Onesimus: A Runaway Slave
September 24th
Tim Schmucker
Text:
Philemon 1:10-21
Two years ago Derek became completely captivated with a book that turned out to be the first in a series of 6 books. Then came the sequel series, another 6 books. Upon arriving at the end of each book, it’s been excruciatingly agonizing for Derek to wait for the next one to be published. Part of the problem is that he reads each one in a matter of days, which doesn’t give the author much time to write the next one. Now recently, Christopher has also become mesmerized by them, although I read them to him. Hmmm, to be completely truthful, I ought to say that “we” have become mesmerized. In the middle of suspense-filled parts, I can hardly resist the desire to continue reading after the nightly bedtime chapter together, and Christopher has gone off to sleep.
You’ll recognize the genre – juvenile fantasy. Some of the best literature these days is in juvenile fantasy. The title of this series is “Warriors” (no jokes please about a peace activist and educator’s choice of reading!); Erin Hunter is the author. It’s about wild cats that live in close knit clans who are fiercely protective of their territory and who require obedience to their historic warrior code of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and honour. It’s got all the classic themes of Greek mythology. Now, enter the protagonist. He’s an outsider, a “kittypet”, born in a human home, a softy who inexplicably finds himself drawn to the forest outside his “twoleg” neighbourhood. He is befriended by a young wild cat, and eventually finds himself in the camp of “Thunderclan”. After some deliberation, the clan’s wise leader declares that he will be accepted into the clan if he learns the warrior code and proceeds properly through the stages of apprenticeship.
He’s in! Yet, all is not well. Some in the clan do not accept him, due to his non-clan origins. These cats see him only as a soft kittypet. His past is not forgotten or forgiven. Their animosity toward him due to his past is palpable on every page. He is encouraged, however, by the constant support of those who see his potential, those who look beyond his kittypet origins.
This reminds me of another story, coming from one of the Apostle Paul’s lesser known letters, his quite personal letter to Philemon. It’s easy to miss it in the Bible as it’s hardly one page long; a grand total of 25 verses, only 17 verses if you don’t count the standard greetings and closings. Now Philemon was a well-to-do follower of Jesus in Colossae, and the church there met in his home. Colossians, a more familiar letter of Paul, was addressed to this church. Now as was common at that time, Philemon had slaves, and Onesimus was one of the slaves in the house of Philemon. And one ominous day Onesimus the slave of Philemon decided to steal from his owner and run away….
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“I am Onesimus, the ex-slave – although my master Philemon would say that I’m still a runaway slave. You bet I ran away, with a handsome amount of gold too. Why shouldn’t have I? Philemon’s wealth was based on the labour of us slaves. Sound fair to you? I didn’t think so. Now, mind you, Philemon wasn’t a cruel master – unlike many other slave owners. In fact, ever since he became a follower of this Jesus, he was quite kind. But, sorry folks, “kind” wasn’t enough. I just couldn’t live as a slave anymore, knowing that he and his family had it made on an easy street built on us slaves’ backs. Most of the other slaves accepted their fate in life, but not me — oh no, not me.
So I split. And ran far far away. All the way to Rome from Colossae – a trip of over 2000 kms. (Just between you and me, I used some of the gold to bribe a seaman on one of the many commercial ships that sailed the Mediterranean. He kept me hidden and brought me food.) … Eh, what’s that? Why Rome, you ask. Hey, I had to get far away from Colossae; I’d be recognised…. What? You don’t know? Well, let me tell you what happened to runaway slaves. Roman law gave no protection to them, zero, zilch, nada; the master could do whatever he pleased. And that meant merciless punishment – at the very least severe whippings, breaking our joints and bones, or branding our forehead with letters forever declaring us runaways. Often it meant crucifixion, or being thrown to wild beasts in the circuses, or even being burnt alive in a cloak soaked in pitch. You got it? That’s why I had to get as far away from Colossae as possible. And where better to hide out and disappear from view than in the capital city of Rome, where there were always lots and lots of foreigners within its walls.
You know, there was another reason too. This guy Paul was in Rome, in house prison. Now I didn’t really know him; I just heard Philemon and his family talk about him in such glowing terms that … that … well, I don’t know what I thought. The idea that maybe just maybe he could help me was I guess in the back of my mind. I didn’t really intend to look for him…. Anyway, I eventually did look for him. He took me in, and after he heard my story, he told me about Jesus. Well, in time I decided to be a follower of Jesus too. Paul became the father I never had. Life was looking great. I was full of joy and hope. And purpose! I was Paul’s assistant! He needed me and appreciated me. What a change in fortunes!
Then the roof fell in. Paul told me I had to return to Philemon. I was stunned, in panic. Paul wanted to send me back to my old life as a slave?!?! And that was best case scenario. Facing hungry lions was more likely, It was like a nightmare that you never wake up from! I begged Paul, implored him, plead with him, but Paul was very persuasive; made it sound like I’d be even happier after I’d returned, like it was a no-brainer as a follower of Jesus, or something like that. What could I do? Paul told me to trust him, that everything would work out. You simply cannot imagine how I felt returning to Colossae. I didn’t sleep for most of the trip; I was in a cold sweat all the time. I don’t even want to remember the gut-wrenching shakes I had walking up the road to Philemon’s house with my heart pounding in my chest, the letter in my dirty hands. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention the letter; Paul sent along a letter to Philemon with me. I actually have a copy of it here….”
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker … Though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 10I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
There are 3 intriguing aspects to the letter before we came full circle back to the kittypet who became the leader of a wild cat clan.
First of all, if anyone sent me a letter like this, I would feel quite manipulated and angry! Paul completely boxes poor Philemon in. Philemon hardly has a choice in how to respond, if he doesn’t want to sever his close relationship with Paul. Listen to Paul:
• I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.
• I wanted to keep him with me, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent.
• Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother.
• So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
• If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self.
• Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.
I can’t recommend Paul here as a model of open dialogue or conflict resolution!
Secondly, some have severely criticized Paul for not condemning slavery, saying that this letter is another example of Paul’s acceptance of injust secular institutions. While the theme is huge, I’d just say that it seems to me that in this letter to Philemon, Paul “subverts” slavery by totally redefining the relationship between the slave and his owner. Listen:
15Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother…. both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
Paul reframes this human relationship in such a way that the institution of slavery is superseded.
And we see this in the third intriguing characteristic of this letter. There’s a play on words here that we must catch to get the full import of Paul’s message to Philemon. The name “Onesimus” in Greek means “useful” or “beneficial”. This changes greatly, I think, how we read Paul’s instructions to Philemon. Let’s look at verse 10-11, and 20 again.
10-11 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you (i.e., “formally he was not ‘Onesimus’ to you”), but now he is indeed useful (now he is indeed ‘Onesimus’) both to you and to me.
20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit (again, let me have this ‘Onesimus’) from you in the Lord!
I think Paul was doing even more than not-so-subtly telling Philemon to forgive Onesimus and set him free; Paul was also instructing Philemon to send Onesimus back to Paul so he could continue being a great help – as a son – to Paul in his old age and imprisonment.
Onesimus and the kittypet in the Warrior books were in similar circumstances. You’ll remember that some in the clan rejected the kittypet due to his non-clan origins. His past was his present is their eyes. Others, most importantly the clan leader, saw his potential, saw past his kittypet origins. He eventually became a great leader.
So too with Onesimus, the runaway slave, and the potential Paul saw in young fugitive. Unfortunately, there is no record of what transpired that stomach-churning day when Onesimus arrived at Philemon’s front door. Yet, some 40 years later, the bishop or overseer of the Church at Ephesus is none other than Onesimus. Now we don’t know for sure that Onesimus the runaway slave and Onesimus the Bishop of Ephesus is the same person. Yet, consider this. Many have wondered why this short letter of Paul’s – a personal letter to a friend about a very specific situation – why it is even in the Biblical canon. We find a logical answer in placing Onesimus the runaway slave in the position of bishop. So, let’s assume for a moment that the Bishop Onesimus is indeed the runaway slave. From this influential position of leadership in the early church, Onesimus would have included the letter to Philemon among the other “epistles of Paul” that were circulating among the churches as a personal testimony to the power of God’s grace and forgiveness, and to the power of believing in someone, of giving them another chance, of seeing their potential in spite of their shady origins or past sins. Like the kittypet in the Warriors books, if someone hadn’t looked beyond who he was in the past, and his mistakes, and then given him the opportunity to develop his potential, he never would have become the leader he was.
How to apply this story to our personal lives is quite straightforward — all we do is look around us to the people in our families, work, and church, and examine our attitudes toward them. While that is quite clear, I’d like to challenge us to examine how we view our own congregation. Do we see our potential, our potential to be a thriving body of Jesus’ followers, seeking God’s kingdom of shalom, living together as a community even though we don’t agree on some significant theological and practical parts of our faith? Do you view TUMC in this way? Or do we view TUMC through the lens of recent years – our at times painful sexuality discernment process and subsequent loss of members and energy? Is this your perspective of our church?
Just as Paul saw incredible potential in Onesimus, the runaway slave who became an early church leader, I challenge all of us to see the tremendous potential we have as a congregation, this peculiar body of Christ’s followers that meet here on Queen St. East. Let us strive toward realizing that full potential.
Amen.