It would no doubt be disappointing to some if I did not use this occasion to speak a bit about slavery. I know a number of you love for me to share stories from Rome, in particular, but even other stories from the fight against human trafficking. I get it. For the part of others, there is a bit of ambiguity in God’s teaching on the subject of slavery. People will argue with me that God seems double-minded on the subject of slavery. At times, God seems to commend slavery; at other times, God seems violently opposed to slavery. I think our time together has helped some of you understand that God does treat slavery as a reality of the world, and a sinful one at that, but that God calls humanity not to oppress one another. God, I see the nods.
For Her part, the Church has been
double-minded in Her attitudes toward slavery.
We can each go through the history of the Church in the United States in
the 19th Century and find churches and Christians who opposed
slavery as well as those who used Scripture to justify their support of
slavery. But to be an equal opportunity
offender, we should not be surprised.
How many “Christians” use the Scripture to justify any number of
behaviors that are anything but Christ-like?
“Christian” business owners are often loathe to pay living wages. “Christian” consumers care only about cost
and access, not the well-being of the business employees. “Christian” politicians develop platforms and
policies which oppress the people they are meant to serve. Ouch!
Too much?
Thankfully, we at Advent have some
spiritual forebears who wrestled with slavery.
This week, we were reminded of some of our history on Friday as the Church
celebrated the life and witness of Constance and her Companions. It hits closer to home because many of the
sisters came from the former bishopric of our second rector, Charles Todd
Quintard. For his part, Quintard is
celebrated by the wider Episcopal Church for his work as bishop of Tennessee
and rector of this parish, though there is an effort in some corners to remove
him from the calendar. Then rector Quintard
was such a “known Yankee sympathizer” that he was denied enlistment as the
Chaplain and Surgeon of the 1st Regiment of Nashville at the
beginning of the Civil War. For her
part, Advent was known as a place that opposed slavery in the midst of the
South. In the 1850’s, then rector Quintard
and the Vestry voted to allow their own slaves to worship with them on Sunday
morning. It was a huge and courageous
and costly decision. Almost a decade
later, when the fighting started, it was assumed that our men would sabotage
the fight. And although Quintard was
both a clergyman and a former surgeon, the officers of the 1st
Regiment declined his offer to serve.
To be fair, and to remind us a bit about
our proper perspective on saints, Advent was not the paragon of virtue that we
might want in the 1850’s, even on the issue of slavery. Though the Vestry was willing to allow their
own slaves to worship God with them, the Vestry was unwilling to allow slaves
not owned by Adventers to worship with them.
I can well imagine, given the blowback for the first decision, why the
Vestry chose to make the second decision.
I can also well understand why then rector Quintard chose not to push
them further. We all get enough stress
in life. Who needs more from our place
of worship, right? I can well imagine
that some Adventers were adept at defending the decision to let their own
slaves worship with them but were unwilling to put up with more of the social
stigma that came from other decisions.
And, saints are not super heroes of the faith, in the sense that Marvel
or DC has come to define for the culture around us. Saints have sins and flaws. They also obey God and trust in Him. So they often conquer in spite of themselves
because of Him, right? We celebrate God
in the life of our saints, His willingness and desire to redeem and glorify
sinners, not their particular maturity or depth of their faith. Think Abraham and Sarah or Jacob or any other
saint in the OT; think Peter or any of the Apostles in the NT. Seeing God’s grace in their lives gives up
hope and encouragement that He can overcome our own sins and unbelief!
But back to the issue of slavery and to
our letter from Paul to Philemon. This
letter was used by some in the church to defend the practice of slavery. You only read the introduction, but you
should be able to see how the buffet approach to Scripture might be used to
make some who do not read Scripture that Paul supported slavery. Does Paul explicitly command Philemon to
free Onesimus in our passage today? And
if Paul does not explicitly command it, doesn’t that mean he supports the
status quo? See how that argument
goes? And if I know you have read the
Scriptures enough to remind you that Paul calls himself a slave of Christ, but
you do not know the context nor the seeming paradoxical freedom that comes from
choosing to be a slave to Christ, you can see how some could effectively use
the Scripture to champion slavery, to convince the masses, that God is ok with
the injustice of slavery.
Two things, before we go on: (1) As Larry is fond of saying on Sunday
mornings, be a Berean! When somebody
claims anything is of God, go read the Bible and test it. Do not let them proof text you into
dishonoring God. Read the
Scriptures. Study them. Inwardly digest them. Yes, that is a Collect we pray twice a
year! That tells you how important it is
that we be Bereans. (2) When anybody
claims God accepts an injustice, they are wrong. You can discern if they are intentionally
misleading you and others or if they are, themselves misled. But they are wrong. We like to think that God is love,
right? It’s on our bumper stickers and
our social media posts. Don’t forget, as
much as God is love, He has also revealed to us that He is just. And, just in case we forget that, we have the
Cross to remind us!
