Thursday of Week 32 of Ordinary Time – First Reading

Commentary on Philemon 7-20

Today we begin reading from the three shortest books of the New Testament—a reading from Paul’s Letter to Philemon. The whole ‘book’ consists of just one chapter and is, in the strict sense, a letter from one friend to another. Paul even claims to have written it in his own hand; most of his longer letters were dictated to secretaries, or even partly written by them following Paul’s instructions. The letter was written about the same time as the Letters to the Colossians and Ephesians. Paul is in prison, but where is not quite certain. It is thought that Rome was too far away for him to have been visited by the slave, Onesimus. One possibility is Ephesus, where Paul seems to have been imprisoned for a while, and which was not too far from Colosse, where Philemon lived.

The situation is that a slave, Onesimus, seems to have run away from his master, Philemon, and found shelter with Paul. There is a suggestion that Onesimus may have run away because he had stolen from his master. In which case, Philemon—understandably—may not have been very well disposed to his slave. However, during his time with Paul, Onesimus became a Christian. Philemon was also a convert of Paul’s, so Paul felt a special affinity for these two men and was anxious for reconciliation between them as brothers in Christ. The letter is written in very tactful language (by one not particularly known for his gift of diplomacy), as if Paul is not at all sure of the outcome.

Today’s passage begins with outright praise for Philemon himself. Paul is delighted to hear of Philemon’s love:

…because the hearts of the saints [i.e. the Christians of his church] have been refreshed through you…

It seems as if Philemon is a church leader and that, of course, means that higher standards are expected of him, e.g. in dealing with a runaway slave.

Paul continues by appealing to Philemon’s love rather than his duty (which might be to punish the errant slave). He further appeals as an “old man” languishing in prison for his Christian faith. He calls Onesimus:

…my child…whose father I have become during my imprisonment.

This appears to be a way of indicating that the slave had been converted to Christianity. Paul was now his ‘father in Christ’. In Paul’s eyes, this changed the status of Onesimus with respect to his master, also a Christian and also a “child” of Paul’s.

He suggests that Onesimus—no doubt as a result of the formation that Paul has given him—has changed:

Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.

This is a play on the Onesimus’ name which means ‘useful’.

Paul says that he would like to have kept Onesimus with him:

I wanted to keep him with me so that he might minister to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel…

Despite this, he wants to send Onesimus back to Philemon:

I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced.

Clearly, he is not altogether sure of Philemon’s reaction, and that is why he is writing this letter first. He does not want to force Philemon’s hand; he would prefer that Philemon himself take the initiative in inviting back his slave, now that he knows where he is.

And Paul is sending back Onesimus now not just as a slave, but as someone who is a brother in Christ both to Paul and Philemon. The implication is not just that Onesimus is now a baptised Christian, but that he has changed as a person. So Paul begs Philemon to take Onesimus back and, if there is any talk of restitution for stolen property, Paul will take care of it himself. The guarantee is the letter written in his own handwriting. And because the gift of faith had come to Philemon through Paul, Philemon is, in a sense, indebted to Paul. He can pay part of that debt by taking Onesimus back.

We do not know, of course, what happened as a result of this letter. But it is a good example of Christian forgiveness and reconciliation. And in a world where slavery and its resultant inequality was never questioned, it shows how Christian love must eventually lead to people being treated on exactly the same level where human dignity and worth are concerned. It was already pointing the way to the abolition of slavery, a condition that would still continue for many centuries to come.

And that is why this informal letter of one friend to another finds its place in our Bible, as the Word of God. It gives an example for all of us to follow.

It is often difficult for us to trust a person who has wronged us in some way. It is often difficult to accept that people can change radically. We see this in our attitudes to people who have been in prison. There was great disquiet some time ago in the US, when a woman on death row, who had clearly become a totally rehabilitated person and a sincere convert to religious faith, was nevertheless sent to the electric chair for the crimes she committed earlier in a ‘different’ life. Our society tends to want to exact its ‘pound of flesh’, i.e. to want to punish rather than to reform or rehabilitate.

Jesus was not like that. He was the one who consistently ate and drank with sinners and social outcasts. As a Church, we should hope that accusation will be thrown at us frequently.

Read more

Thursday of Week 32 of Ordinary Time – Gospel

Commentary on Luke 17:20-25

Jesus was asked by some Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come. In their mind, it was a definitive time that would be suddenly realised by the arrival of a triumphant Messiah-King. Jesus says it is not going to be like that at all. The Kingdom cannot be found by looking around for telltale signs so that you can say it is ‘here’ or ‘there’.

No, says Jesus:

…in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.

Not only is it “among” them, it is right in front of them! It is first of all in the very person of Jesus, who is the embodiment of God’s Reign. He is the Messiah-King. He is the living incarnation of God’s loving power revealed in his authoritative teaching, in his many healings of the sick, in his freeing of those from the power of evil spirits, and in his compassion for the sinner and the outcast. All are clear evidence that the reign of God “is among you”.

In every age, including our own time, there are people who get worked up about the ‘final coming of Christ’. But instead of focusing on a date in the calendar, we should be focusing on the realities of our everyday lives where, to those with eyes that see, the reign of God can easily be discerned working in other people’s lives and in our own. Wherever people are reflecting in their lives the vision of life—the values that Jesus revealed to us—the Kingdom is there. And such people are not confined to the Church. They can be, and are found, everywhere.

Jesus then turns to his disciples, telling them they :

…will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.

In the very early Church, many were convinced that Jesus would make his final coming during their own lifetime. It is likely that, from time to time, certain events were interpreted as signs of that final coming. People were saying, “Look there! or Look here!”, i.e. he is to be found in this place or that. But by the time Luke’s Gospel was written, many in that first generation of Christians had already died and there was still no sign of Jesus’ coming.

The ‘days’ following his expected coming may have all the more been longed for during times of severe persecution, when they looked for relief and help from their pain. An anxiety is reflected in the story of the disciples’ trying to wake a sleeping Jesus while their boat is threatened by mountainous seas (see Mark 4:35-41).

Jesus says that, when his day does come, it will be:

…as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other…

It will be both sudden and everywhere. In the meantime, Jesus:

…must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.

These words clearly refer to his own suffering and death, but can also be applied to the whole Risen Christ, including the Church, his risen Body, into our own age.

So, on the one hand, the reign of God is already here among us, and we need look no further than the daily experiences of our own lives to know and experience the power and presence of Jesus. On the other hand, the time of that final coming which “will wipe every tear from [our] eyes” and be the end of all suffering and rejection is not for us to decide—nor to be anxious about.

Read more