Thursday, November 12, 2020

 Memorial of Saint Josephat, Bishop and Martyr

(Philemon 7-20; Luke 17:17-25)

Considering how offensive it is to human dignity, we wonder why slavery was practiced for such a long time.  Only in the last two hundred and fifty years has slavery been delegalized.  Still today illegal slavery is practiced, especially of young girls in the sex trade and of young boy soldiers.  Almost two thousand years ago St. Paul pleaded on behalf of a slave to his master.  His message is recorded in today’s first reading, but it does not condemn slavery as we might expect.

Paul obviously finds slavery offensive, or he would not ask for the slave Onesimus’ freedom.  He likely sees slavery as a social evil that must be tolerated because it cannot be dismantled.  But for Paul in the Church slavery is of little consequence.  He writes in various places that in Christ “there is neither slave nor free person.”  That is, Christians are to love everyone so that the problematic master-slave relationship loses much of its aversion. Paul will even find a positive aspect to slavery when the master is truly beneficent.  Thus, he calls himself a “slave of Christ Jesus.”

We should take care not to slavishly bow to human authority.  Christ has enlightened us with the Holy Spirit.  We have to address specific issues with the general guidance of the Church and the grace from reflecting on the gospel.  Doins so, we will be acting in the freedom Christ won for us.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Memorial of St. Martin of Tours

(Philemon 7-20; Luke 17:20-25)

The Letter to Philemon differs from other Pauline letters in the New Testament in several ways. It is the shortest of the letters – so short that the editor several centuries ago did not divide it into chapters. Also, it is the only canonical letter which all scholars agree was genuinely written by St. Paul directed to an individual. Finally, the letter involves one specific issue – the acceptance of Onesimus back into Philemon’s household. Despite its brevity and specificity, we are wise to consider this letter well because, as one scholar maintains, “Philemon’s problem” is “the problem of any believer.”

Onesimus is a runaway slave who Paul has instructed in the Christian faith. Now Paul is sending him back to his master with the appeal that he be accepted as “a brother.” What does he mean here? Paul is at least suggesting that that Philemon not punish Onesimus for his flight. He is also hinting that Philemon set Onesimus free. Of course, even the first request might create trouble for Philemon. Slaves’ misconduct was expected to be punished to deter further transgression of rules. And if Philemon were to set Onesimus free, his other slaves would likely beat the same path to Paul’s door so that they too might gain liberty.

Fortunately, the institution of slavery barely exists today. But still Christians are plagued by the dilemma of what to do when contemporary norms conflict with moral principles. Should we fight in a war that our government starts with a preemptive strike? Should we vote for a political candidate with many excellent credentials except that she legitimizes abortion? Should we shop at stores which do not give employees health insurance? Scripture provides us no easy answers to these questions just as Paul gives Philemon no clear directive. We should, however, search for the right thing to do just as Paul expects Philemon to consider Onesimus a brother.

Homilette for Thursday, July 16, 2009

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Exodus 3:13-30; Matthew 11:28-30)

For good reason people do not want to be slaves. African slaves in America often experienced cruel brutality along with arduous labor. Contemporary slavery exploits women and children who become sex objects for rapacious men.

But what if a so-called slavery offers a greater freedom than that of being one’s own master? Might it not then be acceptable? Might we not want to submit ourselves to it? In mind here is not just free will to do what we believe is right but the ability to act with perfection in every situation. This freedom would be the equivalent to act in daily life with the grace of a Nadia Comaneci on the parallel bars or of Van Cliburn at the piano.

In the gospel today Jesus offers such a slavery. He invites us to exchange our inclination to sin for an attachment to himself. He does not use the term “slavery,” of course, but speaks of a “yoke.” In biblical language, however, a yoke -- which fastened oxen together for work in the fields -- is considered a metaphor for slavery. Jesus wants us to leave our sinfulness behind in order to make a firm commitment to him. He will then send us his Holy Spirit to bring us to grace-filled perfection.

Homilette for Thursday, July 17, 2008

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Matthew 11:28-30)

For good reason people do not want to be slaves. African slaves in America often experienced brutality along with arduous labor. Contemporary slavery exploits women and children who become sex objects for rapacious perverts.

But what if slavery offered a greater freedom than that of not being owned by anyone? Might it not then be acceptable? What if slavery under one person meant freedom from all other sources of domination – internal or external? Might we not want to submit ourselves to it? In mind here is not just free will to do what we believe is right but the ability to act with perfection in every situation. This freedom would be the equivalent in daily life of the freedom of an Olympic gymnast on the parallel bars or that of a virtuoso pianist at the keyboard.

In the gospel today Jesus offers such slavery. He invites us to exchange our willingness to sin for slavery to himself. He does not use the term “slavery,” of course, but speaks of a “yoke.” In biblical times, however, a yoke -- which fastened oxen together for work in the fields -- was considered a metaphor for slavery. Jesus wants us to leave behind our sinfulness in order to make a firm commitment to himself. He will send then send us his Holy Spirit to bring us to perfection. Is his offer not something that we should seriously consider?