Philemon

How many of you had brothers and sisters growing up? When I was growing up it seemed that my sister and I were always fighting about something. That is the way it is with siblings. But at the same time we were always there for each other. When push came to shove the fact that we were brother and sister would override any rivalry.

Sometimes brothers and sisters hurt one another. But in the end they are family. Their basic love can often overcome and heal the hurts of the past.

That is the way it is in the family of God.

The book of Philemon is the shortest book of the Bible. If you don't get a thing out of my sermon this morning at least you managed to read whole book of the Bible in church today. It may be short but it is unique. It conveys an important message for Christian living. It is a personal letter written by Paul to Philemon a member of the church in Colossae. Onesimus, Philemon's slave, had run away. Paul is writing to urge Philemon to take Onesimus back.

But why? If I were Paul I would have told Onesimus to head north and not stop until he got to Canada. Slavery in the Roman Empire was not racially based as in America. But it was still slavery.

We don't know the whole story. Had Philemon mistreated Onesimus? Had Onesimus sold himself to Philemon and now refused to fulfill his promise to serve him? Had Onesimus caused some other financial loss to Philemon?

We don't know the whole story. But we do know Paul's response. Paul the Apostle could have appealed to his authority as an Apostle and ordered Philemon to take Onesimus back. But instead Paul appeals to something deeper. He appeals to family.

In this short 25 verses, he uses the word "brother" four times and the word "father" twice. Paul appeals to Philemon not as the master of a slave or as an employer of a servant. He appeals to him as the brother of Onesimus. And based on this relationship Paul urges Philemon should forgive the hurts of the past so that they can forge a new relationship as brothers in Christ

You see the relationship of Philemon and Onesimus is a case study in the family of God. Once we are engaged in a relationship with God in Christ, he changes all or other relationships. Society may say that some have higher social status and some lower. But the Spirit of God says we are all children of the same Father. In Romans and Galatians Paul says that the Spirit inspires is to call "Abba," "Father." We are children of the same Heavenly Father.

In the social structure of the Roman Empire, Philemon was a wealthy merchant while Onesimus was a slave. The structure of their society dictated certain distances be maintained. Philemon was supposed to lord it over Onesimus. He had every right to punish even beat Onesimus for running away. We was legally and socially obligated to treat Onesimus as property.

But their relationship to God changed all that. Paul tells Philemon to receive Onesimus not as a wayward slave or a disobedient servant. He called Philemon to receive him as a brother. Brothers may fight and disagree and hurt one another, but the always have each other back.

God is our Father, Christ is our brother, and we are sisters and brothers in the Spirit. Sometimes we fuss and fight and hurt one another. But maybe I have it all wrong. Maybe we Christians are always sensitive and respectful to one another. Maybe none of you have ever been hurt by a brother of sister in Christ. Maybe none of you have ever had a personality conflict or falling out with a fellow Christian, but I suspect you have. Sometimes sibling rivalries are complicated by the structures of the society we live in. Or society says that there are certain ways that rich and poor and employers and employees and white collar and blue collar and jocks and nerds and any other social categories are supposed to act.

But the Spirit reveals to us another reality. We are all brothers and sisters. We are children of the same Heavenly Father. You know sometimes when we speak of relatives we speak differently about those who married into the family. Melissa has a brother called Ricky and her sister married a Ricky. To tell them apart they refer to our Ricky or Renee's Ricky. But we are all blood relatives. We are related by blood: the blood of Christ that redeemed us all.

So I appeal to you to be reconciled - to embrace one another in Christian love. I could command you as your pastor. But I will appeal to a much higher authority. I appeal to you as brothers and sisters. By the love of God in Christ, embrace your brothers and sisters. Then come to the family table.

Luke 14:25-33

We all want to be near Jesus. A cousin of mine once told me a story about her niece. This niece is about 2 and a half years old. She was eating a lollypop in the car when she bit off a piece of the lollypop. Her aunt told her to be careful or she might choke. She could tell from the girl's silence that she didn't know what "choke" meant so she told the little girl, "When you choke you can't breathe and you could die." Not being sure the niece knew what "die" means she went on, "and go be with Jesus." The little girl's face lit up and she said, "Oh! I want to be with Jesus!!"

We all want to be with Jesus. So we come to this place we call God's house. We feel closer to Jesus when we gather with other Christians on a special day. Wherever two or more gather in Jesus' name he is there among them. We feel closer to Jesus when we take the chance to talk with him and hear the stories of him from the Bible. I am sure you have all heard the hymn "Tell me the Stories of Jesus." It says, "Tell me the stories of Jesus. I long to hear, things I would ask him to tell me if he were here." The second verse goes, "First let me hear how the children stood round his knee, and I shall fancy his blessing resting on me." Like the author of that hymn, we too want to hear the stories of Jesus. The things we would ask him to tell us. But the first story we want to hear is how children gathered around Jesus' knee to hear him tell his stories. We want to hear that one first because we believe that when we come here we are the children of God gathered at Christ's knees awaiting the blessing of his gracious love.

