Year C Proper 18 Philemon 1-21 Luke 14:25-33

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker . . . Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a marvelous thing to, thousands of years after it was written, have this short letter from St. Paul to Philemon, who scholars believe was a well-to-do slave holder. He had come under Paul’s tutelage and through Paul had been converted to Christianity, with the result that they had become like family to each other, brothers in Christ.

Onesimus (oh–nes’-amus), a slave who belongs to Philemon (fy-lee’-mon), has run away and has ended up in prison with Paul, where he has made himself useful to the Apostle, quite possibly waiting on him and caring for him. For his part, Paul has shared the Gospel with Onesimus, and like his master before him, the slave has been converted to Christianity.

Now, Paul is ready to send Onesimus back to Philemon, but circumstances have changed since the slave ran away. At the time he escaped, only Philemon was a Christian, while Onesimus, who was considered property, was probably a pagan. Philemon must have been very angry at the salve, and he was within his rights to be so. Christianity did not, at that time, prohibit believers from holding slaves, and there must have been various and terrible punishments awaiting a returned slave who had run away.

Paul, however, sees Onesimus in a far different way than one would expect Philemon to view him. Paul sees someone who not only has served him well, but who has embraced Jesus as Lord. He is eager to keep Onesimus from punishment, referring to him as my own heart, and wishes to have all those who are united in Christ, slave holder and slave alike, embrace each other as equals. One can only imagine what Philemon must have felt, faced with the challenge of not only holding off on punishment, but being advised to see Onesimus as a beloved brother.

Paul writes to Philemon that he, Paul, is bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love. We do not know how this story ends, but it must have been quite a test of faith for Philemon.

Jesus said to them, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.

Harsh words if we hear the word “hate” in its modern context. But the word “hate” here may well reflect an idiom that comes from the Hebrew. In Genesis we learn that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah and that Leah was "hated" by Jacob. This kind of “hate” refers to a choice of first allegiance. The one to whom the individual gives heart and soul is loved, while the second choice is “hated”. There can and may be other loves, but none is greater than the first choice. Jesus demands that He be our first choice.

Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Whatever hardships we must face, Jesus tells us we must bear them. This doesn’t refer only to struggles within the Church or those related to our religion, but to the everyday troubles that beset us, illness, sorrow, financial worries, family feuds, troubles at work, anything that weighs us down. But the good news is, all things can be suffered, all things can be borne, with Jesus.

What do these two lessons have in common, and how do they apply to us? For me, reading them brought to mind a TV show that ran for a decade several years ago. It was called, “What Not to Wear”. The premise was that some people really have no idea how bad they look and how terrible is their choice of clothes. Each week a new man or woman, whose friends had contacted the series, would be “ambushed” by two TV hosts who informed them that their friends, family, and co-workers thought their clothes and sense of style were horrible.

Think how embarrassing that must have been for the hapless “guest”, to be humiliated, not just in front of the friends and coworkers who had gathered to see the “ambush”, but by viewers across the country who had tuned in to watch. To soften the blow, the hosts would then explain to the guest that an all-expenses paid trip to New York City and a free new wardrobe would be theirs if they accepted the challenge to change.

Despite these offers, there were very few people who welcomed the ambush. Most, reluctantly accepted the offers, a few, while agreeing to go along with the plan, were openly hostile, and one turned down the offer entirely. In the end, however, most agreed to go along with program.

So – the guest had to uproot themselves from their home, drag their current wardrobe to NYC, and in front of a national audience watch as the hosts took each garment, commented on the horrors it posed to sensible dress, and dumped it in a trash can. Some people wept, others tried to bargain to keep favourite pieces, all suffered.

In our first reading, Onesimus has run away from his life as a slave and when he finds and is found Paul, Onesimus is, we might say, clad only in his paganism. But Paul has offered the slave something much better, the opportunity to divest himself of his beliefs and in their place to put on Christ. And the amazing thing about Christianity was that it did not see Onesimus as a lowly person, as a mere piece of property, as a slave. In this new life in Christ, as a follower of Jesus, Onesimus was on an equal footing with all men and women. To become a Christian affected a total change on many levels in Onesimus’ life.

And we, who walk around clad in our worldly ideas and customs, our worldly traditions and practices, Jesus tells us that to be His disciple involves a radical change in our garments. We are the ones called to “put on Christ”, and today’s Gospel makes it clear that to do this means we have to make changes in our priorities.

“What Not to Wear” did something more than update a wardrobe, something the person being transformed never anticipated. Time after time, it turned out that the way each individual had been dressing was only an external reference to an internal struggle. Sometimes the person had wished to stay young; others desired to be noticed, to be the center of attention, while others wanted to not be noticed at all. All confessed that the taking on of a new wardrobe was far more challenging than they had anticipated, affecting deep changes in their self-confidence and self-image.

Each new challenge we face is a gift from Jesus to help us shed our frustrations and fears, our old ways, our old attachments, our old garments, our old self. Each pain we offer to Him, He will transform for us into a learning and growing experience. Each fear He will comfort if we but trust in Him. Each thing we feel we have lost will be replaced or returned to us in a new way to be seen in a new light, the light of Christ.

The temptation is, of course, to give up when the going gets too rough, too difficult, too painful. To give up and refuse when we must make what feels to us like drastic changes. But we need each day to renew our commitment to Jesus, to make Him our first choice, and then be prepared to stick with our commitment.

Jesus calls us to be willing each and every day to shed our old selves and to put on the garments He offers us, to give up whatever it is that we cling to instead of Him, to lean fully on His strength, to put our faith totally in Him. It is a hard thing we are asked to do, to put on Christ, but Jesus asks it of us, and the request is daily set before us.

None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

It takes a lifetime to fulfill the promises we made at our baptism, to give up the life of the world for our life in Christ. It is hard work, and we cannot do it alone. Fortunately, we don’t have to. Jesus is there every step of the way guiding us, supporting us, encouraging us, filling us with His joy and love.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, who alone can order our unruly wills and affections, grant to us that we may love as you have commanded us to love, and desire that which you have promised, so that among the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely be fixed on You, where true joys are to be found, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.