Liberation by forgiveness

 Forgiveness, as the ultimate expression, is (or should be) the action identifying a Christian. The theology of what we profess as little Christ is based on the forgiveness offered by Christ through the life [and not only the sacrifice] of His son, Jesus, and also through the forgiveness we offer to others, perhaps as a sign of the understanding of that forgiveness received.

Paul, the Apostle, according to whom our Bibles state is the author and co-author of thirteen New Testament epistles, wrote a letter to a man we know as Philemon. This epistle is the third smallest in the New Testament, and despite being so short, its message of forgiveness is gigantic. 

But, before addressing its message, let us recall that episode in which Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement about taking John Mark (Acts 15; 36-40), who, on a previous trip, had deserted them (Acts 13; 13). On their new Journey, according to Acts fifteen, these two fellow travelers/ministers, Paul and Barnabas, disagreed on separating over a person because it did not seem right to Paul to take the one who had already deserted them once. I find surprising, then, this statement of Paul in his second epistle to Timothy, where he declares: "Get Mark and bring him with you because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” (2 Tim 4; 11).

Tradition points to the fact that the man mentioned in Acts 13; 13 and 15; 37 is the same person as the one mentioned by Paul in the second epistle to Timothy. Furthermore, it is also understood that this man, John/Mark, is the gospel author, according to Mark, which is also the firstborn of the gospels according to tradition. Having stated the above, a question arises: what happened during the time in Paul's mind and/or life to go from separating from his traveling/ministry companion to asking Timothy to please take him with him, that he is helpful for the ministry? Like many other occasions in the Bible, this seems wild to me.

The first thing that happened was time; the second thing I think happened internally, or externally-I don't know about that-was forgiveness. I find it hard to understand such a radical change from arguing about what a third party did to separating from a colleague/friend to one day seeing that same person as necessary for the ministry. And this is where Philemon's gun takes on another value. It is the final reflection I want to share: I leave the reading from Philemon as a reminder of the incarnation of the work of Jesus in a practical way in our daily lives. Additionally, I ask: Did Paul write this epistle to Timothy before or after the Second epistle? I do not know for sure, and tradition is divided as to the order in which the epistles were written. I assure you that an epistle like the one to Philemon is not written without experiencing the most profound and authentic forgiveness. And here we have two lines of work: Either Paul had experienced forgiveness in his particular situation with John/Marcos and to Philemon, he writes from the experience of forgiveness; or the epistle to Philemon somehow leads him to make a reflection that ends up taking him to his own experience of forgiveness with someone close and loved who made a mistake.

In either case, I find a definite conclusion: as the little Christs we are in theory when we call ourselves Christians, the preaching of forgiveness means nothing if we are not transformed by the liberating experience of forgiveness from our Father. We live it either by needing or offering forgiveness to/from our neighbor. My point is that the letter to Philemon is beautiful, transforming, and challenging, but it would be worthless if Paul's life did not reflect its message. The pulpits have been filled with ethically correct preaching that does not reflect anyone's life. Philemon was fortunately not that case.