Back to our letter. One of the challenges that we face as
Christians is our relationship with the culture around us. I mention that because I want us to
understand that some things do not change.
We love to look down on those who are not as holy as we are, as God’s
people have often done. We also like to
make allowances for behavior because we are always afraid of being those
people. Sitting in 21st
Century Nashville, with our 86 different people groups living among us, we
think we are smarter and better than our predecessors. We might be better on slavery, from we have
our own issues with those on the margins around us. If you believed that the food pantry would be
unnecessary and only support those who are lazy among us, you are not unlike
our predecessors at Advent. If you believe
that Medicare should not be expanded in the state with the dollars made
available to us because “God helps those who help themselves,” you are not
unlike our predecessors at Advent. Heck,
if you buy into the myth that young folk are lazy and want ridiculous pay for
jobs, you are just like those who came before us and will likely follow in our
footsteps. When things seem to be going
ok to good for us, we assume God is with us or for our behavior. It’s human or sin nature.
Go back in your mind to 1850’s
Nashville. What did people think of
slaves? They were property. Some could be educated and work in the
plantation or the back rooms of businesses, but none were fully human. They had no inalienable rights. What would it mean to decide to worship with
them? People around us would think us
nuts! Everyone knows they are beneath
us. Everyone knows they are beneath God. Like the American South, Rome depended upon
slavery for its very existence. At its
heights, maybe 100,000 individuals were citizens of Rome. The good news is that most citizens were
brown. Those of Mediterranean heritage
are not known to resemble Scandinavian or Celtic or Germanic people. The bad news is that that about 1/3 of people
within its boundaries were enslaved by the Empire. The empire depended upon slavery for cheap
labor, for transportation, and for the maintenance of the palatial villas. How does one undo that attitude? If you believe that God hates slavery and
oppression, but your culture depends upon it for its very function and
existence, what does it mean to represent God well in that circumstance? Ah, see, now you understand one of the
issues. Our brothers and sisters at
Advent faced much the same pastoral problem as our Saint Paul faced in the
course of his life.
Paul, for his part, has an interesting
opportunity. He has been imprisoned with
a slave Onesimus, who is the slave of Philemon, a master whom Paul has led to
the Gospel of Christ! Could Paul make
Philemon free Onesimus? Spiritually, very
likely. Legally? No way.
No one but the emperor could make a slave free in ancient Rome. Were Philemon to accept Paul’s claims,
Philemon would be limited in what he could do.
Because Onesimus had run away, Philemon would be bound even more
stringently by the culture around him.
When one is outnumbered, one must often govern by threat of force and
fear. When slaves revolted or ran away
in ancient Rome, they had to be tortured and killed to keep the other slaves in
line. Those of you who know the story of
Spartacus know that outcome, right? The
Legion crucified every single gladiator who rebelled on the road to Rome. And to make it perfectly clear how powerful
the state was, none were allowed to be buried after their deaths. Scavengers were responsible for taking down
the bodies of the deceased. Rome wanted
and needed to demonstrate to everyone its absolute authority and power.
Paul, a citizen of Rome and one of the few-in-number
beneficiaries of all that is Rome, knows all this. He knows he can compel Philemon, but he tells
Philemon and us he wants Philemon to act out of love of God, not duty toward
God. We would say that Paul wants Philemon
to act as if his heart has truly been circumcised by the risen Christ. How does one go about accomplishing such
behavior given the cultural norms and the human propensity to try and fit in
and reject God? Now you understand part
of my challenge. How do I help you grow
in your faith in Christ? Notice I said
help and not make. I cannot make you do
anything. I can teach you about holy and
righteous activity and expectations, but you have to choose to embrace my
instruction. Complicating things a bit
more, most of us embrace the understanding that we are miserable or wretched
sinners. We know what God wants or
expects most of the time; how often, though, do we choose our own way?
It is very much like parenting, if we
think about it. In the beginning, when
the kids are infants and toddlers, there mostly just a list of do’s and don’t’s,
right? Ever laugh at a new parent trying
to explain to a toddler why they cannot have that toy in the store or the
cookie right before supper? How well
does it go for the parent and for the child?
