thoughts to consider

• Thinking about the wider repercussions Paul’s letter might have opens totally new thinking – and problematics – to this seemingly so simple letter.
• Paul well knows Roman law, he well knows the situation, he knows very well what Philemon may face if he starts treating slaves differently or starts releasing this slave (Onesimus) and releasing slaves in general: This will get him in trouble, tensions will rise, this will ferment, this will affect the reputation of the church of Colossae and in a worst case scenario lead to rioting.
• Now Paul is aware of all this, but still he requests Philemon. Basically he asks Philemon to model an attitude, a different behavior. This will necessitate Philemon to talk, to explain, to justify, to stand up for this, to become a champion of change, to stand firm when the backlash comes from within the church and possibly from without.
• Remember the cuckoo bird? This bird lays his eggs into other birds’ nests and has them breed it out. To a degree this is what Paul is doing. Paul put’s a cuckoo’s egg in Philemon’s lap, and asks him to breed it out, well knowing that this will mean a degree of trouble.
• Maybe Paul writes this letter so strongly, border-line manipulatively, not because he has to convince Philemon to treat Onesimus well, but because the strength of the letter may act as a back-up for Philemon when he pulls though with this problematic slave release business.
• Maybe Philemon is more than willing, probably he truly is the outstanding and trustworthy elder that Paul describes him at in Phm 4-7.
• Maybe the letter wasn’t manipulation after all. Maybe Paul is simply putting his weight and authority behind Philemon, requesting him, even obliging him strongly, so that people can’t attack Philemon for complying with the letter.
• Paul seems to be convinced that Philemon can take on this ‘cuckoo’s egg’, that he can carry this weight, that Philemon is mature enough, has a good enough reputation that he can pull this one off. He trusts
• Philemon with spearheading this very delicate and potentially explosive issue and change
• Maybe he makes Appia, Archippus (the pastor?) and the church itself co-fighters with Philemon (Phm 2), to bring about social change, holding them accountable as well, making them supporters for Philemon.
• Maybe this is why the house church is mentioned as well, so they would understand, rally around Philemon and support him in dealing with the tensions.
• Maybe this is why Paul is so committed to coming to visit, to be a further back-up, one to take responsibility if things should not go well or prove divisive.
• This scenario also makes it clear that now both Philemon, and even more so Onesimus’ behavior are absolutely crucial to championing the release of slaves: Just think!
  • If Onesimus in any way displays pride or arrogance towards other slaves, if he is disrespectful in even the slightest way to Philemon, that will completely undermine Paul’s efforts for a different attitude towards slaves.
  • Then the message sent would be nepotism: “if you are in the good books with the big shots, than you can do as you please”.
  • Paul must have really instructed Onesimus well to make sure his attitude was one of excellence, humility and fairness precisely because he is the ‘model’ now.
  • He will either open doors or close doors for others with his behavior, it will be “make or break”.
  • In a sense Paul pairs up Philemon and Onesimus into a model for what should and can be done if Christ reigns in our hearts.
• All this would make Philemon not only a letter about personal forgiveness, but a Biblical writing answering a very important question: