To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2to Apphia our sister,* to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house:

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1 Communication 201 ( 心心相印 ) By Rev. Sharon Lee MacArthur For Berkeley Chinese Community Church September 4, 2016 Kick Off/All Church Bilingual Communion Sunday (This sermon was delivered in English & translated by Mrs. Vivian Yee images are from the slideshow.) Philemon Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,* To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2to Apphia our sister,* to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon s Love and Faith 4 When I remember you* in my prayers, I always thank my God 5because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus. 6I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we* may do for Christ. 7I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother. 8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9yet 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.* 10I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful* both to you and to me. 12I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, 16no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 One thing more prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you. 23 Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, * 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow-workers. 25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. * * * * * * Would you believe - I m still trying to get my home office organized! There are still unpacked boxes in my office that I moved there from my church office 2 ½ years ago! In one of the boxes I was unpacking I found a little sign that was posted on the wall behind my desk at Sycamore. Page 1 of 6

2 On the sign is printed God works in mysterious ways! But there was an edit the insertion of the word ALSO - it made me chuckle. This sign was posted under two clocks above this sign The one on your left is a typical simple wall clock it says 10:10! The one on the right is also a simple wall clock; but its numbers go around in a counter clockwise direction - opposite the traditional way. It, too, says 10:10! - Both clocks work perfectly fine, - they both tell the correct time, - they both keep accurate time. - the only thing is that everything on the clock on the right is counter to what we are used to...it tells time in its own way! The atypical clock works in a mysterious way. That s why the sign makes me smile. It reminds me that just like that non normal clock, God works in mysterious ways. So - for me - these two clocks challenged me every day for 13 years while I was serving at Sycamore. I was challenged to look for God in unexpected places to look for God working in unexpected ways.today s scripture reading is definitely a God works in mysterious ways kind of story. Here is Paul writing another letter. Remember Paul? He was once a persecutor of Christians when his name was SAUL. He became blind and was healed with divine Page 2 of 6

3 intervention by Ananias. This transformed Saul into Paul, an evangelist for Jesus. He traveled throughout the ancient world establishing churches. - He became one of the persecuted - He spent a lot of time in prison and wrote letters to the churches he had founded. - He encouraged and advised these churches through letters that we know as the epistles in the Bible. Today s letter is from Paul to someone named Philemon. He is asking him to receive his runaway slave as he would receive Paul! WHAT?!?!? Sounds like we better look more closely at this unconventional letter! - The letter is filled with care, compassion and rather unusual friendships. - The letter is to Philemon, - and Onesimus, Philemon s former slave, is delivering the letter. Imagine what s going on in Onesimus mind. How is he ONESIMUS feeling when he approaches his former master s house with Paul s letter? It is understandable if he is full of fear he didn t know how his master is going to receive him and this letter. After all, he s been away for some time slaves were not supposed to leave like that! - His master could beat him, - or sell him - or kill him. He was probably quite fearful as he hands over the letter. Can you imagine what s going on in Philemon s mind? Coming toward him is his former slave the one who he had to do without for a while now. How does he feel when he reads his letter from his very well respected friend - Paul. He must be asking himself - Paul wants me to do WHAT? Let me just say - Paul is very good at writing letters and this letter is a diplomatic masterpiece. Paul knows how to sell his point. Paul uses holy flattery he talks about Philemon s love and faith Page 3 of 6

4 -- he tells him how he (Paul) has been encouraged by Philemon s love -- and how he has helped the saints Then Paul asks that Philemon takes his old slave back, and he asks him for something more. He asks that the former slave master welcome his former slave as he would welcome him Paul - as a beloved brother or a best friend! Paul said he will repay whatever Onesimus owes him. Paul wants him to set his slave, Onesimus, free. As if to make sure that Philemon does as Paul asked him to, Paul invites himself over. Philemon, he said, get the guest room ready I m coming. OMG as my kids say when they can t believe something! PHILOMEN Can t you just imagine Philemon s look on his face? Paul, you want me to do what? To set my former slave free? This is a huge request. - Don t you realize the financial cost? - I paid good money for this slave - Don t you know the personal cost? - I ve had to make do without him all this time! - and how about the social costs? - I have a reputation in this community! - what will honoring your request do to my standing in this town? Wow this letter is full of courage! Paul doesn t really care about the costs and consequences about his request to Philemon. - Paul appeals to him as a fellow Christian brother. - Paul doesn t follow convention. - Paul is concerned about the human relationships. - Paul sees Onesimus not as a fellow slave but as a fellow Christian brother. - Paul sees him as a person. - He places people over principle. For Paul, love is more important than following the law. It is the person who counts. Paul is so insynch with Jesus and his priorities. Remember Jesus healing the bent over woman on the Sabbath? By doing that, Jesus was saying that healing people was more important than the rule about working on the Sabbath? To Paul, the person the former slave has become a dear friend. To Paul, Onesimus is a brother in Christ. So to Paul, Philemon - a Christian himself - should treat his former slave with love and respect as well. Paul challenges Philemon to accept Onesimus Page 4 of 6

5 back not simply as a slave but as a fellow believer. And why? Because of Christ s love. This is the love what changed Paul. Paul appeals to Philemon with that same love - because it is love, not power, which can change one relationship at a time. - Because it is love that changes and motivates us! - Love is what changes the world. - Love is more powerful than any other force. - Love is the central message of the Bible. - To act in this love, to live out Christ s love, can sometimes be unconventional, uncomfortable and out of the norm. We are all invited to share that love. The question is can we? Can we set people and relationships before rules, conventions and the norm? It s story time - Imagine this a busy drugstore lots of customers! Among the customers was one young man. He had multiple disabilities. He looked around the store, and suddenly he knelt down in the middle of an aisle and emptied the cans of food from the shelves. He played with the canned food on the floor. He built a tower with all the cans. The clerk came over to see what was going on. He was very annoyed to see what was happening. In a loud voice he ordered the young man to put all the cans back immediately. The young man didn t react. So the clerk called the store manager. The store manager came. The clerk s voice got louder and scolded the young man in a sharp tone. The young man didn t react. Just then a young woman came over. She sat down next to the fellow playing with the cans. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and put her head right next to his. She whispered something in his ear. Immediately the fellow started picking up the cans from the floor and he placed them neatly one after the other back into the shelves where they belonged. The store clerk looked at the manager. The manager looked at the young lady and asked What did you do? Page 5 of 6

6 She said, I am his sister. You see - he doesn't understand when you talk loudly to him like that. I just poured love into him. That is so true, isn t it? There aren t very many people who respond to being scolded, pushed, driven, or harassed. But everyone responds to love. Let us remember this! And let us follow Paul s example and live out Christ s love even if it might be uncomfortable from time to time. Perhaps we might like to respond to Paul today! We can say, Thank you, Paul, for writing this short letter. Thank you for sharing that Christ s love inspired you to address your friend with a rather uncomfortable issue. Thank you for teaching us how to address our friends and loved ones with uncomfortable issues and conversations. Thank you for teaching us the ways of effective communication especially as we begin our New Beginnings conversations! Thank you that your letter to Philemon inspires us to reflect how Christ s love can shape our relationships and communication even if it s uncomfortable, unconventional and involves personal costs. And that, my friends, is our advanced Course on Communications 201. And continuing our counter-to-the-norm theme for today advanced communicating is much simpler than we imagined it s just heart to heart sharing, with and in Christ s love! May we be inspired to share this love at all times in all places with all we encounter! Amen! Page 6 of 6