Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (vs.3)
The Apostle Paul writes a personal and pastoral appeal to Philemon, a beloved coworker, on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon's runaway slave. Onesimus has arrived where Paul is imprisoned and has come to faith in Christ. Since Paul remains in prison, this letter, which accompanies the return of Onesimus to his master, illustrates Paul's skill in pastoral care from a distance. Paul relies on careful rhetoric and the themes of partnership in faith and of the mutual love of Christian community to support his appeal for Philemon to do the right thing and receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ (from "Enter the Bible")
This week we are going to explore the shortest of Paul's letters, Philemon. It is only 335 words and one chapter. It is significant correspondence because Paul is seeking to deescalate a potential explosive situation. Paul offers pastoral care and while a short letter, it is quite provocative in its emphasis on grace, mercy and reconciliation, all in the name of Jesus.
Paul begins the letter with his favorite greeting as noted above. Whenever I read these words in scripture I am reminded of a funny story from seminary.
After giving my first sermon in my preaching class, my professor, Dr. Tom Ridenhour, like he did with all of his students, met with me in his office to look at the video tape and offer critique. I began my sermon by saying, as I did yesterday at worship, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ."
He stopped the tape and asked, "Why did you say that?" My response? "That is what my dad always said when he started his sermons." Dr. Ridenhour looked at me, not impressed, and said, "Well, that may be so, but Paul said it first and if you didn't know that already, then perhaps you should." He then preceded to show me all the other ways that my first sermon was lacking. It was a long conversation.
Still, the Pauline greeting is something I use quite often. Saying these words centers me and hopefully centers the congregation into the moment. And the twin emphasis on grace and peace is a good place to start any conversation I believe.
Just imagine beginning all our most important conversations within this shared context of grace and peace. Perhaps this could make a dynamic difference in how we choose to talk and share with each other. Perhaps this could remind us that who we are talking with at any given moment is a child of God worthy of grace and peace from us. Perhaps hearing this from someone would remind us that we are worthy of grace and peace ourselves.
As we begin a conversation about the letter of Philemon this week, I can't imagine a better place to start that this: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ!
Lord Jesus, guide us in all of our conversations this week. Amen.
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