Leaping Into Grace ~ Philemon 1:1-21 ~ Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

On one of the many occasions I’ve been stuck in traffic at the construction zone on Route 28, I noticed a small sticker on the back of a car, in shape a paw print.  It read “who rescued whom?”

I immediately thought of all the people I’ve known who’ve rescued dogs, as well as cats, horses, and even children.  Their adoptions demand tremendous sacrifice and cost, but they never regret their decision.  Usually, they say it’s the best thing they’ve ever done.  Perhaps you know one of these people.  Maybe you are one yourself.

The irony is that the adoption is not a one-way street of blessing.  The adoptee and the adopter are blessed by each other.

This is the underlying message in Paul’s letter to Philemon. This book, which happens to be one of the shortest books of the bible, could easily be dismissed as an insignificant correspondence between pastor and parishioner.  But the situation that brought about this letter is anything but insignificant.  This is a matter of life and death.

A man named Philemon and his wife Apphia are close personal friends of the Apostle Paul.  A church meets in their house—so they are probably persons of wealth and status.  But they’re not just wealthy patrons.  Paul praises them as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who do great work for his sake.

But there’s a situation: Philemon and Apphia own a slave by the name of Onesimus who has run away.  We don’t know for certain, but Paul’s words suggest that he’s on the run because he’s stolen from them.  Philemon was perfectly within his legal and socially-acceptable rights to punish him severely for his crimes, even putting him to death.

But Onesimus and Paul met up during Paul’s imprisonment.  During that time, they begin a friendship that was a tremendous blessing to Paul.  They were a gift from God to each other during their times of crisis.

So in love for his friends and the people of their church, Paul decides to share with them this gift of a man.  Lovingly and gently, Paul urges Philemon to welcome Onesimus back—and not as a slave, but as a brother; an equal to himself.  Paul is certain that if Philemon does accordingly, his life and relationship with God will be forever transformed for the better.  He’s so certain of this that he offers to do whatever it takes to restore to Philemon whatever Onesimus had taken.  This way, Paul will be blessed, Onesimus will be blessed, Philemon will be blessed, and the church will be blessed.

But Paul’s instructions are still not without tremendous social and economic cost to Philemon and Apphia.  If they forgive Onesimus and release him from slavery, they’re going to be at a tremendous economic disadvantage.  What if Paul can’t make right what Onesimus did wrong?  What is there to keep their other slaves from running away?   Furthermore, what will people say and think about them, if they were to make a slave of equal status to themselves.  They had a lot to lose by doing as Paul believed God would have them do.

We, too, wrestle with the problem of cost as disciples of Jesus Christ.  Never before have we experienced times such as these when we must be so tremendously cost-conscious about everything.  If we’re reluctant to give of anything of ourselves, it’s usually because we fear we may upset the apple cart of comfort and stability in our lives.  We want to obey God—but there’s things we can’t bear to lose and miss out on.  Never before has it been so easy to believe that NOW is not a good time to do God’s will… 

One of the most powerful words in our vocabulary against obeying is the three-letter word BUT.  “I need to pray, BUT I’m tired.”  “I want to give, BUT I’m afraid I won’t have enough left for what I need and want.”  “I need to forgive him/her, BUT I’m still hurt.”  One thing that’s certain is that no matter where we are in life, we’ll always find plenty of reasons NOT to follow Jesus.  It always takes great faith to follow Jesus, because most of the time, obedience will always demand sacrifice.  It takes great faith to believe that God will provide in place of what we surrender.

Yet God knows the strain you’re under right now.  That’s why God calls you into a life of discipleship much the same way as Paul urges Philemon—not with guilt trips and threats, but with a gentle invitation to look past the immediate costs to God keeping promises.  Sacrifice is always a bitter pill to swallow, but faith sees past the immediate cost to act in anticipation of God doing greater things.  Faith trusts God to know better than I do what is best for me and my neighbor. 

We all hunger for the transforming presence of Christ in our lives—so don’t fear what are tiny costs in comparison to greater blessings. 

Don’t be afraid to give up that possession or that job or that interest that’s literally swallowing your life whole…

Don’t put off praying and worshipping and serving and witnessing to others until a time when things aren’t so hectic.

Don’t be afraid to ask for forgiveness from the person you’ve wronged; and certainly don’t withhold your forgiveness even when you’re well within your rights to hate that person.  Love and care for your enemies.  Do good to those who cannot repay you.  Invest what is most valuable to you in Jesus Christ.  Cast aside what pulls your faith down into a rut and let God’s saving grace sweep you up into a new and powerful experience of life. 

Today, the soft and gentle voice of Jesus is calling you to come out of your comfort zone to take some leaps of faith.  That quiet nagging, that holy heartburn—Jesus has something new for you to do and something for you to receive.  Doing God’s will is never easy, but God will ALWAYS help you obey.  Don’t let your fear of tomorrow keep you from trusting God today.  Challenge yourself to do that one thing this week—and see what happens…  Amazing grace is just one leap of faith away…