Jon Michael Spencer - "Neither Slave Nor Freeman" (July 29, 1990)

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	(slow organ music)	0:00
	(joyful organ music)	1:39
	(quick, happy organ music)	3:04
-	Good morning and welcome to the service of worship	5:58
	at Duke University Chapel	6:00
	on this eighth Sunday after Pentecost.	6:02
	We are delighted to be able to worship	6:04
	with each of you this morning,	6:06
	as well as those of you	6:07
	in our radio and television audiences.	6:09
	Our guest preacher for today's service is	6:11
	the Reverend Doctor John Michael Spencer,	6:14
	Associate Professor of Music and Religion	6:16
	in the Department of Popular Culture	6:18
	at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.	6:20
	He has just moved to Ohio from Durham,	6:24
	where he was previously on the Duke Divinity School Faculty	6:27
	as Visiting Assistant Professor of Black Church Studies	6:30
	for the past three years,	6:33
	and on the North Carolina Central University Faculty	6:35
	for several years prior to that.	6:38
	His special interests are in the area of gospel and jazz,	6:40
	as well as the role of music	6:44
	in the African American religious experience.	6:45
	We are pleased to be able to welcome him	6:49
	back to Durham today.	6:50
	I'd also like to thank Mister Paul Bumbalough,	6:52
	Assistant Dean for Student Life for serving as our lector.	6:54
	And now let us continue our worship.	6:58
	♪ Of the Father's love begotten ♪	7:05
	♪ Ere the worlds began to be ♪	7:11
	♪ He is Alpha and Omega ♪	7:16
	♪ He the Source, the Ending He ♪	7:22
	♪ Of the things that are, that have been ♪	7:28
	♪ And that future years shall see ♪	7:36
	♪ Evermore and evermore ♪	7:41
	(joyful organ music)	7:53
	(congregational hymn)	8:35
-	Oh God, You are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.	11:41
	Glorious in holiness.	11:45
	Full of love and compassion.	11:48
	Abundant in grace and truth.	11:50
	All Your works praise You in all places of Your dominion.	11:54
	And Your glory is revealed in Jesus Christ our savior.	11:57
	Therefore we praise You.	12:02
	Blessed and holy trinity.	12:04
	One God forever and ever.	12:06
	Amen.	12:09
-	Let us pray.	12:18
	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	12:20
	(with congregation) by the power of your Holy Spirit	12:23
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	12:26
	we might hear with joy what You say to us this day.	12:30
	Amen.	12:34
	The first reading is taken from the book of Exodus.	12:37
	Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel	12:41
	and say to them, the God of your ancestors has sent me	12:46
	to you, and they ask me, what is the name of that God?	12:50
	What shall I say to them?	12:55
	God said to Moses, I am who I am.	12:57
	And God said, say this to the people of Israel,	13:03
	I am has sent you.	13:07
	God also said to Moses, say this to the people of Israel,	13:11
	the Lord, the God of your ancestors,	13:15
	the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Isaac and Rebekah,	13:18
	and the God of Jacob and Rachel and Leah has sent me to you.	13:22
	This is my name forever.	13:27
	And thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.	13:30
	Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them,	13:35
	the Lord, the God of your ancestors,	13:39
	the God of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah,	13:42
	and of Jacob and Rachel and Leah has appeared to me saying,	13:46
	I have observed you and what has been done to you	13:50
	in the land of Egypt.	13:53
	And I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction	13:55
	of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites,	13:58
	the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,	14:02
	and the Jebusites.	14:05
	A land flowing with milk and honey.	14:07
	And they will hearken to your voice and you and the elders	14:10
	of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt	14:14
	and shall say to him,	14:16
	the Lord the God of the Hebrews has met with us.	14:17
	And now we pray you let us go a three-days' journey	14:21
	into the wilderness that we may sacrifice	14:25
	to the Lord our God.	14:27
	I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go	14:30
	unless compelled by a mighty hand.	14:33
	So I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt	14:35
	with all the wonders which I will do in it.	14:39
	After that, he will let you go.	14:43
	This is the word of the Lord.	14:46
	(with congregation) Thanks be to God.	14:48
-	Please stand as we join together in singing responsively	14:56
