave of Philemon’s. There is a good chance that Onesimus stole money from Philemon before running away. Onesimus meets Paul (who is in jail at the time) and becomes a Christian. Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon in order that Onesimus might pursue reconciliation. Now, in those times Philemon has every right, under the law, to demand that Onesimus repay what was stolen. In addition to this, Onesimus would also owe Philemon the rest of his life. Philemon would be righteous, under the law, to demand this. However, Paul urges Philemon to be reconciled with Onesimus, not as slave and slave owner but as brothers in Christ. When I read Paul’s words “again, for the first time” I immediately thought of Jesus words in John 15:15 when he said, “I no longer call you servants/slaves, I have called you friends”. I also thought about the story of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son, after taking his inheritance from his father and running away, returns to his father willing to beg to return as a servant. In the story of the Prodigal Son we know the ending . . . the father accepts the prodigal as his son, not just a servant and is overjoyed to do so. One of the most beautiful things about the letter of Philemon is that we don’t get the ending to the story. This may frustrate some, but not me. This is an open ended story that begs for a conclusion and in doing so invites us in. How do we conclude this story in our own lives?

My first thought is, “Does Philemon forgive Onesimus? And if so is he reconciled as a slave or as a brother?” Philemon would be righteous in the eye of the law not to forgive Philemon, but as a follower of Christ he is called to a higher standard. Now, to forgive Onesimus would be one thing, but to forgive him and to accept him as a brother would be “other worldly”, which is the point. So, who is it that owes me? My parents? My wife? My brother? My sister? The church? And, am I willing to forgive them and be reconciled with them? Am I going to live to be righteous in the eyes of the law or am I going to strive to be righteous according to the standard set by Christ? The beautiful thing about the story of the Prodigal Son isn’t the forgiveness the prodigal receives (although we are all dependent on that), it is the reconciliation the father in the story offers. The point isn’t that we would be the prodigal, but that we would be the father.

My second thought is, “If Philemon offered reconciliation as a brother, would Onesimus be able to accept it?” Onesimus has probably always known life as a slave. He knows how to live as a slave and now knows that he owes Philemon even more. I would imagine that coming to terms with the forgiveness being offered and living the life of a free man could be difficult for Onesimus to grasp. I imagine this to be the case because it is a daily struggle for me. Christ gave up his life that I might be a friend of God. The desire of Jesus was not that we would be called his servants, but that we would be called his friends! I know some of you need to be reminded that you are not living in slavery! Quit trying to earn your reconciliation with God! You cannot repay your debts. Like Onesimus you have nothing to give. When you screw up (and you will), know that there is nothing you can do that is outside the scope of God’s grace! If you have placed your faith in Christ, confess your sins and know that you are forgiven, you are free and Christ calls you friend!