We want to be near Jesus and be blessed by his presence, but sometimes we aren't aware of the cost. We want to be with Jesus, but we don't want to die to get there. Like that little girl we don't realize the full import of what we are saying when we say, "I want to be with Jesus!"

The people in Bible times were no different from the way we are. Many of them wanted to be near Jesus. Like us they wanted to feel the blessing of God's love and presence resting on them. Our reading from Luke begins, "Now large crowds were traveling with him." At times the multitude would get so large that it would press upon him. These people may not have completely understood who Jesus was. They hadn't become aware that He was the son of God. But they knew he was sent by God and that he was at least a prophet. So they sought to be near him.

As these "large crowds traveled with him;" Jesus turned to them to speak to them. This is probably what they had all been waiting for. Maybe he will tell us how to find the Kingdom of heaven. Maybe he will tell a story that will enlighten us and help us see God. Surely his words will bless all who hear. And that is what Jesus did. He enlightened them and blessed them, but it wasn't quite what they expected.

Jesus said, "Whoever comes to me, and does not hate father and mother, wife(or husband), and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even life itself, cannot be my disciple." But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to say, "Whoever does not bear their own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Now if you ask me Jesus wasn't a very good P.R. man. From the world's point of view, this was a public relations disaster. Jesus had thousands of people literally had them eating out of his hands at times. So what does he do. He tells them something that would scare most people away. Remember these people had seen crucifixions before. To them a cross was not a pretty decoration. It was an instrument of torture.

Why did Jesus say such harsh things to the multitudes, all they wanted was to be his followers. He said it because he loved them. He loved them and he wanted to warn them about what they were getting themselves into. This passage is a warning to all who would follow Jesus. Following Jesus means giving up all our other allegiances and placing God's will first. It means considering the Gospel more important than our own lives.

So Jesus told this crowd of people to count the cost of following him. He said, "Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, to see whether there is enough to complete it? Otherwise, when the foundation is laid and the tower cannot be finished, all who see it begin to mock saying, 'this person began to build, and was not able to finish.'" Those of you in business, don't you count the cost of an investment before you make it. Those of you who are homemakers, don't you examine the household finances before buying a major appliance or investing in a new house to make sure that it is within the household budget. In other words, you count the cost. That is what Jesus is telling all people who wish to follow him then and now: Count the cost of being a disciple because as verse 33 says, "none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions."

The cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is high. It was high for many in the early church. The people in that crowd Jesus addressed were mostly Jews. Judaism was more than a religious affiliation, it was a way of life, an identity. At one point believers in Christ were not allowed to enter the Synagogues any more they were thrown out as heathens. Some were even disowned by their families because of their new allegiance. Many of the early Christians were Greeks. It was also a sacrifice for them to become Christians. For them citizenship in the city included worship of the gods of that city. So some people were thrown out of their city - they were deported from their own home town. They were also accused of being atheists because they did not believe in the gods. Many of the early Christians were killed because they refused to say "Caesar is Lord."

Can you imagine your family today telling you "If you join that Church don't ever bother setting foot in this house again." That would be a hard choice to make. In this passage Jesus is telling us that if we want to follow him, we have to put him first and nothing else even family and possessions. We must love Christ more than life itself. This is Jesus' warning to us: If we want to follow him we must put him above family and life itself.

So what are the costs of being a disciple today? Surprisingly it is much the same as it was 2000 years ago. Oh of course no one is waiting to kill us for coming here to worship this morning. None of our families will disown us for being Christians. Yet Jesus still tells us that we have to renounce all things to be his disciples.

How is that spelled out for each of us? That is a question that each of us needs to answer for ourselves. For some it may mean giving up some long accepted ideas for the new idea of peace in Christ. For others it may mean giving up old hatreds and prejudices for the Love of God. For some it may mean letting their career take a back seat to important relationships to family or the Church. For some even today it may mean breaking with traditions of family or culture. For the "me" generation it means putting Christ's love above personal gratification. For a consumer society it means believing that it is better to give than to receive. For some of us today it may still mean giving up our lives.

We want to be close to Jesus, but Jesus warns us; "If you want to follow me you have to love me more than life itself." What should we do? Maybe we should put up a sign on the side of our church that says "Warning: being a Christian may be hazardous to your health or way of life." Or maybe: "Following Jesus has been shown to cause death to some followers." Some would say that we should stand off at a distance and follow Jesus, but not too closely. In other words we should follow at a safe distance. And many people today try that. They think they can have Jesus in their lives without it changing the way they live or their priorities. But isn't Christ saying that to be his disciples we have to follow closely. So closely that the Romans may grab us and throw a cross on our backs and make us die just as he died. But if we die with Christ we will also rise with Christ, and, sisters and brothers, that profit is worth any cost.