Ever have a child tell you you do not love them because you did not give
into their demand immediately? Ever tell
your own parent, perhaps? But as
children age, good parents begin to teach the children about the why’s of
behavior. Age appropriately, we teach
children the why’s of why do or do not do things. How we do that may differ, but most parents
recognize they are trying to teach the youth how to function in society and why
we value or not value the principles or understandings we do. Good.
I see nods.
I’ll give you an example that most of you
know, even though you may not know that you know it. Know anybody who was forced by family to go
through Confirmation? We understand
Confirmation to be the adult assent to the teaching of our faith. The former child accepts the vows that were
made on his or her behalf by parents and godparents. But how many families force their youth to
undergo the rite/sacrament either overtly or covertly? Sometimes, the rationale is simply “this is
what I did at your age and what your grandparents did at your age and you will
do it, too.” Oooh, I hope those squirms
do not mean you had that fight with your own kids. My job as a priest is to make sure that the
youth wants to undertake Confirmation of their own free will, right? It’s my job to step into that mess, earn the youth’s
confidence, and do what is right for the youth and for the family. It means I get to play the bad guy. I take the barbs on behalf of the youth. I do not think the youth is ready. There’s so much discipling to do that we may
have to wait a year. I’m sorry but they
failed the (imaginary) Confirmation test. My goal is usually to get the family fussing
at me so that the youth is left alone. I
prepare the youth and tell them I understand their loved ones will be speaking
harshly behind my back. They will likely
be asked to join in and do. As the youth
comes to understand I have various crosses to bear, some even on their behalf,
as part of my vocation, my hope is that the youth will examine the faith of the
family and make the decision to make the public proclamation for themselves. If they do not, of course, that gives me
insight about the family.
Paul, for his part, is doing a similar
thing with respect to slavery. Paul is
using all the tools a student of rhetoric would use to get another person, one
under their instruction especially, to embrace the correct behavior for the
right reason. Paul begins the letter by
stating who is present and who he is writing.
Philemon is praised as a beloved coworker by Paul. Would that Paul called every one of us
Adventers beloved coworkers! Can you
imagine how that would encourage and exhort you?! Paul called ME a beloved coworker! ME!
We laugh, but we understand why Paul does this. Paul is elevating the disciple under his
tutelage in the same way Jesus elevated the Apostles when He named them
friends. It is not flattery in the way
we understand such things. It is a
subconscious reminder that God calls us to grow, to mature in our faith and our
understanding. In the beginning, we do
the things He commands because we are convinced He knows what is best for us
and able to redeem our mistakes. Over
time, though, we experience His redemptive power and begin to internally digest
His teachings as we become more familiar with His heart. For his part, Paul is reminding Philemon that
that Philemon is a coworker with Paul.
Both serve the same master, Jesus.
Both are about His work.
Paul does use some humor to lighten the
mood. Your Bibles at home will have
notes explaining the name of the slave, Onesimus, as meaning useful. There is an obvious play on words. Before, Philemon, you thought Onesimus as
worthless slave, but now he truly is useful.
In other words, Paul is, through humor, teaching the slave’s master that
the slave is living into his name.
Again, we get this. Jesus reminds us not to disparage those in
the world around us. When we begin to
think of them as the idiot or moron or whatever names we use, we dehumanize
them. We begin to forget that they are
created in the image of the Son, just as we are. Think of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine calls the Russian soldiers orcs. Why?
It is so they and we will not feel bad about their slaughter on the battlefield. Most of us understand that Russians had no
desire to fight Ukraine before the war started.
It would be like us invading Canada.
But Ukraine has turned to dehumanizing the soldiers they fight, even
though they know those soldiers did not want to be there, so that Ukrainians
and others would not feel sorry for the deaths about the Russian soldiers.
Now, Philemon is being challenged by the
Apostle Paul, the man responsible for discipling him in the teachings of Jesus
Christ and of God in the torah, declares his worthless slave is truly valuable,
useful.
Paul gives the credit of Onesimus’ service
to Philemon. Paul writes that Onesimus
has served Paul and Timothy and Luke and others there well in Philemon’s
stead. And just as Paul gives the credit
of Onesimus’ work to Philemon, Paul asks Philemon to charge Paul for any debts,
be they physical, emotional, or other.
If Philemon wants the credit of having ministered to Paul and the other
saints, he will have to charge them the debts rather than the slave. Paul tells Philemon openly what he is
doing. He could command Philemon, but he
would rather Philemon choose to act this way, to glorify God in this.
Knowing his audience well, Paul goes one
more step. He assumes the close, to use
sales lingo. Paul writes that he is
certain that Philemon will do even more than he asks.
