A Study in the Book of Philemon-2

A STUDY IN THE BOOK OF PHILEMON-2 JUNE 21, 2015

In 2012, a man named Declan McMullan’s life changed forever. In fact, before his life changed forever he actually died first. Declan’s parents discovered him unresponsive in his bed and they called emergency services and began to administer CPR. By the grace of God, he was brought back to life.

After his death, his life began to change. Declan had been unresponsive because of a rare medical condition that led to cardiac arrest. In the time he was dead, he lost a lot of air to the brain, which led to his current state of having locked-in syndrome, which simply means he can’t see, eat or move on his own. He can communicate by blinking his eyes, and he can understand everything that is going on in the world around him.

After spending 65 weeks in the hospital, Declan was ready to go home, but it wasn’t allowed. The family had to raise money to retrofit their house and their car to care for him. From that moment until this, they have had a single pursuit, single passion, a single purpose; bring him home.

Will it be complicated? It doesn’t matter - bring him home. Will it be expensive? It doesn’t matter - bring him home. Will it be difficult as they deal with the life they once envisioned compared to the one they now must live? It doesn’t matter - bring him home.

That singular purpose and passion are undeniable. There is no gray area. There is no concern of should we or how can we. They are focused upon that simple goal - bring him home. It turns out, some of the best stories have this theme in common, a person dedicated to bringing someone else home. No matter the cost. No matter the complication. The best stories are about bringing lost people home.

Jean Valjean, in Les Miserables, carried this sentiment. Deep into the final act of Les Miserables, Jean Valjean sings the song you heard earlier from Bill Allison. The man who wants to marry his daughter, Marius, has gone off to fight for further revolution on behalf of the French Proletariat. This is complicated for many reasons. Politically and legally, if Marius does return, his future will be uncertain. He has been fighting at the barricade for the rebellious minority. If he does come back, he might have to go to prison or be executed. There might be costly legal expenses. Public embarrassment. Not the brightest of futures for a potential son-in-law. Personally, this is complicated; Jean Valjean has raised his adopted daughter, Cossette, as his own from a young age. He never married and never had children of his own. Cossette is his life. As all you mommas and daddies in here know, it is never a pleasant thought to potentially give away your daughter to any young man, no matter how good he is. It’s like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla. I mean, for a single dad, you are handing over your daughter to someone who is meant to replace you.

This is costly and complicated, but Jean Valjean sings this prayer to God. Bring him home. It’s his singular passion and purpose. The best stories are about bringing lost people home.

Declan’s family knows this, Jean Valjean knew this and Paul knew this. We are in the second week of our three-week series on reconciliation and forgiveness in the letter of Philemon. As we discussed last week, a slave, Onesimus, has run away from his owner, Philemon. This was not uncommon in Rome. One in five people in Rome were slaves and more than a few of them attempted escape. If they were caught, they were beaten and returned to their master, and that was the best-case scenario. So Onesimus, the slave, has become a Christian, and he comes to Paul asking for help, “Can you speak for me to Philemon? Can you tell him I know that I did wrong? Can you tell him to go easy on me? I just want to go home and for things to go back to normal.”

That is why we have this short letter of only 25 verses. As we discussed in depth last week, slavery is never okay, but it was the world they lived in. I can’t re-explain this, but I encourage you to read the transcript or listen to last week’s sermon. The short version is that sometimes the gospel breaks down sinful institutions straight away, but other times, the gospel permeates them, and breaks them down from the inside out. Slavery in this time was not like Antebellum American slavery, but it was still bad. Slaves did receive wages, but they could be abused, and that oppressive treatment of humanity in any form does not jive with the gospel.

At this moment, there were only a few thousand Christians in the whole world, so this institution would be broken down from the inside out. In fact, while some people see Philemon as giving tacit approval to slavery, I think quite the opposite is true. If you were here last week, you’ll remember what Paul asks for on behalf of Onesimus. We called it “candlestick” forgiveness. Paul asks for Onesimus not only to be forgiven but also to be set free. Paul asks for him to be received like a brother, both physically and spiritually.

Philemon 12-16

We called this “candlestick” forgiveness because early on in Les Miserables, Jean Valjean has left jail after 19 years. He was a man broken down by the law. He can’t find food or shelter anywhere because of his record. Finally, a kindly bishop allows him in, feeds him and shelters him. Valjean responds by stealing the silver and striking out into the night. He is promptly captured with the church’s silver and brought before the bishop for confirmation of his crime. Instead of throwing him back into prison, he allows the silver to be a gift, and he throws in the most expensive things he has, two beloved candlesticks. Instead of going back to prison, he was made rich. Instead of being imprisoned by the law, he was set free by grace.

It is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us. We were sinners deserving of death, but Jesus came to forgive us. He didn’t just bring us back to neutral. He threw in the candlesticks by making us sons and daughters of the King. This is all breathtaking stuff. Amazing grace. Amazing forgiveness. As we learned from C.S. Lewis last week, “Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive…and then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger." Mere Christianity Chapter 7

Last week we looked at what it means to be the one offering forgiveness. As hard as it is, it will change you and change the person you forgive. You will both go from being hurt and angry to finding joy. As a side note and follow up from last week, I encouraged you to call someone up and forgive them. I want to make sure you are offering forgiveness from those who have sought it. It will most likely be counterproductive to tell someone you forgive them when they haven’t sought it. That’s called being passive-aggressive. I like to play that game with my wife sometimes and tell my wife I forgive her…even when she hasn’t done anything wrong and usually when it is me who has done something wrong.

