First Lutheran Church
September 4, 2022 – The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 14:25-27,33. Now large crowds were traveling with [Jesus;] and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. … So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
Philemon 8-16. For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”
“The Summons”
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
Sermon
Pastor Greg Ronning
Today’s “Hymn of the Day” invites us all, “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?” It’s a nice hymn, but it’s also kind of a tricky hymn. It’s innocent tune, its “sing songy” quality, its pitch and its rhythm, its happy bouncy feeling; disguises the serious life altering implications contained in its invitation. We refer to the song as “Will You Come and Follow Me,” but the official title is listed as “The Summons.” I think the official title better suits the true nature of the song. “Will you come and follow me,” is not an invitation to an afternoon walk in the park, but a serious “summons” to engage in the radical way of Jesus, a way that has consequences.
A closer look at the song, at the lyrics, uncovers the true cost of following Jesus. To follow Jesus and become his disciple is to leave your whole self behind, to care for the cruel as well as the kind, to be changed forever. It is to risk the hostile stare and negative attention that comes with living out the values of the kingdom in the midst of a fallen world. To follow Jesus is to place yourself amongst the so called “least of these,” the prisoners, the lepers, all those who have been marginalized and dismissed. To follow Jesus is to love, and set free that part of you that is afraid, the “you” that is the longing of your very soul, the “you” that desperately wants to do the right thing in a world that rarely values doing the right thing. To follow Jesus is to engage the way, the truth, and the life, that Jesus taught and lived. To follow Jesus is to be willing to be radically changed forever, - to never be the same. To follow Jesus costs everything.
In today’s appointed gospel Jesus is very clear about the cost of being a disciple, the cost of following him and his ways, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. … So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”
“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?”
In today’s appointed epistle, Paul’s letter to Philemon, we have another example of what it means to follow Jesus. It’s a little different than the other letters found in the New Testament attributed to St. Paul. In this letter Paul is primarily addressing one person. In this very personal letter, Paul invites his friend Philemon to enter more deeply into his faith, to give up his possessions, to engage in the work of reconciliation, to come and follow in the way of Jesus.
In order to truly understand Paul’s letter to Philemon we need to take a moment and unpack the context of the letter. Here’s what we think we know. … Philemon was a leader in the church at Colossae and had been instructed in the faith by Paul. Paul introduced him to Jesus. Philemon appears to be a wealthy Roman citizen, who like many other wealthy citizens in that time and place, had a slave. The slave’s name was Onesimus. Somehow this slave, Onesimus, ends up in Rome and is helping Paul who is in prison. Some suggest that Onesimus is a runaway slave that encounters Paul by chance, some suggest he ran away to appeal to Paul to appeal on his behalf for his freedom, and others suggest that he was sent to Rome to serve Paul who was in prison. Whatever the case, during their time together, Onesimus becomes a believer in Christ, and shares in the ministry of the Gospel with Paul.
Eventually, Paul comes to the conclusion that it is time for Onesimus to return to Philemon. And this is the occasion for the letter. And this letter indicates that a reconciliation needs to happen as part of this reunion. We don’t know what in particular needs to be “reconciled?” Perhaps Onesimus was a runaway slave, perhaps the condition of his slavery was because of a debt that he owed? Perhaps, in “that context” Onesimus had “wronged” Philemon. And / Or perhaps, just maybe, and better yet, Paul who had penned that “in Christ there is no longer slave or free,” expected that truth to be more than a platitude but rather a value that was to be lived out, a summons for slaves and masters to be reconciled in Christ. Whatever the case, the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus, master and slave, needs reconciliation
So it is that Paul passionately appeals to Philemon, on behalf of Onesimus, for his freedom. Paul reminds us that in Christ people are not to be property but family. Onesimus “beloved-ness” is boldly witnessed by Paul who describes him as “his child,” as a part of his very heart. Paul’s love for Onesimus is very clear, and Paul’s understanding of Onesimus as a “beloved child of God” is very clear! Paul declares that he could command Philemon to set Onesimus free, that the authority of the Gospel is very clear on this matter, but instead he wishes to appeal to him - in with and through - love. Paul knows that the love of God in Christ Jesus is the only thing that can make true reconciliation possible, such love is the very power of reconciliation, the only thing that can truly set us free, the only thing that can save us. Paul does not trust in the authority and power of the law, but rather in the grace and love of Christ.
