Letter to Philemon and the Kingdom of God

Letter to Philemon and the Kingdom of God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Thursday, November 12, 2020

The Letter of St. Paul to Philemon is one of the shortest books of the New Testament, where St. Paul sums up Jesus’ entire message of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is one of the letters written by Paul while he was still in jail in Rome (the others are Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians). It was personally written by Paul to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus. Paul and Philemon had known each other for many years. In fact, Paul was instrumental in bringing Philemon to believe that Jesus was the promised Christ.  Consequently, Philemon established a church in his house in Colossae. The main reason why Paul wrote to his friend, Philemon was to convince him to forgive one of his slaves and accept him back into the house, but this time, “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother.” For one reason or another, Onesimus ran hundreds of miles away from his master who lived in Colossae to Rome. He probably ran that far so that Philemon would find it difficult to locate him. On getting to Rome, God changed his life and destiny when one day he encountered Paul. After some time, he got converted to Christianity and became one of Paul’s student ministers, just like Timothy and Titus had done. It is crystal clear that Paul had a special fondness for Onesimus that he calls him, “my son, Onesimus.” Paul is strongly urging his friend, Philemon, to receive Onesimus who has become a fellow worker in Christ with Paul back as a brother in Christ. The moment a master recognizes a slave as a brother in Christ, the label of ‘slave’ becomes meaningless. Jesus’ gift of grace gives them both an opportunity to fellowship on an equal playing field in the body of Christ. Paul is asking Philemon to extend the same forgiveness he received when Christ entered his heart. 

It is important to recognize that Paul did not write this letter for selfish reasons. He fully acknowledges Onesimus’ sin, but more importantly, Paul knows that all must be made right between master and servant, both transactionally and spiritually. But why must Paul send Onesimus back to Philemon and why did Onesimus agree to go back to a place that will bring back sad memories? May be Paul sensed that his time on earth was short and he could no longer protect Onesimus. But the most potent reason is that Paul recognizes that, as long as Onesimus and Philemon remained unreconciled, the reign of God would not really and fully come for either of them. And for Onesimus to agree to return to Philemon meant that Paul must have persuaded him a great deal and Onesimus must have trusted Paul’s words a lot. Today’s Psalm tells us that “The Lord secures justice for the oppressed,” and in Onesimus, this promised was realized. The forgiveness and reconciliation initiated by Paul between his friend, Philemon, and his adopted son, Onesimus, shines a spotlight of the kingdom of God among them. As Jesus said in today’s Gospel, the Kingdom of God is not something that can be observed— observed somewhere, not something that is here and there, rather, something that is among us and in us. Where forgiveness and reconciliation are genuinely pursued and found, there the Kingdom of God is dawned.