TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
8 SEPTEMBER 2019
In
writing to Philomen, Saint Paul gives us an insight into the dynamic of making
choices to remain an intentional disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul writes this letter from his prison
cell. Philomen’s slave, Onesimus
(literally meaning “useful”), had run away from his master and has been very
useful to Paul in prison, where he baptized the slave. Now, Saint Paul sends Onesimus back to
Philomen with this letter. Paul is aware
of the legal realities of his day. This
slave is Philomen’s property bearing the brand of a slave. As an owner, Philomen can do what he wants
with his possession. Philomen can
severely punish him for running away.
But Paul appeals to Philomen as a baptized disciple of Jesus
Christ. He reminds Philomen that his
slave now enjoys a new relationship with Jesus Christ and with other members of
Christ’s Body through Baptism. He calls
him his child. He reminds Philomen that
his slave is now his brother in Christ.
Paul takes
several risks in sending Onesimus back to his rightful owner. In doing so, Paul is sacrificing someone
useful to him in a harsh prison environment.
He takes the risk that Onesimus may use the letter as kindling to start
a campfire instead of delivering it to his master. He takes the risk that Philomen may ignore
his letter and do what he wants with the slave.
We do not
know how Philomen responded to this letter.
He could have heeded Paul’s advice and seen his slave as a new brother
in the Lord and not just as his rightful possession. Or he could have ignored Paul’s advice out of
a concern to lose a useful service for his family. He may have severely punished
Onesimus, to prevent the rest of the slaves from running away and getting baptized
by another Apostle.
Philomen’s
dilemma gives us an insight into the challenging words of Jesus in today’s
Gospel. As he travels to Jerusalem, he
has accumulated large crowds impressed with his miracles and attracted to his
teachings. He has proclaimed the Good
News that following him to his death will bring a share in resurrection and new
life. Now he is very clear about the
costs of following him. True disciples
must have their priorities in order. He
shocks us by telling us that we must hate those closest to us. That word gets our attention, because we
think of hate as an emotion. He is using
the word as an action – meaning to love less.
Even though relationships with parents and spouses and children are
among the highest values in life, a relationship with Jesus Christ must come
first. Instead of complaining about
crosses, true disciples must carry their crosses with him. True disciples must calculate the cost of
following him, much as builders must calculate the cost of building a tower or
military officials calculate the cost of going into battle. True disciples must renounce their
possessions to follow him.
Did
Philomen decide to remain as an intentional disciple? Had he calculated the cost of
discipleship? If he had, he might have regarded
Onesimus as his brother and sacrificed his service to his family. Maybe he carried the cross of losing other
slaves because of his leniency to this slave.
Maybe he did sacrifice this valued possession.
Whatever Philomen
decided to do, this letter of Saint Paul has survived for centuries as a way of
challenging us. We need to look at
particular circumstances in our own lives and reflect on what it means to be an
intentional disciple of Jesus Christ. We
too are walking with him to the New and Eternal Jerusalem. We too enjoy the
love of family and friends. We too have
our share of carrying crosses. We too
have the benefits of many possessions.
The Lord is giving us a direct challenge today. He wants us, his disciples, to make sure that
all those relationships are rooted first in our relationship with him, so that
we too may share in the rising with him that comes from our dying to ourselves.
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