40 Days Blog - Day 40
Don’t you just love a good pun? I happen to think they are very punny (see what I did there…?! Oh dear!) We always get very serious when we read the Bible and tend to view Paul as very deep and theological. So sometimes we can miss his ironic, clever humour. The classic example is, of course, his statement before Agrippa, “
……I pray to God that… all who are listening to me today may become what I am- except for these chains.” (
Acts 26:29)
In this passage, Paul builds his main content around a clever play on the name of the runaway slave. Having got Philemon on side with a bit of well-placed flattery, he now uses humour to make his ‘big ask’ a bit more palatable. The actual Greek name would have been Ὀνήσιμος, which our bibles romanise as
Onēsimos. The name of the runaway slave means ‘useful’ or ‘profitable’. A slave who runs away and (it seems) steals from Philemon, his master, is described as ‘useless’. But now, that slave has been changed by hearing the Gospel, transformed by the Holy Spirit and is now a ‘useful’ brother in Christ. And note that Onesimus is no longer just some useful slave-possession to Philemon (and Paul) now, but described in the most personal of terms-
Onesimus who became my son
Who is my very heart
As a dear brother
He is very dear, as a fellow man and brother in the Lord
Many years ago, Patricia St John wrote a book about Onesimus called ‘
Twice Freed’. It is a children’s book but also brings to life very vividly the journey of Onesimus from runaway to returning to the home of his former master, Onesimus. Well worth a read! Of course, Patricia St John had to write a fictional end to the story, as we don’t really know how it ended. Philemon could, of course, have torn the letter up and thrown it in the fire! However, the fact we still have the letter preserved in our Bibles would indicate that the letter was effective and the relationship restored. One of the early church fathers, Ignatius, lists an Onesimus as Bishop of the church in Ephesus in the late first century who might be the very same runaway slave.
The interesting thing here is that Paul sends this letter to Philemon by the hand of Onesimus. It would certainly have been easier for Onesimus for Paul to send the letter by another courier. And, of course, Onesimus could have had second thoughts! Understandably, he might have figured that walking into the presence of his old master- where he was liable to be apprehended and put to death!- wasn’t worth the risk.
Despite this, we believe Onesimus went back to his master with this letter from Paul, and it would seem most likely that Philemon read the letter, looked at the runaway slave in front of him- and embraced him as a friend and brother. This story reflects the grace and forgiveness at the heart of the Gospel message. When we were still runaways and sinners, God intervened on our behalf. He gained forgiveness for us, no longer slaves but welcome children of God and joint-heirs of glory. The big difference, of course, is that our salvation and acceptance wasn’t a matter of a well-written letter. It was the result of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the only Son who God loved. Our freedom cost the Son of God His life on the Cross!
A Prayer
Father, thank you that you intervened on our behalf. We acknowledge that we have no right to expect your forgiveness or your salvation. We are so grateful for Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross for us. Please help us to step forward with our prayer requests with boldness, knowing you delight to answer your children. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
Listen to today's reading and blog post below...
N.B. - We will be concluding our blogs in Philemon with a final reflection on Saturday 28th March - Day 41