Last week’s sermon from Philemon’s perspective was all about forgiving those who are seeking it. If you haven’t yet been asked for forgiveness, you forgive them in your heart and you go ahead and throw the candlesticks in. Shower them with grace and good gifts. That is the way of our maker. His kindness leads to repentance, not his passive aggressiveness and not his evil eye or cold shoulder. If someone has asked your forgiveness and you have withheld it, then call them up, but if the matter is not yet settled, then forgive them in your heart and shower them with grace.

Today, I want you to see what Paul does. He is the go-between. He knows it is a complicated and costly situation, but he still intervenes. He puts himself on the line on Onesimus’ behalf. He puts his good name and reputation on the line for this runaway slave. You see Paul knows the best stories are about bringing lost people home, so he dedicates himself to this cause, Philemon, bring him home.

As I told you last week, this is a huge request for many reasons. If Philemon complies, he will have cost himself money, he will have to swallow his own pride, he will have to contend with unsettledness in his own household because the other servants in the house will be wondering why they too shouldn’t run away if it means they could be made free.

It is a bold, audacious ask, but that is the call of the gospel. It is human to hold a grudge and divine to forgive, and it is also blessed to be a peacemaker, a mediator, someone who steps in and makes a bold request. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” All of the beatitudes are hard to practice and live out, and that is definitely true on this one. That’s true because peacemakers often catch shrapnel in the midst of the battle. They often catch a punch. They can often become the target. Peacemakers are bold and brave because they are usually stepping into harm’s way.

Philemon 18-19 In advance, Paul offers to pay the difference. He has no economic stake here, yet he knows in advance someone will lose out. He volunteers to be the loser, to be a true mediator who takes shrapnel and pays the cost. That’s what mediators do.

If you have small children, you know exactly what I am talking about. When siblings fight, parents often intervene. If you are like me, an errant punch or bit of spittle has landed on you in the process. This episode that you did not start now involves you in a very real and personal way, and it is no different as you grow up. Some of you have stepped in the middle of feuding families and absorbed some of the blows. They were fighting over an estate or a disastrous Thanksgiving holiday and you decide to step in. In the end, you take a big helping of vitriol, but you do it because the best stories are about bringing lost people home.

As it turns out, the Declan family knows this, Jean Valjean knew this, Paul knew this and Jesus knew this. Jesus loved telling stories about lost things being found. As a major attribute of God, he told stories about lost sheep being found. He told stories about lost sons being brought home. Jesus demonstrated a high value for peacemaking no matter the cost.

This week our kiddos in VBS have been charting the big story of God with five simple elements: The Creation Formulation - God’s Plan: 2 MAKE Us! The Sin Separation - God's Plan: 2 BE WITH Us! The Personification Revelation - God's Plan: 4 Us 2 KNOW Him! The Salvation Solution - God's Plan: 2 SAVE Us! The Infinite Implementation - God's Plan: 2 LOVE Us 4-Ever! Those fun little sayings point us to the big story of God and humanity. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to leave home because of sin, and when they left home it became complicated and messy. As in most stories like this, they regretted their actions, but couldn’t make their way back home. So God sent Jesus and said, “Bring them home.” God in his righteousness could not have a relationship with sinful humanity so he sent Jesus to make peace as the only mediator possible, fully man and fully God.

He went to the cross and caught the punches. He went to battle and caught the shrapnel meant for us. The wrath of God landed upon him to bring us peace. Jesus didn’t just tell stories about lost things being found and lost boys coming home. He lived it.

That is your motivation to be a peacemaker. We often make things too complicated when it comes to forgiveness. We want to make sure someone learns their lesson. We want to make sure someone knows how much they hurt us. We want to make sure everything is fair and even. If you are a follower of Jesus, your number one pursuit should be bringing people home. It will be complicated and costly, but make this your number one goal.

You might catch some shrapnel. You might suffer some collateral damage, but that’s what Jesus did for us. He stepped in-between and caught the punch and took the punishment. He knew the best stories are about bringing lost people home.

For some of you this means keeping your eyes peeled for a place to intervene. Not to interrupt but to intervene. I can’t put clean lines on this because it is really up to God’s leading. I am not advocating for you to be invasive and interrupting. Sometimes, you are not needed. Sometimes it is not your business. However, I think Christians err on the side of never getting involved for fear of overstepping our boundaries. Here at SFC, our vision is to equip and deploy a loving community of Kingdom Entrepreneurs. This means, we believe God has given you a gift and a purpose on this earth and you are meant to get involved. Your number one calling is to bring people home, so be mindful and wise but don’t be passive. For some of you, this means keeping your eyes peeled and heart ready to be a peacemaker. For some of you, this passage is quite literal. You have a wayward child or spouse who has wondered away. My encouragement is simple. Don’t overcomplicate it. The nearest thing to God’s heart is bringing people home, so pursue that and let the details shake out where they may. This will be messy. You will catch some shrapnel. We are reminded of this when Jesus talked about lost sheep and lost sons being found. He said they throw parties in heaven when they are brought home. If it’s true there, it will be true here. There is no greater joy than prodigals coming home. The best stories are about bringing lost people home.

Husbands and wives, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, let this song be in your heart this week. May you passionately pursue bringing lost people home.

Just a few months ago, Mark McMullan sang in a video that went viral. It was a private moment in the bar where he works. It’s not a professionally made video, you’ll hear other things going on in the background, but he sang a song that has epitomized his family’s pursuit over the last three years. Mark McMullan is Declan McMullan’s younger brother. Declan, that young men who spent 65 weeks in the hospital, and now suffers from locked- in-syndrome. Mark, along with his family, have been raising money and making money for one purpose. At great cost, through a lot of stress and tears, they pursued one goal. Bringing Declan Home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3s-51ox5_0