All the evidence suggests that Paul was a prolific letter writer but we have only one that was meant as a personal letter, to his friend Philemon. The Church preserved this letter and incorporated it into the Bible because its message can be applied to everyone. The situation: Philemon was a slave owner whose slave Onesimus ran away. He made his way to Paul where he was converted to Christianity and Paul sent him back to Philemon with the attached letter. In Roman society runaway slaves could be treated with the severest penalites — torture, mutilation, branding, even execution. Paul’s letter is meant to give Philemon pause before he exacts any penalty because Onesimus is now a fellow Christian. 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. While I have no doubt Philemon would have liked to heed Paul’s “suggestion” and free Onesimus that would cause him a problem. Surely if his other slaves saw that they too would become Christians and expect Philemon to free them as well. Doing the right thing by Onesimus would cost him. The Church preserved this letter because we all share Philemon’s dilemma. Paul’s admonition reminds us that we have to look at everything — relationships, ownership, economics, recreation, time-management — in the light of the Gospel. There is no cheap grace. The gospel is not limited to Sunday but makes demands on all that we are.
