A big ask!

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love… Philemon 8-9

I wonder how Philemon felt when he received this short letter from the apostle Paul? (Please take a minute to read it right through; it’s only 25 verses.) Still more, I wonder if he actually did what Paul asked of him?

To get the background, let’s ask a few questions…

First, who was Philemon?

In verse 1 he is described as “our dear friend and fellow-worker”, suggesting that at some time he had been a member of Paul’s missionary team.

In verse 2 we learn that he and his wife (assuming that’s who Apphia is) host a church in their home in Colossae. (Was Archippus their son?)

The letter as a whole suggests that he was a well-to-do citizen of Colossae: for one thing, his house is big enough to accommodate a church; for another, he is a slave-owner.

In verses 4-6 it becomes clear that Paul values him very highly as a fellow-Christian; very likely he was one of the church’s leaders.

Second, what has occurred to bring about this letter?

Reading between the lines, Paul, who is in prison (probably in Rome), has met a runaway slave of Philemon, a man called Onesimus. Verses 17-19 suggest (we can’t be sure) that as well as running away he helped himself to a bit of loose cash as he did so, thus compounding his offence. Perhaps Onesimus met Paul by chance as a fellow-prisoner; or perhaps, having already heard about him, he made a point of looking out for him.

Whatever, and this is the key point: under Paul’s influence Onesimus has become a Christian – Paul says he “became my son while I was in chains” (verse 10).

And now, lo and behold, here he is back in Philemon’s house, clutching this letter – a letter in which Paul makes it very clear to Philemon that he expects him to receive Onesimus back, and with a massive proviso: “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother… in the Lord” (verse 16).

As the letter unfolds, Paul puts considerable pressure on Philemon: in effect, “You will do as I ask, won’t you, Philemon – you won’t turn down the request of a poor old man banged up in prison, pleading on behalf of a young wastrel who has come to trust in Jesus and whom I have come to love as my very own son?” Some scholars have virtually accused Paul of emotional blackmail and, while perhaps that’s going a bit far, you can see their point (see verses 8-21)!

So back to the question I started with: how did Philemon react when he read this letter?  - and, presumably, found himself looking down his nose at this woe-begone young man?

We can only guess, given that we know so little about the kind of man Philemon was.

I certainly would suspect that he was shocked: “Treat one of my slaves as a brother in Christ? You cannot be serious!” We need to bear in mind that in the Roman empire at that time slavery was part and parcel of everyday life. Today, of course, we see it as a great evil, but at that time even the church hadn’t yet worked out that it was wrong. The question wasn’t “Am I all right to be a slave-owner?” but “Given that I am a slave-owner, what kind of slave-owner should I be?” (In Colossians 4:1 and Ephesians 6:9 Paul makes clear what he felt about that.)

Philemon might have been quite angry (even fine Christians can be angry, rightly or wrongly; have you noticed?). “What a cheek! How dare Paul tell me what to do with my own slaves? I paid good money for that wretched man Onesimus…”.

But I imagine that Paul was the kind of man you didn’t easily say No to! - and that, however uneasily, Onesimus was indeed reinstated in Philemon’s household. I wonder if he sat next to him in church the following Sunday? Some serious readjustment must have been required...

A simple point emerges from this little drama: Becoming a follower of Jesus is a wonderful thing, in fact, the most wonderful thing we will ever do; but, make no mistake, we may end up getting a lot more than we bargained for. Did Jesus’ fishermen-disciples ever have an inkling that their response to his call would lead to far-off travel and even imprisonment or death?

Do we sometimes overlook the fact that Jesus was always keen to point out the need to count the cost of following him? – and that “taking up your cross” wasn’t just a fancy metaphor but, for many, a gruesome reality.

Being a Christian isn’t a hobby or a Sunday pastime. It’s all or nothing. As the hymn puts it, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” Or as the psalmist didn’t quite say: “Serve the Lord with gladness – or don’t bother to serve him at all”.

So… Did Philemon receive Onesimus back “as a dear brother”? We aren’t told. And there is a reason for that: because what matters now is not what Philemon did or didn’t do, but what you do, what I do…

Father, please help me! I don’t like the idea of sacrifice, and I do like security and comfort. But I want also to be a true follower of Jesus. Help me to accept his call with full seriousness, not counting the cost, and give me the faith to trust that in the end the sacrifice will be a source of great joy. Amen.