Critics in the world today love to
complain about this letter as not being overtly critical of slavery. In such minds, Paul fails Onesimus because he
does not command Philemon to reject slavery.
I have had people engage me unironically that Paul failed when given the
chance to speak against slavery. But understand
the context and then look at Paul’s words.
Will Philemon or Paul be able to eliminate slavery in the Roman Empire?
Of course not! But can the relationship between
Philemon and Onesimus be reconciled and redeemed, thanks to the saving work of
Christ and the faithful ministering of Paul?
You better believe it. Paul
instructs Philemon that Onesimus is now a brother in Christ. Can one treat a brother or sister as piece of
property? Can one truly claim to be a
disciple of Christ, an imitator of Jesus, and dehumanize or devalue another
human being, let alone another who confesses faith in the Risen Christ? No! As
I am traveling and you are all doing Morning Prayer, you have been reminded in
the closing prayer about how God does more than we can ask or imagine. Think of Onesimus’ experience in all
this. When he fled his master Philemon,
he knew the likely outcome. At best he
would be beaten; at worst he would be tortured and killed. But Onesimus met this man named Paul, who
taught him about this Man named Jesus.
So convinced was Onesimus of Paul’s teachings that he was willing to go
back and face the wrath of his owner, who happened also to be a believer in
Christ and similarly discipled by this Paul.
He left expecting to be hunted as a fugitive and beaten or killed. Now he is being sent back to his master and
being called a brother.
Better still, as Paul Harvey use to say,
there’s more! We do not know the outcome
of this letter for sure. Imagine how
hard it would be for you to reject a direct instruction from Paul, and you owe
him nothing in your mind and heart. But
imagine how hard that would be. We can
well imagine what Philemon likely did.
But can we? A first century bishop
named Ignatius wrote a letter to Ephesus that survives to this day. In the beginning of the letter, he commends
the Ephesians for their new bishop.
Ignatius remarks on the challenges and strengths of the Ephesians, but also
on the excellence of their new bishop, Bishop Onesimus. Do we know it to be the same man? No. Is
it a matter important to our salvation?
Again, no. But it is a bit of a
unique name, is it not? Could it be that
same man somehow eventually became the bishop of the church in Ephesus? Sure.
It is also possible that someone who heard the story of the slave
Onesimus and the master Philemon and chose the name to remind himself that he
was called to be a bishop useful to the Ephesians. Better still and in any event, you and I
remember today the name of a nameless slave in Rome, thanks to the mercy and
faithfulness of God! You and I are
reminded of God’s call on humanity to choose to serve Him, that in service of
Him do we find true freedom and true meaning.
We find that we are reminded by the story of Onesimus that no one in our
midst should ever be dehumanized, that everyone we meet was stamped in the same
image of God as were we, and that nothing causes a celebration like the one
when another chooses to serve the Father who created them!
The story is clear that slaver is a
worldly evil. Slavery exists because we
are sinners and constantly choose darkness over the light, to serve idols of our
own creation in lieu of the One who created each one of us, to trust in our own
wisdom and strength rather than the One who created all things, who raised
Jesus from the dead, and who promises one glorious Day to recreate all! But in that lesson on God’s hatred of slavery,
you and I are given more understanding.
We recognize in our own patterns how we reject others in His Name, how
we treat “undesireables” in His Name, reflects on our relationship with and understanding
of His heart. And reminded, we
repent. We are absolved because of His
mercy and love of us. And we are sent
back out into the world to try again, to go forth as heralds of His saving
grace, to fight evil in His Name, confident that, in the end, He will overcome
and redeem. And though the world might
see us laboring as failures, we know better.
In truth, we know Him better. In
the end, He and His servants will be vindicated for having chosen to serve
Him. In the end, His servants will know
true freedom and what it means to be truly human, because in the end, only the
Creator can make it possible for us to be who and what He created us to be!
This short letter tells a glorious story! The story tells an incredible
God-incident. A slave runs away from a
master and meets the same imitator/teacher of Christ. What are the odds in so big a world? But in this story we realize a master, who
claimed to know Christ, was not living as if he truly understood the
Gospel. But Philemon was, apparently
trying. Philemon, by Paul’s writing and
God’s preservation of this letter, was struggling to live as if he believed in
what Paul had taught him. Now, against
all expectation a slave returns to face the consequences of his failure. Now, against all expectation, he and his new
brother can experience a relationship that God desires all human beings to
share. And in that redemption, you and I
are given hope. The same God who
redeemed Philemon’s treatment of his useless slave promises to redeem all that
we do. Can you truly imagine?
In Christ’s
Peace,
Brian†
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