In a recent sermon I walked the congregation through Paul’s Letter to Philemon. It’s a book of the Bible that perhaps many folks really don’t know is in there. It appears toward the end of the New Testament, and if you ever sat down to read it, it would take you just about two minutes. You might not think much of this letter at first glance, but one commentator has said, “Even though this letter is Paul’s shortest work, it is one of the most explosive things Paul ever wrote!”[i]
So, what’s the big deal? Well, to understand what’s so impactful about this letter we need to know a bit about names. I lined much of this out in my sermon, but seeing these Greek words in print could be helpful. I started the sermon with, “Let me tell you the story of Mr. Bound, Mr. Kind, and Mr. Useful.” And that’s what we’ll do here. The letter starts with the word ‘Paul.’ The Greek name Paulos is a transliteration of the Roman name Paullus (meaning, “humble, modest,” from the Latin parvus, “small”). Paul’s Hebrew name was Saul (“asked for, prayed for”), but because of his growing up among Gentile peoples, he probably chose a name with a similar sound to Saul as his new name in Christ. It is fitting. The one who was once arrogant (zealous for the Law, persecuting Christians) became “humble” Paul in Christ.
For the second word in the letter Paul uses the word desmios to describe himself. We often translate this in English as “prisoner,” but it is more helpful to use the phrase, “one who is bound.” This has broader implications than merely referring to Paul as “one who is currently incarcerated.” Paul’s being in jail doesn’t say much about his identity in Christ. To say rather, “Paul, bound in/for/of Christ Jesus” speaks to Paul’s ongoing new identity as one who is so knit together with Christ, so “bound” to the gospel, that he is compelled to do none other than serve God’s purposes in the world. Elsewhere Paul refers to himself as a doulos (“slave, servant”) of Christ. He who once thought of himself as a free, Roman citizen, came to know in Jesus Christ himself to have been enslaved to the power of SIN in the world. Through Christ, God freed Paul, and all humanity, to be liberated to be slaves to one another in love (Gal. 5:13).
Paul addresses his letter to Philemon, whose name means “kind, loving.” It is related to the Greek word for “kiss”: philema. Throughout the letter Paul reminds Philemon, “Be who you are; be kind and loving. It’s in your name, for God’s sake!” Why does Paul need to remind him to be loving? Well, this is where the letter gets explosive: Paul is sending back a runaway slave to Philemon, and Paul asks Philemon to receive this slave back with love, no longer as a slave, but a brother in Christ. This slave is Onesimus, and his name means “useful.” It was the third most common slave name in the Empire. Slaves barely had any identity, but were given utilitarian names such as “useful, helpful, profitable, productive, etc.”
The key to the letter comes when Paul says, “I am sending Onesimus (Useful) back to you.” Now Paul uses a different but similar word for ‘useful’ to describe Onesimus, “He used to be a-chrestos (not-useful) to you, now he is eu-chrestos (more than useful) to you and to me in the service of the gospel.” Now this word Chrestos was another of the most common slave names in the Empire! And some people got confused when the early Christians went around proclaiming Jesus as Christos. They heard Chrestos instead and thought, “Why should we follow a disgraced slave?” They looked down on Christians because of this.
In a sense, Paul is saying to Philemon, “I am sending Useful back to you, but no longer a helpful slave. He is to be to you a brother and a partner in ministry.” In Christ Jesus is a new identity: we are siblings to one another, the old social order is gone, “For in Christ Jesus there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, for all are one.” We are now all “fellow workers,” “fellow soldiers,” and “partners.” I would like to think that Philemon lived up to his name and lovingly and kindly received back Onesimus, and that perhaps Onesimus received a new name that reflected his identity in the family of God: Agapetos (Beloved), Adelphos (Brother), Koinonos (Partner) or Hagios (Saint).
It is this last “name” that the Church remembers Paul, Philemon, and Onesimus: saint, holy one. It is a name given to each and every one of us. To you. To me. Saint, one who is made holy in Jesus Christ, sisters and brothers of one family where all are welcome. More than Useful, we are known as St. Welcome.
[i] The Bible Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW9Q3Jt6Yvk
