Letters of You

June 11, 2008

Philemon 1:1-3

“Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Maybe in our day and age it happens most at funeral services. I cannot think of a time other than that when it happens, but maybe you can. I’m referring to the reading of a personal letter in the context of a public audience. Sometimes we hear letters that the deceased has sent to others and sometimes we hear of letters sent to them. Maybe it happens in the context of formal commendations. If we put our heads together, we could probably think of a number of ways in which this happens.

This epistle to Philemon is exactly that—a personal letter to be read in the context of a larger church setting. The church setting would have been a house church maybe of no more than twenty or so people that met in Philemon’s home. We can surmise that Paul is the one writing the letter and most likely it is being written about the same time that the Colossians letter was written and sent. Tychicus, who carried the letter to Colossae, is likely carrying this letter as well and is probably traveling with Onesimus who is the topic of this letter as we shall see.

Paul offers the traditional greeting in these verses to Philemon, Apphia (who is likely to be Philemon’s wife) and Archippus who may have been a family member a well. Notice the address to Philemon. Paul intentionally calls him his dear friend and co-worker. This address speaks to the point that will play out in the letter—that we are to treat each other as equals with respect and Christian love.

For now, in these words, Paul extends his love and care to these people and hopes for a profitable communication.

These words of scripture are not unlike the many letters that we have studied already but maybe they can prompt us to begin thinking about a number of things:
1. In what ways are we prisoners for Christ Jesus or can we even say that about ourselves?
2. Are we guilty of dealing with each other in unequal fashion? If so, how do we seek to remedy this?
3. If a letter were read about you in a public fashion, what would you hope that letter would say?
4. Do we live our lives as if someone were reading that desired letter publicly?

Knowing myself as a sinner, I know my answers to these questions easily and they remain for me a challenge. I hope you find in your answers a sense of challenge but also a sense of great hope! God’s best to you!