Christ Shows Us the Way

Sunday, September 7, 2025, Proper 18, Year C, RCL, Track 2 Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Psalm 1, Philemon 1-21, Luke 14:25-33

Guardian Angel Painting

Life; it’s amazing, it's fun, it’s difficult, and frustrating. Every one of us has experienced life’s ups and downs. But “Hate life itself?” Speaking for myself, sure at moments, but not generally. Life is pretty good. How about hating father, mother, wife, and children? As a child, there were times when I despised my parents, especially when I got in trouble for something I thought was unfair. But overall, life is pretty good, even with my family.

I find “hate” to be a strong word. An emotion that comes from the primal inner being, somewhere within each of us. So, when do I feel deep resentment, hate, or other negative feelings? For me, it often stems from a lack of equality and fairness. Being ignored or given the run around. Being unable to obtain a straight answer to an important question. And then, when I feel that I do not have control in life. I’d imagine each of us knows what triggers our negative emotions, and control tends to be near the top of everyone’s list.

Thinking about not being in control, what would it be like to be enslaved in chattel slavery, the type of enslavement the Americas and the Spice Islands imposed? An enslaved person would have little control over anything in life. They were property. They were bought, sold, and given as an inheritance. They could be beaten or killed by their owner without recourse. This sits in contrast to the slavery we find in the Bible, in which enslaved people had rights. They were seen as human beings. Often, they could own property, be responsible for their family, and manage their finances and affairs. Often, there were pathways to freedom. And the enslaved of this time were not enslaved due to the color of their skin. “People became slaves for various reasons, including being prisoners of war, debt bondage, punishment for crimes, or being born into slavery.”^[i] This means that some people sell themselves into bondage as a means of paying off debts, so their family could maintain their current economic status. Most often, they were more like an indentured servant and had more rights than a child or woman.

This is the lens through which we read the letter to Philemon. Philemon is a wealthy Christian who started a house church under the tutelage of Paul. He obviously had slaves, one of whom is Onesimus. Onesimus ran away to help Paul. And today, we find Paul attempting to reconcile Onesimus' release. You can hear the passion of Paul, writing from prison, as to his need for Onesimus. Paul says he will pay whatever debt is owed. (It’s possible that Onesimus sold himself to pay off a debt.) Paul doesn’t see him as a slave but a brother in Christ. This theology is one of the ways Paul appeals to Philemon. Onesimus has been baptized. So, how can you hold him in such a position? Though Paul is much more acquiescent in his approach.

It was common practice in the United States for enslavers to have their enslaved baptized. In fact, it was encouraged by The Episcopal Church. Owners were to ensure the spiritual welfare of the people they enslaved. When we look back through the records of our first rector, from 1867, we find Gideon Perry baptized dozens upon dozens of captive people as Episcopalians while serving Natchez, Mississippi. Unlike the enslaved of antiquity, this means that the slave owners actually owned other Episcopalians. They owned their brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are two types of death: physical and spiritual. We may see them as entirely separate from one another. We know of saints in our lives who have died, and somehow, we know that their spirit lives on. We have likely heard of or met people who seem to care only for themselves. They can be horrid, vile people, and it can be easy to say that they are spiritually dead. None of us are perfect. None of us can predict where we or someone else may exist on this plane of spiritual health. This is precisely what God, speaking through Moses, says to us. “If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God…by loving the Lord your god, walking in [God’s] ways,” then you will flourish. This is prosperity, not monetary in nature; this success is in the growth of the nation. When we love God and each other the way God intends, good things happen because everyone enjoys life. Everyone has a chance to make life better, not only for themselves, but for the nation, not only in this life but in the next.

Moses is talking about the essentials of human-to-divine and human-to-human interactions. Yet we know what happens: the Hebrew people stray from the ways of God, and for them, life on earth falls apart. Maybe this is what we are seeing in our nations. Power and greed take precedence over the poor and needy. Justice is handed down by those who are unjust. And though I am painting with broad brush strokes, we can reign this in and do what we can.

Suppose we choose people to lead us who have incredible business acumen but no heart for people. In that case, our nation will follow in a similar direction, toward destruction. There is a balance in life. There is a balance between what an individual can do and what a group can do. There is a balance between justice and equality. There is a balance between our sinful nature and our love for the Lord. Yet we have a choice to tip this balance from sin to love, from equality to equity, from self-interest to respect for all, from slave and free, to all of us being servants of God and to each other.

This is why Jesus says if we come to him, we must hate father, mother, wife, children, and life itself. For it is through this passion, through the recognition that we and the world can be so much better. That we carry the burden of the cross; carry the burden that Christ took upon himself—carrying a burden that makes us and the world better through the actions we do. God is with us every step of the way. God is waiting for us to turn to him, in thought, word, and deed. And the best way to move toward God is through Christ. Christ shows us the way; the way to treat others; the way to live life, the way of justice and freedom that leads to righteousness and life eternal.

^[i] Scientific Origin: https://scientificorigin.com/whats-the-difference-between-chattel-slavery-and-ancient-slavery 9/4/2025