Salutation

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon’s Love and Faith

When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus.  

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

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 for ever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

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! Refresh my heart in Christ.  Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. Amen. 

We have read now together the text. If there is a something, which is important to you, you are invited now to repeat this part loud –it might me a sentence, a part of sentence or just a word… There is now right or wrong … What catches your eyes, your heart…. Go with the flow…

It is the shortest epistle Paul ever wrote. But what he requests from this brother Philelom is probably more than we all can imagine in the moment.

For us, who we live in enlightened times, it is hard to imagine what it means to be a slave. And in the same way it is hard for us to imagine, why somebody who is used to have slaves should change his mind.

Now – slavery was not only significant for the society Philelom is living in. (And Philemon lived in Collosea, in todays Turkey.)  This country has a lot of experience with Slavery.

To give us all an impression what Slavery means and how people thought and dealt with Slaves, I have brought with me the Steven Spielberg movie Amistad from 1997. 

You all know the story of the Amistad. It was 1839 - on July 2^nd. 169 years ago. A small ship arrived at the East Coast of the United States. To be more concrete: It arrived at Long Island, OUR Long Island here in New York. Abducted from West Africa, the 53 Africans had revolted at the third day. They had ordered their Cuban tantalizer to guide the ship toward the rising sun back to Africa, but each night the Cubans reversed direction. Zigzagging for two months. After their arrival at the Coast of Long Island the ship was escorted to Connecticut, where the Africans should be sold as slaves.

But a transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas was illegal. So they have been fraudulently described as having been born in Cuba. 

I would like to show two highlights of this movie. The slaves have arrived in Connecticut. We will see, what happened at their first appearance in court. The first one is the first scene in court. While watching please notice how the several groups look upon to the slaves – and think about, how Philemon

must have been looked upon Onesimus…. 

Slaves were not seen as human beings. Slaves were seen as “goods”. Can you imagine now a little bit, what Paul expects from Philemon asking him to accept Onesimus as a brother?? Do you know how hard it is to give up a worldview, a behaviour? Here in our own country a whole civil war was needed until slavery was banned. And even THEN a Mrs. Rosa Parks had to fight for her bus seat in 1955. -- And what about Martin Luther King? His “I have a dream” speech was in 1963. And do you have the impression that we today have totally got over racism?? 

And this is really the shortest letter of Paul, which is bequeathed to us! So short, but which explosive message is hidden in these few verses!  

The movie excerpt we have seen has started with a scene, at which most of us have probably started to smile: While the Africans were escorted in their chains from prison to court, a carriage, directed by a black servant passed the prisoners procession. Do you remember how of the Africans reacted? First he called him “Chief”, then “ brother” and got then the answer from another with prisoner: No – a white man”. This tells us a lot about ourselves: A chief is for indigenous nations still in our days a person of respect, because of his or her wisdom. But respect is nothing you can sue for – respect just can be bestowed, but never enforced. The slave in the procession was willing to give him respect.

But when he didn’t get attention he realized that it couldn’t be a chief. --Because a chief would give you attention.

So he called him “brother”. A brother can fail as you can. A brother is on one level with you. When we call Jesus our brother, then we know that he is able to understand our struggles, our weaknesses our humanity. But also here the slave didn’t get a reaction.

That was the moment, when somebody gave him the answer, what this black servant was in true: “A white man!”. And we can hear the sadness and the pity with this black servant. The slaves are feel sorry for this “white black man” – because he has lost his identity, has become a doll for the whites. A human drama, when you remember how this carriage driver played hard to get … he doesn’t know anything anymore about dignity and his Human Rights. But the slaves – they do! Do understand now the phrase” to be free in Christ”? Or as Paul says here in his letter: “I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.” To be a prisoner of Jesus Christ means: To be free. Not as the world thinks, but for God free. In this scene the slaves are the real free people.

And the whites? They are victims of their own ideology – just agitating for their business, for property, for money….”for goods”.  The slaves had never heard something about Jesus Christ, but were free.  

Let us have now a look to the second and last movie highlight I have chosen for today. The sequence has a length of 2 minutes and 13 seconds. You will see three people at a table. The one left is played by Morgan Freeman. His role is not historical. His character meant to represent the important role that the Amistad story played in African American abolitionism. Please focus on the discussion the other two have:

In the middle, eating, is the lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin, who later became governor of Connecticut and US Senator. 

But please focus most on the person on the right. He is one of the reasons, why we are today as Congregationalists and UCC-members are committed to Human Rights and Social Justice.

This person on the right is Lewis Tappan – Congregationalist and abolitionist from New York.

Listen, what he can tell us about our own history - and belief….

Let me repeat his last sentences:

Sir, this war must be waged on the battlefield of righteousness. (Here very nice the lawyers counter question: “The what?”)

It would be against everything I stand for to let this deteriorate  into an exercise in the vagaries of legal minutia. …

It is our destiny as abolitionists and as Christians to save these people. These are people, Mr. Baldwin. Not livestock. Did Christ hire a lawyer to get him off on technicalities? He went to the cross nobly. You know why? To make a statement. To make a statement as must we.

THIS is the reason, why we are Congregationalists. THIS is the reason, why we are UCC. ---Because we make a statement. The statement, that Onesimus has to be also in our days a free man. And the slaves in our days are the same slaves we have seen here in the first highlight – the real slaves are still the white men running just for business, having just dollar signs in the eyes, not able to see anymore justice, having lost all mercy.  

Do you think Christ’s mission on earth is already fulfilled? … Me neither… As Congregationalists we are called to go on with the mission, Jesus has started, Paul has called for and Congregationalists like Lewis Tappan have struggled for. Now it is on us. Now is on each of you.

YOU are the Tabasco church!

YOU are called to reach out for Human Rights!

YOU are called to bring social justice into this world.

YOU are called to be free in Christ.

YOU are called to disobey the world rulers.

YOU are UCC.  Within YOU God can still speak -- When you are free for passion and love.

Let me end with the words the former 6^th president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, finished his speech to the judges in court, defending the Amistad-slaves … May his words for us be further on stimulation to follow our Christian vision of Gods kingdom and call:  

Give us the courage to do, what is right – and if it means civil war, then let it come. And when it does, may it be, finally, the last battle of the American Revolution.