(prayer)
·
Are
you familiar with the game pictionary? Charades with pictures.
//
Let's play.
Category: movie characters or titles
LION KING
HARRY POTTER
GONE WITH THE
WIND
DIRTY HARRY
·
Pictionary
Process: my eyes > my mind > my hands > your eyes > your mind > your voice. Lots of places for communication to fail.
·
Actions
do not always (almost never) match intentions.
Our best hopes don't always work out perfectly.
·
But...
perfection is over-rated. We can get close and that is good. We can get/give enough of a hint that the
world and hearts can be changed.
//
//
·
The
symbolism within today's reading from Jeremiah is very listener-friendly.
·
The
images of the potter and clay is easily understood. And its message is not hard to grasp. Like
the potter, God can reshape the lives of
the people. The future is not limited to
to past.
·
Of
course, any image or metaphor, is not perfect.
In Jeremiah, the Potter has all of the control. They clay can only respond.
·
People
are not inanimate clay. We have the
ability to shape ourselves - and we do based on:
·
our
desires,
·
our
experiences,
·
our
hopes,
·
our
relationships with others,
·
ours
ethics and morales...
·
The
spiritual question raised by the Jeremiah passage is... do we believe that God
has an influence on the shape of our lives as well? Is part of who are and can become a result of
God's creativity in our lives and our world?
·
Are
we open to the spirit's guidance?
//
//
·
The
spirit guides. That is what the Apostle
Paul was counting on as he wrote a letter for Onesimus to hand deliver to
Philemon.
·
There
is no way to sugarcoat it or whitewash the reality of first century life. The overwhelming dominant interpretation of
the letter's context is that... Onesimus was a runaway slave. He was the legal property of Philemon... who
was a member of one of the churches that Paul had connected in Asia Minor...
very possibly the Collosian Christian Community. It is not clear if Paul had yet visited
Collosae, but he had certainly been in the region (the book of Acts (20:31)
implies that Paul lived in Ephesus for three years and likely made a number of
side trips in that time... Ephesus was about 150km away from Collosae).
·
It
may be that Onesimus ran away after stealing from his master. Paul writes that he is will to cover any
financial debts that the slave owes his master.
·
How
Onesimus wound up with Paul is not all that certain. Perhaps they ended up in the same prison at
the same time (in verse 10, Paul mentions his imprisonment). If that was
the case it would have been an encounter against incredible odds... as it is
generally assumed that Paul is imprisoned in Rome at the time.
·
It
could also be true (and perhaps more likely, that, after running away, Onesimus
intentionally sought Paul out - it is very reasonable that . If that was the case, we might wonder what it
was about Paul (and the gospel he preached) that motivated Onesimus. Perhaps the slave had heard language like
(that in Galations 3) in Christ there is
no slave or free.
·
I
wonder if Onesimus saw Paul as someone who would have supported his decision to
run away. I wonder if it was Onesimus'
intention to work with Paul directly.
·
And...
I wonder how Onesimus reacted to Paul's decision to encourage the slave to
return back to his master... not as a free person, but to resume his life of
indentured servitude.
·
To
me, what is most interesting is that Onesimus agreed to this plan.
//
·
The
letter shows us that Paul (like pretty much everyone in biblical times, including
Jesus) so ingrainly accepts the legitimacy of the institution of
slavery that there is no effort at all to challenge it as a legitimate societal
norm.
·
Paul's
letter explicitly accepts Philemon's rights as a slave owner. Even though Paul valued Onesimus' company as
a co-worker for Christ, he knows that Onesimus is not free to be Paul's ministry companion.
·
Paul
doesn't tell Philemon what to do about his runaway slave. The Apostle doesn't pull rank. But he does offer some (passive aggressive)
advice.
·
Paul
suggests that Philemon no longer see Onesimus as a slave, but as a fellow
follower of Jesus. Paul proclaims
Onesimus to be his peer, not a subservient.
He asks Philemon to treat Onesimus as Paul would be treated.
//
//
·
Will
the spirit move in Philemon's heart?
·
Liberation
is not only a possibility for Onesimus but for Philemon as well.
//
·
We
are most liberated, when welcome use our free will to set our lives on paths
that follow Jesus' Way. This can be a
challenge for even the most faithful among us.
·
But...
it is part of what living out a faith
is all about.
·
What
is it (in our lives, in our world and society) - that may be so ingrained
within our experience - that needs to be challenged by the gospel of Christ...
or using Paul's language: what the basis
of love is appealing for in our lives together?
·
Look
into your heart.
·
Where
are you being guided?
//
//
Let us pray:
God, you know and love us. Guide us to embrace new visions where justice
and compassion reigns. Amen.
***offering***
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