9/16/07 - Pentecost 16 - Philemon 10-21

REFRESH WITH FORGIVENESS
- Your fellow Christians are dear to you
- Your fellow Christians are useful to you

There was a man who belonged to the Christian congregation in Colossae named Philemon. A congregation founded by the apostle Paul. In fact, Philemon was a good friend of the apostle Paul. But Philemon must have been surprised because as he was going about his business one day, someone showed up on his doorstep whom he hadn’t seen in quite a while. It wasn’t his friend Paul, it was someone Paul had sent: his slave, Onesimus. A man who had run away from him countless months ago. But now he was back standing on his doorstep with a few other men, apparently at the end of a long journey. It’s hard to imagine what went through Philemon’s mind, but before too much could be said I’m sure Philemon was handed a letter and asked to read it. And so unrolling the letter Philemon read, “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus… To Philemon, our dear friend and fellow worker… I appeal to you for my son Onesimus.” And you have heard almost the entire letter that Philemon read that day in our epistle lesson this morning. And so if the sight of Onesimus didn’t surprise Philemon, Paul’s letter surely did. Paul, a friend of Philemon, actually appeals for Philemon’s slave, Onesimus - “I wish, brother, to receive some benefit from you; refresh my heart in Christ.” And how did Paul want Philemon to refresh his heart? By refreshing Onesimus with forgiveness! But Paul wasn’t just writing to Philemon. Paul was writing to you and to me. He wants you to refresh your fellow Christians with forgiveness because your fellow Christians are dear to you and they are also useful to you.
I have no doubt that as Philemon stood there reading that letter in front of his runaway slave, he had a hard time thinking that Onesimus was dear to him. But that is what Paul insists he is. “He is very dear to me, but even dearer to you.” How could that be? How could Onesimus be considered dear to Philemon? Onesimus had run away and he had no right to do so! It’s not as if Philemon had treated him poorly. Philemon was a Christian after all. He probably treated Onesimus just as well as a Christian employer would treat his employees. But Onesimus had still run away! He had left Philemon high and dry! He had, by his actions, damaged Philemon’s livelihood and income. Onesimus showed no respect, no honor, no regard for the one whom God had placed in authority over him. And now Paul was saying that Onesimus is dear to Philemon? You would think just the opposite. You would think that someone who did those things would be despised by Philemon.
But Paul expects something completely different and he explains why. He says that Onesimus was once only a slave, but now he is “my son,” “my very heart,” “a dear brother,” one who is “in the Lord.” Paul indicates that Onesimus was not dear to Philemon because of his past actions, Onesimus was dear to Philemon because of his faith. “You believe in Jesus as your Savior, Philemon. So does Onesimus! He became my son while I was in chains because I was the one who was privileged to share the gospel with him. You two now have a bond, an inseparable fellowship that you didn’t share before! You are brothers in Christ. Now I encourage you, Philemon, to refresh your brother with forgiveness.” Paul didn’t base his argument on what Onesimus had done, but on what Christ had done. Christ had won salvation for them both. He had called both of them to faith. He was the one who had joined them together in one body of which he was the head. With this knowledge how could Philemon do anything else but refresh his brother Onesimus with forgiveness? How could he not show the same love for his new found brother that Christ had shown both of them?
Isn’t that true for all of us as well? We are all in the same boat. We have all been refreshed by the forgiveness of Christ because that is what all of us needed. Our sins reserved our places in hell a long time ago. None of us could do anything to come to Christ. None of us could do anything to prompt his love. None of us could do anything to work our way out of the hole we dug for ourselves. And we still can’t! But here we are once again, in the middle of a worship service, praising Christ for what he has done because all of us have been refreshed by his forgiveness. Christ took us from that pit of sin, washed us off in his blood, and holds us in his hands. He doesn’t consider our sins any more. They don’t cross his mind because they have been taken care of on the cross. We are at peace. We don’t have anything to worry about. We are guaranteed a spot in heaven because of what Christ did for us on this earth. That’s the refreshment that forgiveness brings. The ice cold water of salvation to parched souls. All of us have experienced that joy through faith. And all of us will experience that together forever in heaven.
It was important for Philemon to know this about Onesimus and it’s important for us to remember about our fellow Christians. Because things will happen. Those sitting next to you in this congregation are your brothers and sisters in Christ, but they are also sinners. Those relatives, friends, family members, and co-workers who believe in Jesus are Christians, but they are also still sinners. They will say things they shouldn’t say. They will do things they shouldn’t do. You will say things you shouldn’t say. You will do things you shouldn’t do. I might even say or do things that do not reflect the faith that is in my heart. But when those things happen - and they will - that does not mean we cease to be brothers and sisters. We are Christians who struggle. We are Christians who battle. We are Christians who fall into sin far more often then we would like. This should not surprise you. And this should not affect your forgiveness towards each other in the least bit. Because it didn’t affect Christ’s. He forgave you and forgave all of us unconditionally. Completely. Immediately.
