Philemon had a problem. His friend, Paul, sent him a letter along with his runaway slave, Onesimus. In Roman society a runaway slave was severely punished to act as a deterrant from others doing the same thing. However, during his escape Onesimus had met Paul and been converted to Christianity. Paul sent Onesimus back and asked Philemon to treat his slave as 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. So here’s Philemon’s problem — if he heeds Paul’s request and receives Onesimus as a brother you can imagine that all of his slaves will quickly become Christians so they can escape slavery at Philemon’s hand as well. His Roman lifestyle was contradicted by his Christian faith. This is a constant tug in the lives of believers. A capitalistic, consumeristic society does not have the values that motivate the life of faith. When Jesus tells each one of us to carry his own cross and come after me, he challenges us to see things from the perspective of the gospel and not the world. Forgiveness, generosity, compassion, peace, love should have the highest place as we make decisions about family, work, life.
