When we Repent

Living the Church calendar can be a struggle, to be sure, between having to keep track of the fasting days and feasting days, the services schedules, which readings are assigned to which days. As difficult as it can be, it is that much more difficult to navigate if you do not have a guide. Orthodox cannot be done in isolation.

Today is the Feast of Saint Onesimos, one of the 70 Apostles, and disciples of Saint Paul. He is mentioned directly in the Scriptures as are many of the earliest saints of the Church. He was a slave who had escaped his master and fled to Rome. After becoming a Christian, he was sent back to his master by Saint Paul, but was then given his freedom by Saint Philemon, his former master. You can read briefly about his story here.

The point for today is that freedom is granted not taken. God has given to each of us absolute freedom to live as we choose. Over and over in the Scriptures we hear Christ say, “If you will….” “What do you want?” etc. We have the freedom to follow God, and the freedom to abandon God, but either way we are not on this journey alone.

PAUL, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker, and Apphia our sister and Archippos our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may promote the knowledge of all the good that is ours in Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you – I, Paul, an ambassador and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus – I appeal to you for my child, Onesimos, whose father I have become in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. Perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as 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, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand, I will repay it – to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be granted to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchos, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. – Philemon 1.1-25

Today’s reading is filled with references of those who are in this journey with us, not the lease of which was Saint Onesimos. He was a slave, but he was also a brother, and Saint Paul expected him to be treated with love and respect by the Church, as all were expected to be treated with love and respect. It didn’t matter that Onesimos had escaped, now that he was a brother in the faith.

We also have many brothers and sisters that maybe have not lived as they should. They weren’t slaves, but they may have escaped their responsibilities. In their repentance, they return to us free to live among us as brothers and sisters. Do we accept them, or do we put them off?

Let’s face it. There is nobody among our communities that is not without a history, and that most definitely includes us. The theme this week of looking at our own sins rather than the sins of others, with humility, should be reminder enough to forgive our brothers and sisters, and then restore them to a place of honor in our community. We would want nothing less for ourselves when we repent.