	Psalm 105 found on page 828 in your hymnal.	14:58
	♪ Oh give thanks to the Lord ♪	15:16
	♪ Call on God's name ♪	15:19
	♪ Make known God's deeds among the peoples ♪	15:22
	♪ Sing to the Lord, sing praises to Him ♪	15:28
	♪ Tell of all His wonderful works ♪	15:33
	♪ Glory in God's holy name ♪	15:39
	♪ Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice ♪	15:42
	♪ Seek the Lord and His strength ♪	15:48
	♪ Seek His presence continually ♪	15:53
	♪ Remember the wonderful works God has done ♪	15:59
	♪ The miracles, and judgments God has uttered ♪	16:03
	♪ O offspring of His servant Abraham ♪	16:10
	♪ Children of Jacob, his chosen ones ♪	16:15
	♪ The Lord is our God ♪	16:21
	♪ Whose judgments are in all the earth ♪	16:24
	♪ He is mindful of His covenant forever ♪	16:29
	♪ Of the word that He commanded ♪	16:36
	♪ For a thousand generations ♪	16:40
	♪ The covenant made with Abraham ♪	16:44
	♪ His promise sworn to Isaac ♪	16:48
	♪ And confirmed to Jacob as a statute ♪	16:52
	♪ To Israel as an everlasting covenant saying ♪	16:57
	♪ To you I will give the land of Canaan ♪	17:04
	♪ As your portion for an inheritance. ♪	17:09
	(slow organ music)	17:17
	(congregational singing)	17:25
-	The second reading is taken from Paul's letter	18:22
	to the Romans.	18:25
	The Spirit helps us in our weakness	18:28
	for we do not know how to pray as we ought,	18:31
	but that very Spirit intercedes for us	18:34
	with sighs too deep for words.	18:37
	And the One who searches human hearts knows	18:40
	what is the mind of the Spirit	18:43
	because the Spirit intercedes for the saints	18:46
	according to the will of God.	18:48
	We know that in everything God works for good	18:51
	with those who love God,	18:54
	who are called according to God's purpose.	18:56
	For those whom God foreknew,	18:59
	were also predestined to be conformed	19:02
	to the image of God's Son.	19:04
	In order that Christ might be the firstborn	19:06
	among many believers.	19:09
	And those whom God predestined, God also called.	19:12
	And those whom God called, God also justified.	19:16
	And those whom God justified, God also glorified.	19:21
	This is the word of the Lord.	19:26
	(with congregation) Thanks be to God.	19:28
	(slow organ music)	19:36
	(choir singing)	19:51
-	This reading is taken from	22:08
	the gospel according to Saint Matthew.	22:09
	The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field	22:13
	which someone found and covered up.	22:16
	Then in great joy the finder goes and sells everything	22:18
	and buys that field.	22:22
	Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant	22:24
	in search of fine pearls.	22:27
	Who, on finding one pearl of great value,	22:29
	went and sold everything and bought it.	22:32
	Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a net	22:36
	which was thrown into the sea	22:39
	and gathered fish of every kind.	22:40
	When the net was full, it was drawn ashore,	22:43
	and people sat down and sorted the goods into vessels,	22:45
	but threw away the bad.	22:48
	So it will be at the close of the age.	22:51
	The angels will come out and separate the evil	22:54
	from the righteous,	22:56
	and throw them into the furnace of fire	22:57
	where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.	23:00
	Have you understood all of this?	23:03
	They answered, yes.	23:06
	And Jesus said to them, therefore every scribe	23:09
	who has been trained for the kingdom of Heaven	23:13
	is like a householder who brings out of the treasury	23:15
	what is new and what is old.	23:18
	This is the word of the Lord.	23:22
	(with congregation) Thanks be to God.	23:24
-	The traditional narrative surrounding	23:39
	the New Testament book Philemon	23:43
	has what initially appears to be a simple plot.	23:48
	The Apostle Paul has written a letter to Philemon,	23:53
	a member of the church at Colossae,	23:57
	regarding Philemon's slave, Onesimus,	24:01
	who had run away.	24:06
	Having located the imprisoned Apostle in Rome,	24:09
	or Ephesus, Onesimus became a Christian.	24:13
	And subsequently, Paul's spiritual son.	24:19
	Sometime after Onesimus's conversion,	24:24
	Paul wrote to Philemon this brief letter	24:28
	in an attempt to rectify	24:31
	the former master/slave relationship.	24:34
	Here are a few significant lines from Paul's letter.	24:40
	Accordingly though I am bold enough in Christ	24:46
	to command you to do what is required,	24:49
	yet, for love's sake I prefer to	24:53
	appeal to you.	24:57
	I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus,	25:00
	who's father I have become in my imprisonment.	25:05
