No doubt St. Paul wrote many personal letters. Only one has come down to us, the one to his friend Philemon. It was saved in the Bible and recognized as Sacred Scripture because the themes in the letter are universal. Some background: Onesimus was a runaway slave who at some point encountered St. Paul and became a Christian. Runaway slaves were subject to severe punishment, even execution, in Roman society. St. Paul sent Onesimus back to his owner, Philemon, with the request that he treat him with kindness since Philemon owed St. Paul big time, “you owe me your very self.” In fact, Paul suggests the fact that Onesimus was now a Christian changed his status with Philemon. Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother. Here is Philemon’s problem: if he accedes to Paul’s request and frees Onesimus you can picture all of his slaves lining up to be baptized and, thus, attain their freedom. The point: Christianity makes demands, is costly. Maybe the closest analogy today refers to the responsibility that we as Christians have to care for God’s creation. We know that climate change and global warming are real but making the changes necessary to help protect life on God’s world will be costly and inconvenient. St. Paul would challenge us: are we willing to pay the price demanded by our faith?
