Philemon, Onesimus, & the rest of the story

For those who were unable to attend the final class on Philemon this past Sunday, I wanted to post the details behind the “Paul Harvey ‘Rest of the Story’” finish to our study.

The million dollar question regarding the letter of Philemon is: what was Philemon’s response? Paul is somewhat short on specifics regarding his ‘request.’ He urges Philemon to take Onesimus back; he urges him to receive Onesimus as a brother, etc. etc, but Paul never comes right out and urges freedom for Onesimus. How does the story end?

It’s impossible to say with certainty, but history has left us some interesting clues. For the sake of argument we can accept that the letter of Philemon was written around 60AD. We can also assume that Onesimus was roughly 20yrs old at that time.

Fast forwarding to the year 117AD, we find the Church Father Ignatius of Antioch on his way to Rome to be martyred in the coliseum. On his way to Rome Ignatius wrote letters to the churches—letters that have been preserved to this day. The following excerpt is from his letter to the church at Ephesus:

CHAPTER I.--PRAISE OF THE EPHESIANS.

I have become acquainted with your name, much-beloved in God, which ye have acquired by the habit of righteousness, according to the faith and love in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Being the followers of God, and stirring up yourselves by the blood of God, ye have perfectly accomplished the work which was beseeming to you. For, on hearing that I came bound from Syria for the common name and hope, trusting through your prayers to be permitted to fight with beasts at Rome, that so by martyrdom I may indeed become the disciple of Him "who gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God,"[ye hastened to see me]. I received, therefore, your whole multitude in the name of God, through Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love, and your bishop in the flesh, whom I pray you by Jesus Christ to love, and that you would all seek to be like him. And blessed be He who has granted unto you, being worthy, to obtain such an excellent bishop.

Bishop Onesimus?? That part seems incontrovertible. THE QUESTION is whether or not this is the same Onesimus from Paul’s letter to Philemon. Of course there’s no real way to know. However, whoever Bishop Onesimus was, he must’ve had a similar story. “Onesimus” wasn’t a common name that Mr. & Mrs. Roman citizen would give to their baby boy. It was, rather, a slave market name; a ‘sticker on the merchandise,’ if you will… saying ‘buy this one…he’s a useful worker.’ [the very definition of the word onesimus]

Putting two and two together, the tradition of the Church has it that Philemon did indeed welcome back Onesimus as per St. Paul’s plea, and not only that, Onesimus was freed by Philemon and became a leader in the movement, following Timothy as the Bishop of Ephesus. As far as the math, Bishop Onesimus, the former slave of Philemon, would've been in his late 70s or early 80s at the time Ignatius wrote his letter. It's certainly POSSIBLE.

And THAT, as Paul Harvey would say, is the rest of the story.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday Oct. 27th

Romans 3:19-28:  19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the "law" that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

            This Sunday is commonly observed as "Reformation Sunday," in which we transfer the Protestant festival from its historic date of Oct 31st (the day Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Chapel in 1517) to the nearest Sunday.

            The readings for this festival are always the same. They include the promise of a new covenant based on grace as found in the words of Jeremiah; they include the TRUTH setting one free in the words of St. John's gospel; and they include the above, powerful words of St. Paul about justification. There are 2 key thoughts in this passage that remain as relevant to us today as they did in Luther's day (to say nothing of Paul's day). They are:

            --The truth that righteousness before God is based on faith in The Truly Righteous One. This is the gist of vss 21-22: 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. It was, and perhaps still is, a very 'stretching' concept to think of the Righteousness of God as an individual, as opposed to a concept. Indeed, in Luther's day it was very common to think of the righteousness of God as being JUDGMENT. This is when the jig is up! If you encounter the righteousness of God, you are in essence standing at a toll booth owing more .... much more... than you have. If you encounter the righteousness of God, this is where your own good works get placed on a scale and measured against God's goodness and holiness.... and guess what... it's NO CONTEST. You lose! And so with this thinking in place, it's no wonder that the "best news" the Official Church could think of was to invent the doctrine of Purgatory. Here's a place you can go after you die that will give you a chance to work off those extra tolls you owe. It's a horrible, painful, experience, but at least it's not hell and at least it's not forever. ALL of this comes from missing the point that Paul is making in vss 21-22. Encountering the righteousness of God isn't encountering his legal code, or his judgment; it is encountering a PERSON; the babe of Bethlehem; the suffering savior on the cross. And in encountering **HIM, in faith, a wonderful exchange happens. His righteousness is GIVEN to YOU as a free gift.

            --The other main thrust of this text is found in the last verse, vs 28: For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Actually, this is one of those rare occasions when I do not prefer the TNIV translation.... primarily because "observing the law" is a bit nebulous compared to the original Greek. So for our purposes I'll choose the ESV translation which reads: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. I think it's important to get that word "works" (or deeds) in there, as it is clearly stated in the Greek "ergon." So in other words what's going on here is that the 1st point expresses that God's righteousness becomes ours BY FAITH, whereas the 2nd point expresses the truth that this results in a *status known as "justified"... that has nothing to do with the performance of deeds (religious or otherwise). To be justified is to be in a currently right/acceptable relationship with God. To be justified means to be vindicated; to be found as 'just' in a law-court.

