Scripture Study for

Wisdom insists that no one can fathom the mind of God; no one can know  God’s will. Yet, we are required to live in accord with that will. The wisdom tradition states that frequently we discover new things about our world and our lives even before we have an understanding of our discoveries. It also acknowledges that there is a dimension to human beings that seeks a wisdom beyond that achieved by reflection on experience alone. The realization of human limitation prompted the author to exclaim that we will attain the wisdom we so sorely seek only if God bestows it upon us. 

Paul’s Letter to Philemon is a personal appeal to Philemon to accept back with no recriminations a slave who had escaped his household and his control.  Though Paul does not criticize slavery itself, he does suggest a way of relating with the slave that will eventually undermine the philosophy that undergirds slavery.  Since he taught that in Christ there are no longer slaves or free persons, but that all are children of God, he relies on Philemon’s own understanding of mutual brotherhood and sisterhood in Christ to transform his attitude toward Onesimus.  Now he challenges Philemon to witness to his own belief in this teaching. 

Jesus explains the cost of discipleship. He insists on three conditions for true discipleship. His followers must subordinate everything to commitment to him,  even the closest family ties. They must also be willing to bear the suffering that following him will entail. The burden will differ from person to person, but the requirement is the same—wholehearted commitment. Finally, they will be called on to relinquish all their possessions. Total commitment to Jesus requires the willingness to give up the comfort and security of a stable family life, as well as the willingness to spend all one has on that venture. Whoever cannot make such a wholehearted commitment cannot be his disciple.