Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

September 7, 2025 / 13th Sunday after Pentecost / Lectionary 23C

Philemon 1-21

The story I’m about to tell you is mostly true. What is true is that the subject of the story, a man by the name of Onesimus, was a real person, and was the subject of Paul’s letter to Philemon, all of which (except for the last 4 verses) you heard as today’s second lesson.  What is only imaginatively true are my descriptions of what Onesimus was feeling as he carried the letter from Paul to Philemon.  The words of the letter which I quote are the actual words of Paul’s letter, though they sound different from what you already heard this morning because I’ve taken them from The Message translation.  I invite you now to hear the story of Onesimus.

Onesimus, the runaway slave, woke with a start at early dawn.  He thought he had heard a noise.  But then again, he was pretty jumpy these days, on edge, as anyone who was “on the lam” would be.  It might just have been the nightmare he was having that had jarred him from sleep.  In it, he was bound by chains and being dragged off to prison.  But as he looked around, he didn’t see any officials approaching to arrest him, but he was freaked out nonetheless.  Instinctively, he reached for his pack and slid his hand inside . . . and then breathed a sigh of relief.  It was still there.  The letter from Paul was still there. 

But even with the letter from Paul to his master, Philemon, he was nervous.  How terrible, and how terribly ironic it would be, to get caught now when he was within a day’s journey of Colossae where he intended to turn himself in to Philemon and beg for mercy.  But as he looked around, he still saw no one coming, and confident that he was safe, at least for the moment, he opened the letter to read it, as he had a hundred times before, squinting into the morning sun.  The letter read:

 I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy.  I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and   companion in this work – also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house.  God’s best to you!  Christ’s blessings on you!

Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, “Oh, thank you, God!”  I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other Christians.  And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.  Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.

Onesimus couldn’t help but chuckle.  That Paul – he could sure lay it on thick!  But his sincerity was what often persuaded people, what led them to faith in Christ.  In addition, Paul had a real knack for knowing just what to say to make a person feel good.  He saw the good in everyone because he looked at them as if with the eyes of Christ. 

Paul had certainly known just what to say to Onesimus.  When he had arrived in Rome, Onesimus had been plagued by terrible guilt for running away from Philemon.  But more than that, he was just unhappy.  He had thought that running away from his master, Philemon, would make all the difference in his life.  He had thought that freedom from slavery would make him a happy man.  He had thought that getting to Rome, where he could blend in with the crowd, he would feel safe.  But he had thought wrong.  He had been just as unhappy as a free man as he had been working in the household of Philemon – perhaps even more unhappy because of the guilt and the terrible fear of being found out.  He was free – but his soul was still in slavery.

That’s why Onesimus had sought out Paul, remembering how Philemon had always spoken so highly of him:  of his faith, his courage, his positive outlook even though he was in prison.  And when Onesimus met Paul, Paul had helped him to see that happiness came, not from one’s position in life, but from one’s position before God.  He had taught Onesimus that a person’s value comes from Jesus’ love.  And Paul had helped Onesimus to see that he needed to make up for the wrong that he had done – that even though in Christ, there was no longer any difference between slave and free, he still should not have run away from his master.  Onesimus knew that he must return to Philemon and seek his forgiveness.

But how would Philemon respond when his runaway slave showed up at his door?  Philemon was a good man, and a good Christian.  But how good?  And more importantly, how forgiving?  With a shiver of apprehension, Onesimus read on.  This next part of the letter would decide his fate:

In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you.  As Christ’s ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn’t hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary, but I’d rather make it a personal request.

While here in jail, I’ve fathered a child, so to speak.  And here he is, hand-carrying this letter – Onesimus!  He was useless to you before; now he’s useful to both of us.  I’m sending him back to you, but it feels like I’m cutting off my right arm in doing so.  I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I’m in jail for the Message.  But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn’t willingly agreed to.

Maybe it’s all for the best that you lost him for a while.  You’re getting him back now for good – and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother!  That’s what he was to me – he’ll be even more than that to you.

So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me.

Onesimus sighed.  Would he?  Would his master welcome him home?  Would Philemon  forgive him?  Paul was confident that he would – Onesimus wasn’t so sure.  But he knew it was what he had to do – to try to make things right.  Before refolding the letter and tucking it back into his pack, Onesimus quickly read through to the end of the letter:

If he [Onesimus] damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account.  This is my personal signature – Paul – and I stand behind it.  (I don’t need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?)  Do me this big favor, friend.  You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.  I know you well enough to know you will.  You’ll probably go far beyond what I’ve written.  And by the way, get a room ready for me.  Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.

Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello.  Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke.  All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!

And coming to the end of this masterful letter, knowing that it was time to make the final leg of the journey home, he got to his feet.  Stretching to clear out the night’s cobwebs, he sent a brief prayer heavenward:  “Jesus, you promised to be with us always.  Be with me now.”  And trusting what Paul had taught him, that no matter what happened, his true freedom came from the love Christ, he started for home.

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Epilogue:  We don’t really know from scriptural evidence what happened when Onesimus returned to Philemon.  But the fact that Philemon apparently saved this letter from Paul, and the fact that it has been included in the New Testament, probably means that he did grant Paul’s request.  What is more, according to tradition, Onesimus later became the bishop of Ephesus.

As God gave courage to Onesimus, may God also give you the courage to do what is right, even when it’s hard.  And may God give you the confidence of Onesimus, who trusted above all in the enduring and eternal love of Jesus Christ.