Christmas: a time of being in touch, and perhaps letter writing! It’s doubtful though that our letters bear the solidness and passion of Paul’s letter to Philemon, or will still be worth reading so many years later. Paul is in prison for his faith. But he keeps his finger on the pulse of praise and service to God and the Christian community. Here he is writing to Philemon about his runaway slave Onesimus who has shown up in prison in Rome (v 10). 

Paul feels a special kinship with Onesimus because Paul has led him to Christ (v 10). He is aware that the responsibility of signposting someone to salvation does not end with the ‘amen’ to a prayer of commitment. Follow-up and nurture will be needed.

The letter is also addressed to the church that meets in the house of Philemon (v 2), so it is not only the leaders who should be concerned to welcome him back. He is no longer a slave but their equal as a man of God. He will need a lot of care and building up and this will be the responsibility of all of them.

‘… welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.’¹ Thank God for the influence of other Christians in your life.

Paul, in prison, has met up with the runaway slave, Onesimus, who has come to faith and whom Paul values as a son. Paul counts Onesimus’ owner, Philemon, who is a leader of a house church in Colossae (vs 1,2)² as a brother and co-worker. This, he believes, gives him the right to make his appeal. First, he affirms the nature of the relationship and the value he places on Philemon. When we discuss delicate matters with others, there is strength in showing respect and love.³ He appeals to Philemon not on the basis of his right as senior (v 8), but on the basis of partnership in the gospel (v 6). Much dissension in the church could be avoided if we followed his example.

As I write, Black Lives Matter is forcing a rethink of historic attitudes. This raises the awkward question of why the Bible seems to condone slavery, why Paul does not condemn it and why the church has so often been complicit in it. Given his context, Paul is placing a time bomb under the institution. Slaves in the first century had mixed fortunes, but even those who had responsible positions under good masters – which was rare – had no rights. Slaves were property. They were useful in the way that a microwave or a computer are useful. By calling him ‘son’ (v 10), Paul accords Onesimus a whole new status. When, in a pun on his name,⁴ he refers to him as ‘useful’ (v 11) it is because Onesimus genuinely has something to contribute beyond the simply utilitarian. To us this is hardly surprising; in Paul’s context it was revolutionary. This, a direct consequence of Jesus’ coming to the world, has consequences for the way we view people today; are there ways in which our words, actions or social media posts diminish or undermine others?

Pause to think about how you view others – are there people whom you should be honouring and blessing through your words and actions?

¹ Rom 15:7, ESV  ² See Col 4:17  ³ Eph 4:16  ⁴ Onesimus means useful