The Letter to Philemon

Let the Slave Become a Brother

Paul entrusted his Letter to the Colossians to Tychicus and assigned him as a companion “Onesimus, our trustworthy and beloved brother” (Col 4:9). Onesimus was perhaps a lazy slave and a thief, who had run away from Colossae. He had reached one of the larger cities—Caesarea or Rome—where outlaws could hide. When did he meet Paul? We do not know. The Apostle accepted him, instructed him in the Gospel, and grew fond of him. But he also had to regulate the situation of this man whose owner could have hunted him down and even put him to death; in addition, Paul risked being accused of complicity, a serious crime during that age.

Since the slave belonged to a rich Christian of Colossae, named Philemon, whom the Apostle himself had converted to the faith, probably during his stay at Ephesus, Paul sends the slave back to his master with a letter of recommendation. He hopes that Philemon will free Onesimus and allow yesterday’s slave to become his fellow worker in the apostolate. This subtle and skillful Letter gives us a glimpse of Paul’s warmth and his boundless respect for a less circumspect human being but one redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Paul does not take a position on the social structures of his time that divided human beings into slave and free (see 1 Cor 7:20-24; Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22—4:1). But for believers there is no division between Jew and Greek or between slave and free; they know that all are equal in God’s sight, and they believe that all are brothers and sisters in the Church. Without directly attacking social structures, Paul does, in a concrete case, propose a new attitude for Christians. Slaves are no longer regarded as things; they are persons and, more than that, they are brothers and sisters in the Lord. The Apostle expects Philemon to give spontaneous and concrete witness to this new manner of conceiving the relationships among human beings and actually living them.

The present Letter is reminiscent of similar letters of recommendation written in the Greco-Roman world of the time. It begins with a salutation, is followed by expressions of thanksgiving and petition, discusses the principal subject matter, and ends with a conclusion and farewell. It stresses Christian love for others, which, if followed out to its rightful conclusion, will eliminate the scourge of slavery in the world. The Letter is also dominated by the theme of forgiveness, which is found throughout the New Testament (see, e.g., Mt 6:12-15; 18:21-35; Eph 4:32; Col 3:13). Although Paul does not use the word, he exemplifies the Biblical definition of forgiveness.

The Letter to Philemon may be divided as follows:

Salutation (1-3)

Thanksgiving and Prayer (4-7)

Plea for Onesimus (8-20)

Conclusion (21-25)