September 4, 2022

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C

Wisdom 9:13-18; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33

Today’s second reading comes from Saint Paul’s shortest letter that has been preserved in the New Testament. It only has one chapter, and it was his only letter that dealt with a personal matter rather than teachings to the community. In fact, this is the only Sunday in our three-year lectionary cycle that we will have a reading from this letter. But it tells an interesting story, one which draws on the lessons of Christ in today’s Gospel.

We don’t know much about Philemon [pronounced fuh·lee·muhn], other than he was a prominent member of his church, probably at Colossae, which was in what is today modern Turkey. What we do know is that he owned a slave by the name of Onesimus, who ran away from Philemon’s service and was now with Paul at some distant location. Paul reports that he has now converted Onesimus to Christianity, and considers him a good friend, going so far as to call him “my own heart” [Philemon 12 NABRE]. Paul uses this letter to try to persuade Philemon that he should not only take Onesimus back into his household without any punishment for having run away but asks him to consider freeing this slave from his bondage. And to push matters further, he asks that Onesimus be treated as Philemon’s own brother.

One other aspect should also be noted: Paul is asking for something for Onesimus that he himself does not have. Paul tells us in this letter that he is currently a prisoner. We know from other epistles as well as the Acts of the Apostles that Paul was imprisoned twice, once in Ephesus around the year 55, and then again in Rome around the years 61-63. One of the things that has made Paul’s letters resonate so well to Christians throughout the years has been that we can relate to him – he suffered much – and when he asks of those to whom he writes letters to follow the Christian path, they know, and we know, that he is asking only what he himself is also willing to do and pay the price for. So although he lacks legal power to do anything about Onesimus, he speaks with great moral power and authority.

And what he is asking of Philemon is a lot. The Roman empire was build on the backs of slaves, one of the most important of the natural resources that conquered lands brought to the conquerors. Slaves were the engine of the Roman economy. So Paul is asking Philemon to allow his slave to go free, a loss of status in the eyes of society, as well as do without the wealth that the slave’s labor would bring into this household.

Saint Paul is putting into action the principles that Christ outlines in the Gospel today. Certainly he is not putting it as starkly as the last statement Jesus tells us today: “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple” [Luke 14:33b NABRE]. That is a very stark, very clear, and very heavy message from our Savior. No, Philemon is not being asked to forego all of his possessions, but still the ask from Paul is a big one.

Jesus today gives us the examples of the tower builder and the warrior king, and tells us that if they are prudent, they will look to see if they have what it takes to accomplish their goals. Paul is asking Philemon – and through him us – to continue to look at our lives and measure them against our goals. If those goals are money, power, and status, then Philemon probably already measures up; if the goal is to follow Christ and his teachings, Philemon has some work ahead of him. I know I do, and I suspect that many here do. But we must try, and to continue to inch closer to the high standard set by our Savior.

This Monday we will observe Labor Day, that holiday which we celebrate the contributions of workers of all types to the well-being of our nation and our society, and to reaffirm the rights of all workers to be free from exploitation and abuse in the workplace. Of course, most people in either business or government do not abuse their power, whether legal or economic, over people to exploit them, but enough have over the years and continue to do so that we cannot take these rights for granted. A good example that exists today is the travesty of human trafficking, where people are held in near-slavery conditions to perform the work of the sex trade, illegal drug distribution, or other undesirable and usually illegal activities. Our Church has a long history of standing up for the dignity of the individual against those in power – all types of power – that exploit the less fortunate. This weekend, let us not just celebrate the fact that our society today is more just than those in the past, but let us also resolve to continue the progress, to paraphrase Martin Luther King, so that the arc of history will continue on its path toward justice. Paul challenged Philemon and Jesus challenges us to not just pray about it – and we certainly need to pray about it – but also to do some concrete things that might cost us materially or socially. Paul did not advocate for a change in law concerning slavery, a fact that was used centuries ago to purport that he condoned slavery as being acceptable. Paul knew he could not change the law in a time of Roman empire dictatorship, and antagonizing the Roman leaders would only bring persecution to the new Church he was trying to grow. No, Paul advocated for individuals to change their lives to conform with the teaching of Christ, and as we observe this holiday, let us examine our lives to see if we are stepping up to meet this challenge that we should take to heart in today’s readings.

As we continue with the Mass, let us ask the Lord to nourish us with his body as we struggle to move beyond our earthly cares and possessions and stretch ourselves to continue to grow in our faith. May his presence within us give us the grace to live up to his sacrificial example to bring the Kingdom of God to this earth. Let us ask the Lord to bless all workers, and let all workers glorify God through the value of their honorable labor to the benefit of all. Unfortunately, history does not record what Philemon did in response to Paul’s plea, but we will all know how well we ourselves have tried to improve the lot of our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable ones, despite the inconvenience to ourselves.