


“If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back.” (Philemon 19)
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
The brief letter to Philemon has always thrown up more questions than answers for me, particularly about the relationships between the three main protagonists but also around the letter’s purpose. Who exactly were Philemon and Onesimus? What precisely had Onesimus done to harm Philemon so much? How did Onesimus and Paul actually meet? What led to Paul so warmly and personally commending Onesimus as “my son” and “useful”? Why does Paul commit to covering Onesimus’ debt? Just how much was that debt that Paul chooses to mention Philemon owing him his life? Is Onesimus worth such commitment? What had Paul done that would leave Philemon so indebted to him? Why is this brief note even included in the Canon of Scripture? In what way can this highly personal piece of correspondence be counted as “God-breathed” and “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”?
A closer look hints at substantial social, economic and cultural differences between the three main characters: Paul, Philemon and Onesimus. And all sorts of dilemmas seem to lie just under the surface: issues of justice and forgiveness, of revenge and reparation, of responsibility and rehabilitation, of friendship and fellowship, of loyalty and liability. So many unanswered questions and speculations. But one thing is clear: Paul’s commitment to Onesimus. That commitment clearly has a potentially hefty price tag to it and significant practical implications. This is not a lightly undertaken commitment. Paul literally signs his name to this commitment in the style of a legal contract. He has tied himself irrevocably to Onesimus.
So many unanswered questions. But also, such clear indications of how different relationships in Christ are and how far they transcend anything ‘usual’ or ‘normal.’ They are beyond friendship and family ties, beyond colleague and co-worker roles, and beyond being fellow-soldiers and fellow-prisoner. There is something quite revolutionary and radical and total and pervasive and deep and enduring in the simple terms Paul uses: calling Onesimus “my son” and commending him to Philemon as no longer a slave “but better than a slave…a dear brother.”
And this, for me, is where this little letter truly becomes “God-breathed” and “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” Lord, bless us with an ability to view one another in our Churches as our sons and daughters and as dear brothers and sisters, to whom we are completely bound and totally committed.