Seeing Clearly

“Seeing Clearly”

Rev. Stephen Milton
Lawrence Park Community Church,
September 7, 2025
Letter to Philemon
How many of you use reading glasses? Can I see a show of hands, please? Can I ask,
when did you start needing reading glasses? How many were under 20? Ok. Under
40? How many started needing them when you were in your forties? Right, that’s most
of you over 40. And that’s natural. Most people in their forties start losing their ability to
focus on close objects. This has been true for millennia. Fortunately, back in the 13th
century , eye glasses were invented. This extended the reading life of people who in 1
former times would not have been able to read or write anymore. This simple bit of
technology has helped make mass literacy possible, and to make old age much more
enjoyable.
But what was it like before eyeglasses were invented? How did someone in Christ’s
time read and write in their forties? We know from Roman records that there were
many people in this age group who led very successful lives, writing books and reading
them. But how did they do it?
The answer is that they relied on educated enslaved people. Scribes and readers. We
usually think of enslaved people as working in the fields and working as domestics
inside the house. But, there was also educated slaves, who were chosen as children to
learn to read and write. They were trained to take dictation, and read books out loud to
their owners. This was the way most business was done. If you think back to the age
before computers, few business people wrote their own letters, they were often
dictated to secretaries. The Romans did that, too, but to a far greater degree.
This has interesting implications for our faith. Jesus died when he was in his early 30s.
Most of his disciples were in their twenties or older. But the gospels weren’t written
down until 40 and fifty years later. That means that the eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life were
too old to read and write, since they would have been in their sixties, and suffering
from failing eyesight . So how did they do it? They relied on enslaved people to take 2
dictation, and read to them other small accounts of Christ’s life. The gospels we have
know were most likely written down by enslaved people.3

https://www.college-optometrists.org/the-british-optical-association-museum/the-history-of- 1
spectacles
Candida Moss, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible, (New 2
York 2024), 65-6.
Moss, 93. 3

That is the argument of Candida Moss, who has written a
fascinating book called God’s Ghostwriters. In it, she shows that
the Romans usually relied on scribes who were enslaved to write
down pretty much everything. They took dictation in shorthand,
and then filled it out later.

If this seems unlikely, consider Paul’s letters. At the end of his letter to the Romans, we
find this line :
I Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. ( Romans 16:22)
Paul dictated his longest and most famous letter to an enslaved person named Tertius.
He took it down in shorthand, then expanded it later. Candida Moss suggests that
some of the original turns of phrase we hear in the gospels and Paul’s letters may
actually have been written by enslaved people . In fact, she suggests that the Gospel 4
of Mark may be named after the slave who wrote it all down for Peter.5
The fact that slaves worked as scribes was so common that in today’s letter, Paul has
to make a point of saying that he wrote this letter on his own, in his own hand. Why
would he say that? Because this letter is asking for a slave to be set free. That is
exactly what a slave might say in a forged letter. So, Paul makes a point of writing this
letter himself. This may explain why it is so short. He’s not used to writing his own
letters, and his handwriting may be awful. So he keeps it short and to the point.
His letter is written to Philemon, a fellow Christian and slave owner. It sounds like Paul
converted him, and is his spiritual father. In this letter, Paul is subtly and no so subtly
asking Philemon to free his slave, so he can be a free citizen. Paul clearly sees this as a
way of more fully realizing Onesimus’ humanity. This would be the right thing to do.
Paul could just give the command and force him to free Onesimus. But he doesn’t. He
wants Philemon to make the decision on his own. He is hoping Philemon will rise to a
higher moral standard that he usually occupies.
There’s a note of condescension in Paul’s voice, like a parent talking to an older
teenager. Parents often find themselves in Paul’s position. Children require a lot of
Moss, 70. 4
Candida Moss, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible, (New 5
York 2024), 65-6.

