Father Thomas Welbers' Homily

Perhaps the most troubling of our possessions, the ones that give us the most difficulties, and that we find the most challenging to give up or even to control, are not the material things, however few or many, cheap or expensive, that we surround ourselves with. The most troubling of our possessions are not the things we possess externally, but the things we possess internally – our attitudes, our insecurities, our need to control, and our self-will. Rather than looking first at our bank accounts and other material things, I think Jesus may be asking us to look at our inner selves, our carefully guarded “treasures” of our mind and will, to see what may be standing in the way of our being more faithful disciples of Jesus.

The letter to Philemon, almost half of which we heard in the second reading, is one of the shortest books of the Bible, one of the most fascinating, and one of the most thought-provoking in coming to terms with what it means to renounce oneself and one’s possessions.. It is a very personal letter, written by Paul when he was old and in prison, probably near the time of his death. Philemon, to whom the letter was addressed, was a wealthy landowner, as well as an owner of slaves, as was the general custom among the rich of that time. He was a Christian, and was evidently well-respected in his community because Paul indicates that the tiny group of Christians in his neighborhood gathered at his house to celebrate the Eucharist. He may even have been the priest who presided at the Eucharist in his church. Undoubtedly he was sincere, holy, and used his riches with generosity for God’s people.

Paul did not badger him to give up his wealth or to free his slaves, as some with later sensitivities imagine that he should. He saw an abundance of this world’s goods as an opportunity for generosity, a kind of generosity that Philemon was undoubtedly living. Paul was also very well acquainted with slavery as a social institution of his time – some scholars believe that Paul’s parents may well have been slaves in Roman Tarsus, a city on the south coast of present-day Turkey. How do we know this? It is clear from the Acts of the Apostles and his letters that Paul was a Roman citizen, and ironically the most common way that a Jew could become a Roman citizen was through slavery. It was the Roman practice to grant citizenship to slaves who had been honorably freed by their masters.

So, one of Philemon’s slaves, a man named Onesimus, escaped, and made his way – illegally and in great danger – to find Paul and seek his protection. The penalty for a runaway slave was, of course, death. Paul, being in prison, could not offer Onesimus any permanent shelter or security, but he did welcome him into the faith in Jesus Christ, and he baptized him. Then, convinced of Onesimus’ sincerity, Paul sent him back to Philemon with this letter, appealing to him to receive Onesimus not as a slave but as a brother in Christ.

That’s where the story ends – with this letter. We have no idea of the outcome. Those were not yet times of widespread persecution, and so Philemon as a prominent and respected citizen would have been under considerable social pressure to follow the law in treating Onesimus as a criminal and put him to death. Yet Paul asks him to look to a higher law, and receive Onesimus as a brother. Our knowledge ends with the obvious picture of Onesimus the illegal fugitive returning to his master – can you imagine what kind of courage that must have taken? – and himself placing in Philemon’s hand this letter in which Paul challenges Philemon to place the law of God above the law of public opinion and revenge.

Which did Philemon ultimately follow? That is something we are not given to know. But aren’t we today faced with the same dilemma? And perhaps the outcome is equally uncertain. The conflict between the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the values of the world – greed, dominance, control, deceit, the use of violence to get our way – is played out all around us. Philemon’s choice is ours as well. Which way do we choose?

© 2004 Thomas Welbers