When your brother or sister realizes their sin and is repentant of that, it is not for you to hold back that refreshment of forgiveness. And how awful it is when we do! How sinful it is to hold a grudge. How unloving it is to continually be on the defensive. How unchristian it is to constantly look for and nitpick and single out possible sins while completely forgetting the forgiveness. Will your fellow Christians do terrible things against you? Possibly. Will your fellow Christians say nasty things about you? Possibly. Will life with your fellow Christians be difficult and painstaking? Possibly. But do not become guilty of withholding forgiveness from them. They are still your brothers and sisters. They still believe in Jesus as their Savior and have received forgiveness from him. How can you rightfully still hold those sins against them? How can you keep bringing those sins back up in your minds when Christ has erased them from his?
Thank the Lord that he forgives you for that. I thank the Lord that he forgives me for those kinds of thoughts. And I pray that he leads us to understand how dear our fellow Christians really are to us - and how useful. Your fellow Christians are useful to you. Don’t think that you have nothing to gain from your brothers and sisters in Christ. They are just as useful to you as Onesimus was to Philemon. Paul writes, “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.” Now Paul was utilizing a play on words here because the name Onesimus means “useful.” But Paul was serious. He didn’t want Philemon to be under the impression that he had nothing to gain from this former slave now turned brother. Philemon was very useful to him in the same way your fellow Christians can help you.
“Now you are the body of Christ,” Paul writes, “and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). There is a reason God has given us different gifts and different abilities. We are all different members of the one body of Christ. Not everyone is an ear or an eye or a knee or a toe. But we all are to use our talents and abilities for the good of the body - which is Christ and his kingdom. Your fellow brother and your fellow sister are just as essential to Christ’s body as you are. They can help you out. They can pick up where you leave off. They can fit in where you cannot. They can do things that help this congregation that the Lord has not blessed you with the abilities to do. Your fellow Christians are useful to you because they are useful to Christ’s church!
But they are useful not only because of their gifts, but more importantly, because of the refreshment they can give. Have you had to forgive one of your fellow Christians before? A spouse, a neighbor, a child, a parent, a friend, a congregation member? If you’ve ever had the chance to forgive a fellow Christian, don’t think it’ll be too long before it comes back around. Because you are sinful. There is no way you can keep yourself from never saying a bad thing about someone or thinking a discouraging thought about someone or carrying out an ostracizing act towards someone. You will fall into sin in this life. And it may be against a fellow Christian whom you’ve forgiven in the past. What a blessing that they are useful to you! What a blessing that they have the same refreshing words of forgiveness that you had for them! What a blessing that you are just as dear to them as they are to you!
It’s a support group in a way. Support groups are so popular nowadays. Many people belong to some sort of group that that contains people who are going through the same things they are. It’s not a bad idea and I’m sure a lot of good comes out of those support groups. But what support group could beat this? Look at us! We are fellow Christians! We are all struggling with the same things! We all know where we have come from and where we are going! We are all forgiven by our Savior! We are all dear to each other and all useful to the entire group. Do we complain and disagree and fight with each other sometimes? Sure we do. But so did my brothers and I. We got into fights when we were younger like any brothers do. But afterwards we brushed ourselves off, put aside our differences, and went outside to play again. Is it any different with us as Christians in a sin-filled world? When you scuffle with those Christians around you, repent of that sin, brush yourselves off, put aside your petty differences, and go outside and play together again. Your fellow Christians are dear to you. They are useful to you. Refresh them with forgiveness just as Christ has refreshed you.
We don’t know whatever happened to Onesimus and Philemon. But I can’t imagine a situation in which Philemon would not refresh his brother with forgiveness. Especially when I read the last words of our text today. Words not only written to Philemon, but words written to you as well: “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.” Why is Paul confident that you will do this? Because he knows Christ has refreshed you. And you can’t help but refresh one another.
Amen.

“May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” - 2 Cor. 13:14