It is no surprise that one whole book of the Bible - though it does not mention the word itself - is a practical treatise on forgiveness in real time.
The brief Letter to Philemon, which we may hear read tomorrow, is from the Apostle Paul concerning two men who were dear to him. Both were now Christian believers, caught in a situation that could have led to the excruciating death by crucifixion of one of them.
Philemon was a wealthy businessmen who had become a prominent member of the church at Colossae, owning a house that was big enough for the Colossian church to meet in. It was a Roman villa on the grand scale, serviced by a corps of slaves, one of whom, Onesimus, had "done a runner" and made for Rome.
God's providence fetched the runaway up against, of all people, the great apostle himself, through whom he heard of Christ and the gospel. Onesimus rapidly endeared himself to Paul and began to live up to his name (Onesimus = useful) to the extent thatPaul would have happily enrolled him as a member of his missionary team.
However, overshadowing Onesimus's future was his criminality as a runaway slave which exposed him to being seized by vigilante slave-catchers - in which case the alternative fate of life or death would rest solely with Philemon, who knew slaves were often crucified for far lighter offences.
Paul's way out of the impasse was to write imploring Philemon on the basis of what he had written in his Letter to the Ephesians 4:32: "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Philemon was to welcome his runaway slave as a new brother in Christ and to treat with him from now on as Christ had treated Philemon himself.
Scholars have rightly observed that nowhere in the New Testament is slavery denounced. The gospel would have drowned in the blood of a slave insurrection. Paul accepted Philemon's claim on Onesimus, but in one significant phrase transformed the character of the master-slave contract.
"No longer a slave, but a dear brother. . .dear to you both as a man and as a brother in the Lord" (v.16) is how the apostle characterised the transformed relationship between the two. How, then, could a Christian master "own" a brother in Christ in the contemporary sense of the word? Society could not immediately be changed by Christianity without a political revolution - clearly contrary to its Founder's principles - but the Christian master-slave relationship was so transformed from within that it would ultimately be set aside.
Today, people who forgive are seen as weak - though Gordon Wilson, unforgettable and unforgotten, reversed the trend temporarily at Enniskillen - and unforgiving ones are perceived as strong. Taking vengeance is the stuff of films and drama, while lack of forgiveness is perhaps the leading cause of break-ups in family relationships.
For a Christian, unwillingness to forgive is unthinkable and the Letter to Philemon is a potent reminder. Primarily, it is a rebellious, blatant act of disobedience against the God who in Christ has forgiven us.
Unforgiveness locks people in the past, keeping the pain alive. It produces bitterness, which is not just a sin but an infection. It gives Satan an open door into lives, an overlooked reality to which St Paul twice draws attention, in Ephesians 4: 26-27 and 2 Corinthians 2:10-11. Most seriously, it hinders the growth of friendship with the God who has committed himself to ongoing relational forgiveness between believers and himself.
It would not be time wasted to check over the weekend whether there are any festering areas of unforgiveness in our lives. Letters or phone calls seeking healing and restoration might yield great dividends, even in the very short term, and clear the ground for personal spiritual renewal.
Not only Philemon was called to a ground-breaking act of forgiveness. We, likewise, have to sandblast the ugly graffiti of unforgiveness away from our hearts, homes and workplaces, acutely aware of Jesus's logic when he taught: "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Now that is really frightening.
G.F.