Philemon 15, 16  For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave — as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. (CSB)

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Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

(O Holy Night, _One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism_: an African American ecumenical hymnal #267)

As a child, this hymn taught me theology I don’t recall hearing in any sermon. One of the hymnals I grew up with did not include this verse of the song. This fuller transformative power of the Gospel did not settle into my soul until I was in college. 

The state school I attended allowed students to take up to four academic Bible classes for elective credit. The director of one of the Christian organizations on campus taught a class called The Letters of Paul. Each student was asked to select one of the letters as a subject for a research project. I chose Philemon. You may notice its brevity. 

My research paper was, shall we say, thin. It was as thin as the letter itself. The instructor was less than impressed with my sources, argument, and tight writing. She expected at least a few more pages and many more words. 

If she only knew me now. 

She hurt my feelings badly and nearly harmed my GPA when she initially graded my work with a numerical score that barely reached a C. She upgraded me to the lowest possible number for a B after the class discussion on our projects.

My slim resources and tight writing were not the most significant offenses in her reckoning. The problem from her perspective was my lack of focus on the implications of what Paul wrote Philemon about his runaway slave. While I mentioned the meaning of the name Onesimus (Useful) and how Paul mentions in verse 11 that “Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful to you and to me,” I didn’t have much to say about the slave becoming a brother.

I didn’t mention that the ground is level at the cross. 

Slaves and slave owners stand on the same level before the cross. Black-hearted sinners stand on the same level as church-going, respectable sinners. I didn’t drill down on the revolutionary nature of what Paul the Apostle in Chains was saying. I missed the heart of the Gospel for that real-world situation and the ones I face daily. 

It has been forty years since that humiliating day in class when I blushed with the shame of recognition. I have never sung O Holy Night or heard it sung and not remembered the Gospel clarity of that moment. 

Thanksgiving Day is over now. Leftovers aplenty stuff our refrigerator. I am grateful for more than enough than my cup can hold. Even more, I am forever grateful for a humiliating moment where I learned one of Christianity’s cardinal truths. 

Kneel with me before the Lord our God, our Maker. 

Sing with me:

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

—

I will remember just how good the Good News is for everyone everywhere in every state of being. 

—

Our Father, thank you for making the Gospel come alive that day. May it ever be fresh in my heart and mind. Amen.