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Philemon
Paul
strongly recommends that Philemon accept his runaway slave as a brother, not a
slave.
The book of Philemon is a
personal letter from the Apostle Paul to his friend Philemon, who owned a
runaway slave named Onesimus. Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus, not just
as a slave who fled but as a fellow Christian, a brother in the Lord, and a
partner in the gospel. Paul appeals to Philemon's love and hospitality, even
offering to repay any debts Onesimus may have incurred, highlighting the
transformation and reconciliation that is possible through Christ.
Philemon is asked to pay the
price of being a Christian by forgiving and accepting Onesimus as a brother and
not a slave.
Christians are called to forgive
which presupposes an obvious sin or offense has occurred. The greater the
wound; greater still is the obstacle to forgive. What impediment stands in the
way between you and him/her? What barrier is in your road? Christ has carried that obstacle all the way
to Calvary’s cross.
When we pray in the Lord’s Prayer “…and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we are reminded by Luther, “We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.
” [1][1] Chapter
summaries:
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