“The Church in Your House” Philemon 1-21 A Sermon by Rev. Bob Kells This morning’s message is from one of the letters of the New Testament that probably is not very familiar—Paul’s Letter to Philemon. I want to talk about this Letter a few reasons: - First off, this letter is important because it provides us a glimpse into what it was like to be a member of a house church in the Roman Empire during the mid-first century AD—about 20 or 30 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The letter was addressed to Philemon “and the church in your house”—thus the title of the sermon. I want to explore a little bit about what it was like to be a member of one of these first century churches. - Secondly, I want you to know more about this letter precisely because it is not very well known. It only appears one time in the three-year cycle of the lectionary. If you’re not familiar with the lectionary, it’s a standard reading list used by many churches to study, teach and preach from the Bible. There are other lessons I could preach on three years from now so this could be the best shot I get at Philemon. - Finally, and most importantly, Philemon contains a lesson for us today about the role of reconciliation in our relationships with other people. This is the big “SO WHAT?” of the message. Because at the end of the day, that’s what we need to know. What does this letter to a church in the first century AD church have to say to us 20 centuries later? So today’s message will be more of a teaching sermon about this one letter. I won’t go verse by verse, but I will talk about what we know, what we don’t know, and what we think we can say about the contents of this letter. So let’s get started. I want to invite you to take out the sermon notes that are in your bulletin. These notes provide a summary of the key points from this morning’s lesson. 1 About the Letter: Let me start with a few comments about the letter itself. Philemon is the shortest of all of Paul’s letters, at 335 Greek words. It is both a personal letter, addressed to Philemon and others, but also a public letter to “the church in your [Philemon’s] house” (v. 2). This tells us that the letter was meant to be read to the entire congregation of people meeting there, just as Paul’s other letters were read publicly to those assembled.1 Philemon is one of four prison letters, so called because it was written while Paul was imprisoned by Roman authorities. (The other prison letters are: Philippians, Colossians and Ephesians). The Apostle Paul wrote to Philemon, who probably was the head of a house church in Asia Minor (which is in modern day Turkey). Most Bible scholars think Philemon’s church was in the town of Colossae, about 120 miles east of Ephesus, which was Paul’s base of operations for evangelizing Asia Minor. The evidence for this is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossian church, which refers to two people who are also mentioned in Philemon: Onesimus (Col 4:9) and Archippus (Col 4:17). As for the date and place of writing, this requires a little guesswork. It probably was written while Paul was in prison sometime between 55 and 61 AD. Bible scholars think it could have been written from Rome, Ephesus or Caesarea, three places we know Paul spent time in prison. We don’t know for sure because Paul himself spoke about being imprisoned many times on account of the gospel (2 Cor 11:23), so it’s possible he wrote from a location that is unknown to us today. 1 “Philemon, Letter of Paul to,” in Mark Allan Powell, Gen. Ed., Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Revised and Updated, (New York: Harper Collins, 2011), 792. 2 Why did Paul write this letter? What did he want to accomplish? The purpose of letter was to seek good treatment for a slave, Onesimus, who ran away from the household of Philemon. Onesimus went to Paul, wherever he was imprisoned, and became a Christian himself. But now, Onesimus is being returned to Philemon, so Paul asks Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a slave but as brother and fellow worker in Christ. In other words, Paul is asking Philemon to set Onesimus free. About the Story: Philemon has a story to tell, and it is a story about the transformative power of Christian love. It is a lesson in reconciliation between people through the power of the Gospel. There are three main characters in this story: - The Apostle Paul. There’s a lot we could say about Paul. He was well known as the Apostle to the Gentiles who traveled throughout Asia Minor and Greece carrying the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. But the good news upset people, sometimes creating public disturbances, which caused the Romans to throw Paul into jail. We know Paul was well known among the house churches of Asia Minor, including the church at Colossae, the home church of Philemon. - Philemon was the head of a house church in Colossae. Philemon had been converted to the Christian faith by Paul (v. 19) and was considered a friend and co-worker (v. 1) with the Apostle. Philemon also was the owner of… - Onesimus, the slave, who apparently ran away from his master. We don’t know why he left. Maybe he was abused by his master, or perhaps he stole something and was afraid to return. But when he left, he sought refuge with a group of Christians and was introduced to Paul. Onesimus, became a Christian thanks to Paul’s teaching (v. 10) and served Paul in prison for a time. The name Onesimus means “useful.” 3 Two other people mentioned in the letter give us some insight into the early house churches. Archippus and Apphia. - Archippus may have been a member of Philemon’s household; he was greeted by Paul as a “fellow soldier” (v. 2). He is associated with the church in Colossae because Paul mentions him in the letter to the Colossians (4:17). - Apphia is a woman, referred to as a “sister” in the faith to Paul (v. 2). Some biblical authorities believe she was the wife of Philemon. She stands out to us because she is the only woman mentioned in the opening of any of Paul’s letters. This suggests she had an important role to play in the house church meeting in Philemon’s home—she may have been second in charge of the church. But her mention by Paul reminds us that women played a vital role in the life of the early church. (For example, in the closing of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he greets several women including Phoebe (Romans 16:1), described as a deacon [leader] in the church at Cenchrae, near Corinth). We know that the women who traveled with Jesus provided food and financial support to his ministry. Likewise, women contributed their support and leadership to the early house churches. The house churches were the only churches in the first century AD. People would gather in a home that was large enough to accommodate 20 or 30 or more people on the first day of the week. They read from the Hebrew Bible, prayed the Psalms, sang hymns, celebrated Holy Communion and had fellowship after their worship. These churches had people from all classes of society: rich, poor, slaves, free, men and women, young and old. So we can say that the early house churches had a leveling effect by bringing together people from all different walks of life, teaching them about God’s love for them in Jesus Christ. This was not without controversy, as some of Paul’s other letters tell us. But it was God’s design in Christ and in the church that we should all be one people of God. 4 Now we come to the drama that is at the center of this story. Will Philemon accept his slave, Onesimus, back from Paul? Will he free Onesimus, as Paul suggests he should? Unfortunately, we do not know the outcome of this drama. We have only the one letter from Paul to Philemon asking the master to take back his wayward slave. Paul certainly wanted the two to reconcile—it was important for them in their relationship as fellow Christians, and was important for the well-being and effective witness of the house church to which they both belonged. To effect this reconciliation, Paul wrote a masterful letter that appealed to Philemon’s sense for doing the right thing. Here’s how he did it: Paul praised Philemon for his faith and for “refreshing” the hearts of the saints (v. 7). Then he: - Reminded Philemon that Onesimus has become just like a son to Paul (v. 10). So Paul plays the Christian family card. - Paul tells Philemon that he will repay any debts from his slave but he also reminds Philemon that Paul was the one that converted him (19). That makes Paul kind of a spiritual father to both of them. - And since Paul is a father to them both, it was Paul’s strong desire for Philemon to take Onesimus back, preferably as a free man, because both are brothers in Christ.