            Why does any of this matter? As Luther knew, this is the very heart of the Gospel. Humanity has one basic core problem: we are broken. We are sinful. On our best days we build hospitals for the poor and feed the hungry, but our best days are woefully few and far between. In the creation story of Genesis it says that initially God looked around and pronounced it all "GOOD,"... meaning GOOD by His holy and righteous standards. But we all know that this isn't the world we live in anymore. Our attempt at 'righteousness,' on the rare occasions that we even try, is tainted at best. And so the point is this... either GOD FIXES THIS PROBLEM himself, or it doesn't get fixed. And so in part, Reformation Day is about celebrating the truth of the Gospel; it's about celebrating the fact that we can faithfully proclaim that God has fixed this problem by virtue of sending us His Own Righteousness, in his Son.

            But there's another angle to this thing. I know we live in an age when it's not polite to 'dis' our neighbor's religion. And certainly no Protestant is happier with the new Pope (Pope Francis) than I am. He is a breath of long-awaited fresh air when compared to Benedict or even John-Paul II. His personal piety of living in simplicity, and his public statements of tolerance have made him the darling of the media. But as others have pointed out... and as he has said himself, he has not changed the teaching of 'The Church.'  Newsflash: The Pope is still Catholic. The catechism of the Catholic Church is still in place; the pronouncements from the Council of Trent are still in place. Purgatory is still the official teaching of the Church, as is justification by a combination of faith + works.

            Now and then well-meaning people start to wonder if there's a 'reason' to be Protestant anymore; is there a reason to be Lutheran; is there a reason to celebrate Reformation Day; does the Reformation even matter in 2013? One need look no further than the smiling friendly face of Pope Francis. By Rome's standards, he is and will be a wonderful Pope. But by biblical standards, he still stands in OPPOSITION to St. Paul's words: For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Sola Scriptura

Sola Fide

Sola Gratia

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday October 20th

2Timothy 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

            This will be our last week in St. Paul's letters to his protégé Timothy. As has been frequently the case, there are several potential streams herein for our consideration.

            For instance, vss 14 & 15 are a wonderfully self-contained unit. But as for you, continue in what you have learned...the word 'continue' is often translated as 'remain.' It's the same Greek word used in the Gospels when Jesus talks about the branch needing to remain in the vine in order to bear fruit, and thus, our need to remain in Him (see Jn 15). Paul now hooks this idea of remaining/continuing to the catechesis of the New Testament Church. Continue in what you have learned... well, what Timothy has learned is the 'didache'... the doctrines of the faith--which, according to vs 15 have their root and origin in the Holy Scriptures. And, these doctrines are able to make him wise--not just in some temporal sense, though this is true,... but more importantly wise unto salvation. Note especially how vs 15 ends... a wisdom that leads to salvation is firmly grounded in Jesus as the Messiah. Over an over again the Bible presents this truth: Salvation can be found in no one else. Throughout the whole world, no other name has been given among humans through which we must be saved (Acts 4:12) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through (Jn 14:6).

            Then, vss 16-17 offer another wonderful stream, the role and importance of Scripture in the life of the believer. I particularly like the way the TNIV translates theopneustos from the Greek. It transliterates it. In other words, the old KJV version reads: All scripture is inspired by God… but what does that mean? The works of Shakespeare, many would say, are ‘inspired.’ A particularly timely decision is often said to be ‘inspired.’ But what is Paul saying in 2Timothy? Literally the Greek compound-word theopneustos  means “GOD-BREATHED.” So, as I explain to the confirmation kids, there are many writers who had a hand in the production of the Bible, but there is only one author: GOD. This goes to both the uniqueness and the authority of Scripture. It is unique in that it is unlike any other book of writings; it alone is God-breathed. And because of this fact, it holds a position of authority unlike anything else. When we pick it up; when we open its pages, we hear the voice of God himself speaking to us.

            Then finally, vss 2-4 of chapter 4 represent a concise stream of thought… the charge to Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season (iow, when it’s convenient AND inconvenient, etc.) and the reality/warning that this will not always be well received. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine, vs 3. I honestly wonder how much of this was ‘prophecy’ on the part of Paul vs how much was just plain ol’ intuition regarding human nature. This stuff, after all, does get old doesn’t it? Hearing the truth about God’s law and our own inability to measure up perfectly.. and hearing the news that God forgives us for the sake of His Son’s death on the cross… that stuff is passé isn’t it? Isn’t it time that we find something else to talk about in church? Shouldn’t we concentrate rather on the power of human potential? Shouldn’t we focus our energy instead on creating an environment where people are encouraged to do their best, etc. etc.? This is all part of ‘itchy ear syndrome’… a desire to stop hearing so much about law and gospel, and a desire to focus on other things.