training to become adults. At first, adults must instruct them very clearly on what’s
allowed and what isn’t. As children get older, we try to teach them the principles that lie
behind the rules. We don’t leave leftovers on the counter because the food will spoil
and attract bugs. So, please put it away. For a long time, children see chores as simply
external rules and regulations they must follow, which they would happily ignore if left
to their own devices.
But, as children get older, there is a tipping point. One day, a parent may come home
to find that not only has a child cleaned up the kitchen, but they have done something
extra. Perhaps they cleaned the fridge, too. Or, they took out the recycling without
being asked. Maybe, in addition to mowing the lawn, they did some weeding. Or
maybe, just maybe, they cleaned their room, and even cleaned the bathroom a bit,
even though it wasn’t their turn.
This doesn’t always happen, some kids leave home never doing anything extra. They
may learn to serve the common good when they are living with roommates, or when
they move in with a lover. But at some point, children become adults when they see the
collective good and act on it, without having to be told or commanded. This is a key
step to achieving maturity. They move from acting based on commands, to acting
based on their concern for the public good.
But this approach to ethical action becomes more complicated at a societal level.
Imagine that there is a busy street corner in a neighbourhood. Drivers come to a four
way intersection. To be safe, they should slow down, look both ways and proceed. But
in practice, some people are not so careful, and there are accidents, perhaps even a
pedestrian or cyclist is hit. Personal will alone is not consistent enough for the corner
to be safe.
So a second stage appears. Neighbours get together to discuss the problem. They
decide that for the good of everyone, stop signs are needed. They lobby the City to put
one in. So, the will to protect the common good is translated into law, in the form of a
stop sign. It’s no longer up to each driver to stop, they must obey the stop sign. Public
Will has become public command.
This balance lies behind most of the laws and regulations we live by. Seatbelts, traffic
lights, food labels listing ingredients, health and safety regulations - most were inspired
by public concern over accidents and deaths, which led to laws. Public concern led to
legal commands.
But we are now living in a time when many people feel that we are overburdened with
laws and state regulations. People feel like their personal freedom has been
overwhelmed by rules and policies. Conservative governments usually argue that there
is too much red tape, slowing down the exercise of personal and public enterprise. The
Ontario government argued that it was city rules and regulations which were slowing
down the building of new houses and apartments.

In Florida last week, the state announced children would no longer be required to get
vaccinated to go to school. Now it will be up to parents whether their children are 6
vaccinated. At the federal level, Washington is reducing the power of many
departments, from the Environmental Protection Agency to the IRS.
We are witnessing a shift between public will and legal command. This process is also
at work in Canada.
Mark Carney’s first act as Prime Minister was to get rid of the carbon tax. He is now
proposing the construction of more pipelines so our gas and oil can be sold and burnt
in other countries. That will mean more jobs, but also more carbon in the air.
If Canadians want a cleaner environment, it will be up to us as individuals to use less
gas and less electricity. We will not be commanded to drive less by higher gas prices.
It seems the public mood is shifting, asking for less government regulation and more
personal discretion for how we live. But there is a risk here. When command gives way
to personal will, it makes a big difference how we perceive ourselves. If we dismantle
government oversight so we can act like selfish teenagers, society and the
environment as a whole will suffer. It matters whether we see our personal will as
simply being about us, or whether we also have a concern for the public good. If we
take away the stop signs, the onus is on us to slow down anyway for the good of
everyone else.
So how do we insure that our personal choices result in public good? Paul gives us an
indication in his letter to Philemon. He is writing about Philemon’s slave, Onesimus. It’s
not a real name. It means “useful” in Greek . Slaves didn’t have birthdays or shoes, or 7 8
real names, they were treated as nobodies who could be ordered around. But Paul tells
Philemon that he loves Onesimus. This “nobody” is now loved like Paul’s own son. He
says this in hope Philemon will free this adopted son.
Paul shows us how to inspire a compassionate will. Invoke love. Make faceless
nobodies into somebodies. It is like he is asking Philemon to put on ethical eyeglasses.
To see this slave as a real person, full of potential. To us, this can mean seeing
strangers as family members. To see the person in the other car as a full human being,
with a family, with every right to live a full life, like we do. So that even without a stop
sign, or a law demanding obedience, we act ethically. To see people who suffer across
town or across the world as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. In African
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/florida-surgeon-general-says-state-will- 6
eliminate-vaccine-mandates-rcna228835
The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 4th edition, p.2101, note f. 7
Sandra R Joshel, Slavery in the Roman World, ( Cambridge, 2010), 43. 8

nations, respected strangers can be called auntie and uncle. Treating nobodies as
beloved somebodies is how personal will can become a desire for public good without
commands.
Will we act ethically without laws to force us to do so? Or will we elect governments
who we will demand enact laws to constrain our behaviour? That is up to us, as long
as we live in a democracy. So, we must think carefully about our power, and what it
means to live ethically, in that balance between will and command.
Tradition tells us that Onesimus was set free, and he later became a prominent bishop.9
So Paul may have been right. This former slave became a blessing to many, more
useful in freedom than he ever was as a slave. May we draw on our faith to improve our
vision. To see more clearly, and demand that society show more care for citizens and
the planet. All this we ask in the name of the one who said “I am the Light” - the light
which permits us to see more clearly than we could on our own. Amen.