… no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. – Philemon 1:16

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 26, 2015): Philemon 1

We are familiar with these lines from the American Declaration of Independence - We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness … We are familiar with the words, but if we are really honest we have to admit that they don’t really ring true. We live in a world that has been continually marred by class wars; that has seen separation on the basis of cultural ideals and beliefs. India has long been ruled by a caste system, Judaism divides the world into two populations – the Jews and the Gentiles (non-Jews) - and only one population is considered to be favored by God. As much as we want to deny it, slavery still exists in our world. In many areas of the world, the role of women is probably best described as being that of second class citizens (even in my end of the world that struggle for the equality of women is still being fought.) The United States right now is struggling through race issues. And the list could go on – exactly what is it about the idea that all men are created equal that we find to be so self-evident.

But these aren’t the original words. The original document, before it was changed by a committee, was written by Thomas Jefferson and he chose these words for the opening of the line - We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent … I have to admit that I think that I like the original phrase better. It is not that the truth of equality is self-evident, but rather that it is sacred and undeniable.

And that is the import of Paul’s words. It is not that Paul is telling Philemon to free his slave. But he is saying that his relationship with his slave has changed. Onesimus used to be simply a slave – a servant. But now he is a brother, and maybe even more importantly, he is a fellow man. No longer could Onesimus simply be property – he was an individual. And while Paul was not saying that Philemon had to free Onesimus, the reality was that the change in attitude will eventually necessitate the end of slavery – even if we are still waiting for that day to come. It is not that the idea of the equality of the human race is self-evident, but Paul’s message to the slave owner Philemon is that the idea of the equality of the human race is sacred, and because it is sacred is must also be undeniable.

The church must hold this idea of equality to be true. Our nature of the Christian community is based on this idea. Even in the first century, Paul found an equality between himself, a highly educated theologian, Philemon, a rich slave owner, and a run-away slave named Onesimus. The sacred and undeniable truth that Paul had come to be sure of is that they were all equal – and they were brothers. Wherever we find division, the church needs to be the voice that insists that we are all equal, every person who walks this planet with us is a brother or a sister. This is the sacred truth that we must know.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1