Part II, Week 5 - Chapter 17 - Philemon!

I appreciate that, in this week sandwiched between Simpson Week and Study Week our reading and blog topic is Paul’s Letter to Philemon, “the shortest and most personal of all Paul’s letters.” (pg. 668) As such, de Silva writes, it “might easily be overlooked.” (Ibid.) However, he notes that Philemon merits attention because it offers insight into the affairs of a house church, into Paul’s pastoral finesse, and into the transformation of human relationships that occurs in the community of believers.

This is the last of Paul’s letters that is almost universally acknowledged to be from Paul himself, rather than perhaps being “deutero-Pauline” or a pseudepigraph. It is in the form of a friendly letter and a commendatory letter, written by Paul and Timothy and addressed to Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus and the entire church that met in their home (which suggests to me that the named recipients were family members). It is another of Paul’s “prison letters;” but there is no indication of the place or date the letter was written. The usual suspects are trotted out, and de Silva concludes that it may well have been written during a short imprisonment in Ephesus. De Silva feels that a Caesarean or Roman provenance is unlikely because of the distance it would have required Onesimus to travel to meet with Paul.

Paul had apparently converted Philemon, although he had not proselytized in his city, which was almost certainly Colosse. De Silva suggests that Philemon may have become acquainted with Paul in Ephesus, while Colosse was one of three nearby towns where the churches were most likely founded by Epaphras.

Wherever Paul and Timothy are located, Onesimus, one of Philemon’s slaves, is with them. De Silva notes that he may have fled to Paul as a friend of Philemon’s. In such a case, the slave would not have been considered a runaway once he was received by the friend. In such a case, the slave could ask the friend to plead his case with his owner. That, indeed, is what seems to be occurring in the brief letter to Philemon.

After the formalities, the salutation and prayer of thanksgiving, Paul gets to his point. He refers to himself as an old man in chains. He states that he could order Philemon to do as he wishes Philemon to do, but rather than that, he appeals to Philemon on the basis of love. (v. 8-9) He calls Onesimus his son (v. 10) and says that formerly Onesimus was useless to Philemon but now has become useful to both of them. (v. 11) He states that he would liked to have kept Onesimus with him, but he didn’t want to do anything without Philemon’s consent, so he is sending him back. He refers to him as “my very heart.” (v. 12) He says that perhaps the reason that Onesimus and Philemon were separated for a little while was so that Philemon could have him back as more than a slave, as a “dear brother.” (v. 16)

He tells Philemon that, if he regards Paul as a partner, he should welcome Onesimus as he would welcome Paul. If Philemon feels that Onesimus has wronged him or owes him anything, he should charge that to Paul’s account. Paul states, I’ll pay you back – but on the other hand, “you owe me your very self.” (v.19)

We have seen that Paul frequently utilized the concepts of patronage, clientage, and brokerage, and honour and shame language, both as illustrations of the mediation by Christ Jesus on behalf of believers before his Heavenly Father, and also in Paul’s earthly relations with believers and the churches. In the case of the letter to Philemon, Paul says that if Philemon feels that if Onesimus has wronged him or owes him anything (de Silva suggests he might have taken a small amount of money to make the trip to Paul), Paul will make good for it – although Paul reminds him that Philemon is already in his deep debt. Onesimus has come to him in prison – perhaps to offer assistance that Paul would have liked to get from Philemon himself. Paul was able to convert Onesimus, and now he is more than a slave, he is a “dear brother” and will prove useful from now on to both Paul and Philemon. Therefore, Paul relies on Philemon’s good will and generosity to “do the right thing.” The fact that what would have been a private letter is addressed to the whole church shows that there was some subtle – or not so subtle – pressure being applied.

De Silva states that this letter may usefully explain the attitude in some letters (e.g. Ephesians and Colossians) in which Paul seems to be upholding the “household codes,” encouraging the submissiveness of women and subservience of slaves. A scrutiny of Philemon suggests that Paul may have intended to encourage individuals to do the right thing on their own initiative rather than by way of command.

Lastly, de Silva notes that when Ignatius of Antioch was traveling to Rome to face execution, he met with several church leaders along the way. One of these, spoken of glowingly by him in his letter to the Ephesians, was the bishop of Ephesus, one Onesimus. De Silva notes that Onesimus was a common slave name, but that it would have been unusual to have another slave of that name rise to such prominence in the early church. If Onesimus was in his early teens at the time of Paul’s letter, he would have been in his 70’s at the time of Ignatius’ visit. The preservation of so personal and private a letter may be explained if indeed it was he whose cause had been so eloquently pleaded by Paul.