            To be sure, as the believer lives his/her life in the world the Bible tells us that society will be a better place as a result. As the believer lives his/her life in the world the Bible tells us that human potential will have a greater chance to thrive than under any other circumstances. As the believer lives his/her life in the world social justice issues will be tackled. This stuff happens because the Spirit of God is active in the life of the believer with the mission to renew God’s creation. That’s what happens in the life of the believer as she/he lives in the world. But these good works should never displace the true focus of the community at worship. There the task remains always the same: preach sound doctrine in season and out of season.

Cheers,

TM

Thoughts going in, Sunday Oct 13th

2Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself. 14 Keep reminding God's people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

            As we continue on in Paul's 2nd letter to Timothy, we encounter a passage that has several 'streams' of thought all sort of mashed together.

            The first occurs in vs 8: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel. The technical word for a sentence like this is Christology. In this brief sentence we see one of the places in the Bible (and hence 1st generation Christian thought) where Christology is expressed--and, while there is not much in the way of detail, one thing becomes immediately evident: the message being preached (aka "my gospel") is that Jesus wasn't merely a good moral teacher, he wasn't merely a prophet, he was *both risen from the dead and descended of David (aka his Messianic title). Risen from the dead, AND descended from David are truths about the unique nature(s) of Jesus. To be descended of David is a statement of his humanity (and royalty); to be risen from the dead is a statement concerning his divinity.

            The reason why this is important is because it is so popular these days to think that the earliest believers in Jesus felt that he was a great prophet--but only a great prophet; that he died and stayed dead, but that his teachings were of such lasting significance that it's AS IF he still lives on today. Such thoughts usually go on to posit that it was LONG AFTER the fact, around the early 4th century that the Church developed its "high" Christology of Jesus as *both Divine (son of God) and Human (descendant of David). This is the sort of theory that sounds nice until you read the Bible. And by that statement, it's not that I expect NON-BELIEVERS to all of a sudden "see the light." Rather, it's that even secular scholars grant that 99% of the New Testament was written before the end of the 1st century. That fact alone should help us see that people writing then wrote in such a way that it was evident that the Church was already preaching a Jesus who was both DIVINE and HUMAN.

            The second stream has to do with Paul's statement in vs 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. The word of God is not chained. This verse is reminiscent of other passages of the Bible such as Is 55:11 So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Just as the 1st stream contains great theological truth (Christology) so does this stream... the power/efficacy of God's word. Modern tyrants could use a history lesson. No one tried harder to obliterate the Christian faith than the Roman Empire. But after hundreds of years of trying, it finally lost with the conversion of Constantine in the early 4th c. There's a reason for this. Even if every Christian were martyred, the word of God itself cannot be. It cannot be stopped. Jesus promised that His Church would be built and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The word of God is on a mission to intersect with people's lives, change them, and bring them into God's kingdom. This should be encouraging to us...to know that we are part of a movement that--even if persecuted--cannot be contained or stymied.

            The third stream is found in vss 11-13. Some feel that Paul is quoting an early hymn or statement of faith (really, they're just about the same thing). This hymn is one of encouragement, urging believers to remain true to Christ even in the face of persecution. The point being, our enemies may kill the body but cannot kill the soul...therefore, may we remain true to the one who holds our souls in his hand; the one we will spend eternity with, etc.

            The final stream is in vss 14-15 which present to us the idea that in the church there are minors and majors. Vs 14 is all about the minors: Keep reminding God's people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. How many times have we heard about congregational splits or denominational squabbles based on some splinter of a matter that really isn't that important. It's impossible to know what Paul might have had in mind specifically, but easy enough to see how it can apply today. One of my favorite "quarrels about words" has to do with Bible translations. At the extreme there's a KJV-only crowd who believe that the text of the KJV is so holy that it's not only the most reliable English translation (highly unlikely), but it's even more reliable than the original Hebrew and Greek texts. This is an extreme example, but it's clearly a modern scenario of quarreling about words.

            The other half of the stream, as found in vs 15 has to do with the majors: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Speaking of the old KJV above, this verse is the one rendered "rightly dividing the word of truth" in that translation. The people of God have one primary, overarching mission that drives all other missions and that is to come together around God's word and hear it RIGHTLY DIVIDED; rightly handled; rightly proclaimed. Ministers have the duty to lead congregations in this, but congregations and individual believers have the duty to seek/demand this. It is the duty of every Christian to know--or be about the task of learning--the Bible well enough to be able to say with confidence: yes, I am a member of a congregation that rightly divides the word of truth. Part of this right division, again, means knowing the difference between minors and majors... what are the things that well-meaning believers can disagree about and still remain in Christian fellowship, vs those things that cannot be compromised. And then, within the context of majors, how these are to be presented and believed. God's LAW and God's GOSPEL are both majors; both words of truth, but so many denominations obscure them (not rightly dividing them). Very often this results in people who believe they've **earned God's favor by their good works. One last thought here... the ability to 'rightly divide' doesn't happen overnight. This comes as a result of being steeped in the faith; living a life of prayer and personal bible study along with regular gathering around God's word in public worship.

            Hmmmmm, so many streams! Which to go with? Stay tuned!!

Cheers,

TM