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Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Names are very important. They are more than merely a means of distinguishing between people in a conversation. If that were all they were about numbers would do. But people complain and rightly so if they are treated as merely a number and not a name. Names are personal. They not only labels but expressions of who we are. If you say someone is a Hitler you don't mean that they have the name "H i t l e r" you mean that they are and evil person like the famous leader of Nazi Germany. I an sure before the 20th century the name Hitler had no bad connotations to it. But now it means more In the same vein if you say someone is a Mother Theresa you mean more than they are a mother whose name is Theresa. You mean they are a person who loves and cares for the needy.

Let me tell you story about my name. My full name is Scott Alexander Stevenson. Most people are surprised when they find out that my first name is "Scott" because I always go by "Alex." But my father and sister and aunts and uncles and cousins still call me "Scott." Occasionally I will get a phone call and the person at the other end of the line will ask for Scott Stevenson. If I recognize the voice I know right away it is a relative. If I don't recognize the voice it is usually a salesperson.

This brings us to an important point. Simply knowing what a persons name is not the same as knowing that person by name. Have you ever asked a salesperson an innocent question about their product and before you know it they are on a first name basis with you. Now I am usually a friendly person but there can be something manipulative about that. They are just pretending to know you on a first name basis so that they can sell you something.

So why am I rambling on about names? Because God know us by name. The author of Psalm 139 praises God by saying, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me." Then they go on to describe how God knows them. God has know them in their sitting down and their rising up. In other words God has known them in all their action. God has even know their thoughts from afar off.

I have been married almost ten years now. I probably know Melissa better than I know anyone else. But I still can't read her mind. Maybe this is a "guy" thing, but sometimes I think she is almost able to read my mind. But the Psalmist declares that God knows what he is going to say even before the words are formed.

And God's knowledge is not limited by time. Even before we existed God knew us. Even when we were being formed in our mother's womb God knew us entirely. God knew us because God was the one knitting us together as a Mother lovingly knits booties for a baby. It even says that before we were created God had written our days in a book. God's knowledge of us is so awesome that we mere humans are unable to fathom it.

It doesn't surprise me that God called Samuel by name. The Bible tells us that the chief priest Eli and his sons had stopped listening to God. As a result the people were wandering away. But the temple servant boy Samuel was ready to hear. And God knew more than Samuel's name. The Bible tells us that it was by a miracle of God that Samuel had been born.

God knew Samuel inside and out. He knew that Samuel was one who could listen and convey his message to the people. The Sons of Eli would not and Eli was too old to carry on by himself so God called Samuel. The Bible says that Samuel was attending the flame in the temple when God spoke. That flame like the flame on our altar candles was a reminder of the presence of God. So he was doing basically the same kind of thing that our acolytes do.

One night God spoke calling "Samuel, Samuel." It is no surprise that Samuel thought it was Eli speaking. Eli had been like a father to Samuel taking care of him and helping him grow. God's voice must have sounded like the voice of a loving Father. God knew Samuel like a loving father and called him by name.

This same God, who knows us by name, is the God that Nathanael encountered in Jesus. Philip, who had met Jesus just the day before came to Nathanael and said, "I have found the one. The one that the prophets has said was coming - the Messiah - Jesus of Nazareth." Nathanael was a little doubtful. I mean you know what they say about Nazareth - that nothing Good comes from there. But Nathanael went to see this Jesus fellow anyway.

And when he arrived he was surprised that Jesus already knew him. Jesus knew him by name. He not only knew what his name was, but Jesus knew the kind of man Nathanael was. He was an Israelite without guile. He was a true Israelite: one who truly looked for the coming of the Messiah and strove to be an example to the nations. And their was no deceit in his heart. But that wasn't all. Jesus even knew where he had been before Philip came to him.

"How could this be?" Philip thought. Then maybe he remembered a song from the synagogue. "O Lord you have searched me and known me, you know my going out and my coming in." And in a instant he knew Jesus must be from God because he knew him as deeply as God. And Nathanael said, "Truly you are the Son of God."

God know you by name. Your Heavenly Father has searched you an known you. God knows your comings and your goings - your ups and downs. God is intimately acquainted with your way of thinking. God even knows what you are going to say before you say it. Now that's scary. The Almighty is aware of things about me that are so dark that I even hide them from myself. I'm afraid that if others knew me like God knows me they would hate me. But God still loves me. In fact God calls me the serve just as God called Samuel. Each day God calls "Scott, Scott." Not as a mere friends but as a close relative, a Heavenly Father.

God knows you and God calls you by name too! God has searched you and known you. God knows when you come and go. God is even intimately acquainted with what you think. Don't you think it's about time you got to know God - To search out and know God? Don't you think it's about time that you became acquainted with God's comings and goings. And while you are doing that take a lesson from Philip and introduce God to a friend so they can get to know him too!

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