Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Colossians 3:11

When I first read this verse in Colossians, I thought it was so radical. The church must have just torn down all the walls of division and they must have made a vow to strip themselves of any label, free the slaves, empower the women, celebrate the races, and like Acts 2, they must have sold all they had and started an organic farm or something. The reality though is a bit more complicated than that. At the time of this letter Paul was in prison and Epaphras was with him. They sent two people to deliver this letter to the community in Colossae: Tychicus and Onesimus.

Now Onesimus was from Colossae. In fact, he was a runaway slave who had become a Christian. And his master, Philemon, was part of the church in Colossae. Can you imagine the gossip happening when Tychicus and Onesimus rolled into town and were set to preach this letter on the Sabbath? In fact, the book of Philemon in the Bible is basically a reference letter Paul wrote to Onesimus’ owner, Philemon, on Onesimus’ behalf. 

Now things get tricky here. Philemon had the right to kill Onesimus or at least brand his forehead so that he could never escape again. Or he could free him. But that would create another host of problems. If he did so, that could set a precedent to his other slaves: If we just become Christians, Philemon will free us. Philemon could free all his slaves, but that might lead him to poverty. And it might not be the best if a slave was freed, given their social status. It could mean less protection from society. What is the community of Colossae to do? 

Even in my study of Philemon, I am not convinced that Paul is forcing Philemon to free Onesimus. He asks Onesimus to accept him as a brother, like Paul himself. But Paul also knew about the complexities of legally freeing Onesimus. Before we are quick to judge the hesitancy of the church to emancipate, we must know that 10-30% of the Roman Empire were slaves. It was the economic engine for the empire and, in fact, Andrew Nikiforuk argues that oil became the replacement for slavery as the backbone of empire economies. 

Are we able to easily give up our reliance on oil? 

To take it a step further, when I was first introduced to the reality of human trafficking through the Micah Center, there were around 27 million modern-day slaves. Now that estimate is almost double. Look at the clothes you are wearing. Where are they made? Are the workers being paid fair wages? Sometimes, we feel like we are in an impossible situation. We are not sure what is right or wrong.

The next passages of Colossians may cause more confusion. Like other letters, it gives guidelines for masters and slaves as if freedom was not an option nor the norm. What is going on?

Here is what I believe is happening: In God’s community, we do not simply eradicate the divisions which hold us, but we live as though those divisions don’t have a hold on us. In whatever role we have in this life we are called to bear witness to the Kingdom of God in which these divisions do not exist. 

It is not always clear cut, this is right or wrong, but we are called to bear with each other, bear witness to God’s reign, and live a life of love whether you are women or men, privileged or disenfranchised

In contrast to Roman culture, God’s kingdom is different. In a world where the strong suppress the weak, followers of Jesus are called to humble themselves before God and others, especially to those who possess less status and power in society. Paul goes on to list the values of the Kingdom. Love. In the Kingdom, husbands cannot disregard their wives and sleep with others or their slaves. Get rid of anger, abusive words, put on compassion, and kindness. Slaves are encouraged to be kind to their masters and masters must be fair to their slaves. In the reality of Christ, masters are slaves to Christ and slaves are royalty as children of God. Get rid of lying and malice, put on patience and forgiveness. Live as though these distinctions do not exist with Jesus because, in reality, they don’t. Those who have been raised with Christ by the Holy Spirit are called to walk as Jesus did. The greatest of all creation, became the least of all and humbled himself even to the point of the greatest Roman humiliation: the cross. 

Now we are not sure what Philemon did in response to Onesimus. We can only hope he responded in love, which bound both master and slave in perfect unity.

When my mother moved from the provinces of Visayas to Manila, she became a textile worker. In many ways, she was a slave who created consumer goods sent to the ends of the empire. In her situation, she sought to love others, but she also did not simply accept her situation. In her love, she actually worked hard to create a union in the factory. Thankfully, it became a stepping stone for her to come to Canada. Bearing witness to the Kingdom sometimes does create real change in the landscape of this current world. After all, the Kingdom is here by the Spirit of Christ.