So, Paul sends Onesimus back, asking him to trust in the power of love. Hoping that love will prevail, that love will pave the way to reconciliation and freedom. Hoping that the love of Christ will replace rights, vengeance, and retaliation. And Onesimus seems to have trusted Paul, to trust in love, and makes the long journey back to Philemon not knowing if it will lead him back into slavery or into freedom.
And Paul invites Philemon to trust in love. He invites him to enter more deeply into his faith, to engage in the work of reconciliation, to give up his possession, to count the cost and see in it not only the freedom of Onesimus, but also the freedom of his salvation. Philemon is challenged to forgive what society has pronounced as a legitimate debt, he is challenged to give up some of his economic gain, he is asked to relinquish some of his privilege, he is asked to give up some of the power that society has given him, - he is invited to make a change and never be the same. He is asked to let go of “the way things are,” to adjust the injustice of slavery. He is asked to no longer see Onesiums a slave, but as an equal.He is asked to invite him fully into his life as a sibling in Christ.
Paul powerfully concludes the proposition, by taking on the condition of Onesimus, “So, if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord!”
Martin Luther, in his commentary on Philemon, describes how Paul models, lives out, the love of Christ in his appeal for Onesimus …“This epistle gives us a masterful and tender illustration of Christian love. For here we see how St. Paul takes the part of poor Onesimus and, to the best of his ability, advocates his cause with his master. He acts exactly as if he were himself Onesimus, who had done wrong. Yet he does this not with force or compulsion, as lay within his rights; but he empties himself of his rights in order to compel Philemon also to waive his rights.”
I like Luther’s use of the word “rights.” It seems we are often so concerned about our individual rights that we forget about our responsibilities, we forget that we are called to live life for the common good. As Luther wrote regarding the freedom of a Christian, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.”
Paul ends his letter to Philemon, his brother in Christ, with a confident appeal, “I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.”
So, what happened? What happened on that day when Onesimus returned to Philemon? The fact that this letter written in the first century survives to this day and has been read aloud in worship for almost two thousand years, strongly suggests that Philemon chose not to live as an entitled citizen of Rome but rather as a humble citizen of the Kingdom of God. It is widely believed that Philemon set Onesimus free, reconciled the relationship, and that there was no longer “slave or free” in Christ, in the church at Colossae.
And we can only imagine the chain of events that must have set into motion. As Onesimus was welcomed back into the community of faith, no longer as a slave but as a beloved family member, certainly others may have been reconciled and liberated! And what happened to Onesimus? Interestingly, a page from an early church history book written some 60 years after Paul’s letter to Philemon mentions an “Onesimus” who served as the Bishop of Ephesus. Could that be the same person? Paul’s letter to Philemon certainly changed the way things were in the church at Colossae, certainly things would “never be the same.”
And what will happen today, what is happening even now, as Paul’s letter to Philemon is read aloud in our congregation? Will it provide the impetus to lead us more deeply into our faith, into the work of reconciliation, to give up our possessions, to count the cost and see in it the freedom of our salvation, “to come and follow me?”
Perhaps some of you are being called to reconcile with someone in particular? To find a way to forgive and be forgiven? Relationships are hard to do, but at the same time too precious to abandon. How might we become reconciled with each other? Only in the grace and love of Christ is it possible. Let us trust in love and begin the process!
Perhaps we are being called to participate in a wider process of reconciliation? Our society is struggling in so many ways, reconciliation is needed in so many areas. In particular I commend to you the reconciliation work begun by our church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, with regards to racism. Unfortunately, Paul’s words written to Philemon regarding the freeing of one slave did not lead to the end of institutional slavery. The effects of slavery, the so-called original sin of our country, still ravages our life together. We must continue to do the hard work of reconciliation, work that can only be done - in with and through - the grace of God’s love. Be on the lookout for ways to participate as our church begins this important work.
What will happen today, what is happening even now, as Paul’s letter to Philemon is read aloud in our congregation? “Will you come and follow me?”
May we find the courage to engage the words of today’s epistle through the person of Philemon. To be willing, as he was, to graciously receive the word; and to faithfully begin to reflect on our privilege, our wealth and our possessions, our power and our status, seeking a way to employ these things, even surrender these things, for the sake of the kingdom. May we find a way to practice kindness, do justice and walk humbly in the way of Jesus. May we as Philemon, answer the summons, “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?”
And may we find the great and holy comfort that we share with Onesimus. Let us be reminded that no matter how the world might try to define us, we are finally and ultimately, only, - the beloved children of God. And may this love that we have experienced in Jesus, inspire us to love others as we have been loved. And trusting in that love, may we discover all the faith that we need to answer the summons, “Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?”
Together, let us follow.
Amen.