Morning Devotion for Epiphany
Friday February 25, 2022
The Invitatory
I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end.
Amen.
The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.
Reading: Philemon 1-25
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.
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 toward 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.
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 forever, no longer as a slave but 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.
One thing more—prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Meditation – Michael Palmisano
If you just read all 25 lines of the text above, congratulations, you just read an entire book of the Bible! Paul’s letter to Philemon is by far his shortest confirmed letter in our Bible. It comes in stark contrast to his other confirmed letters from which we gather our greatest sense for Paul’s rhetorical skill and influence as one of the Church’s proto-theologians. The letter to Philemon, while differing greatly in its content, is nonetheless fully in line with the arc of Paul’s corpus and the Christian Gospel on whole. That is because this is a letter which seems to be primarily concerned with liberation.
The God of Israel has always been in the business of liberation. One of the first times in Scripture that this God’s identity was attributed with a verb was after the Israelites were escorted through the raging torrents of the Red Sea. Forever, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would now be the God who “…delivered His people from the house of Egypt.” This God acts on behalf of His people. This God liberates His people. One might even go so far as to suggest that liberating is not merely what God does but who God is.
As we read Paul’s letter to Philemon privately in 2022, his brilliance may be lost on us. It is most likely that the first ever reading of this letter addressed to Philemon would have been conducted in a large communal setting. Paul’s seemingly private petition to liberate the slave Onesimus from subjection could never have been kept private. One can imagine that Philemon’s peers would have cocked their heads in his direction after this letter was read to its completion. Their question: “How would Philemon respond?” Would he harden his heart and establish a Pharoah-Egypt-Israel situation all over again, or would he set his slave free – thus setting an example for Christian communities everywhere? Figuratively, the whole world was watching.
The answer to that question is never provided for us. But we ourselves might be left wondering that same thing Philemon had been 2000 years ago when eyes rested heavy upon him: “How will I act when the world is watching?” Perhaps it might be worthy for us to pray that all our actions in this world were conducted with this hypothetical in mind. How might we treat one another if our selfish desires were readily visible as what they were? How might our leaders behave if they understood that their actions set a precedent for others? How might nations reconcile with other nations if they comprehended the countless individuals who have bestowed their trust to them? Whether we like it or not, sometimes great decisions are left to bear upon single individuals. Perhaps it might be our greatest act of liberation to pray that men like Philemon know how to act when indeed, the whole world is watching.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Closing Prayer
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.