	I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.	25:10
	Perhaps this is why he was parted from you for a while.	25:16
	That you might have him back forever,	25:20
	no longer as a slave,	25:24
	but more than a slave,	25:26
	as a beloved brother.	25:30
	So if you consider me your partner,	25:33
	receive him as you would receive me.	25:36
	Confident in your obedience, I write you,	25:41
	knowing that you will do even more than I say.	25:45
	The question I want to address	25:53
	is what Paul really expected of Philemon.	25:58
	Specifically as regards the issue of slavery.	26:03
	What could Paul have meant	26:08
	by Philemon receiving Onesimus back,	26:11
	no longer as a slave,	26:15
	but more than a slave, as a beloved brother?	26:17
	Perhaps the answer seems straightforward enough to you.	26:23
	Onesimus was to be set free.	26:28
	You might even contend that Paul perceived slavery	26:31
	to be an evil,	26:34
	and that his anti-slavery stance	26:36
	should always have been the official position of the church.	26:38
	Paul's letter, however, is not as clear as it appears.	26:43
	It's not that clear.	26:49
	In fact, it is ambiguous enough	26:50
	that in the debate over slavery	26:53
	in nineteenth century America,	26:55
	this little letter was used to argue both for	26:57
	and against the trading of human flesh.	27:01
	Those who supported slavery actually could posit	27:07
	a fairly good argument with Paul's little letter.	27:12
	Paul may have wanted Philemon to receive Onesimus back	27:16
	as a beloved brother,	27:19
	but his actions spoke louder than his words.	27:22
	First of all, Paul returned the fugitive slave	27:28
	to his master, after the slave had procured his freedom.	27:32
	Second, Paul recognized that the slave master	27:38
	was due some compensation for his temporary loss	27:42
	of property and labor.	27:46
	Third, in light of some of Paul's previous utterances	27:50
	regarding slavery,	27:55
	alongside the acceptance of slavery in the Old Testament,	27:56
	no one can really say for sure that slave holding	28:01
	is necessarily unChristian.	28:05
	Furthermore, rather than using Onesimus's escape	28:09
	as an opportunity to formulate a strong ethical response	28:15
	to slave holding, Paul praised the slave master	28:19
	for his Christian work.	28:24
	He could have instead exhorted Philemon	28:26
	to follow the more humane slavery laws of Judaism.	28:30
	Slaves were generally to serve no more than six years.	28:35
	And in the seventh year they were to go free	28:40
	carrying with them material goods	28:43
	that would facilitate their transition into freedom.	28:47
	There was also a precedent among the monastic Essenes	28:52
	of Palestine for Paul to have denounced slavery	28:56
	as altogether antithetical	28:59
	to the natural law of human equality.	29:02
	Though slavery was underwritten by Greek philosophy,	29:05
	the Apostle could have argued that those in Christ	29:09
	should not be holders of slaves	29:14
	like the Pagans who are not in Christ.	29:17
	Perhaps, then, Paul's concern was not at all	29:22
	for the abolition of slavery,	29:25
	but for his spiritual son, Onesimus,	29:27
	to be restored to Philemon in a situation of slavery	29:31
	that was more humane.	29:35
	Rather than Onesimus being treated as a mere tool,	29:38
	Paul simply may have wanted Philemon to treat his slave	29:43
	with some dignity and respect.	29:47
	More or less as he would treat Paul,	29:50
	himself a slave for Jesus Christ.	29:52
	The only problem with this interpretation	29:58
	is that most enlightened people of our modern age	30:03
	perceive slavery to be simply immoral and unChristian.	30:07
	Knowing that they themselves	30:14
	wouldn't want to be held captive.	30:16
	Therefore, we're faced with a moral dilemma	30:20
	in Paul's letter.	30:23
	The dilemma of the incompatibility	30:25
	of slavery and Christianity.	30:29
	How can this tension be resolved?	30:33
	The problem answered.	30:36
	And how can the possible solution equip us today	30:38
	to deal with the remnants of slavery?	30:44
	What Paul intended for Philemon regarding Onesimus,	30:49
	and what we are to do today regarding our slaves,	30:56
	seems to reduce to what the apostle meant by these words.	31:01
	Perhaps this is why Onesimus was parted	31:06
	from you for a while.	31:11
	That you might have him back forever,	31:14
	no longer as a slave,	31:17
	but more than a slave,	31:20
	as a beloved brother.	31:23
	So if you consider me your partner,	31:26
	receive Onesimus as you would receive me.	31:30
	In petitioning Philemon,	31:39
	to welcome Onesimus back as a brother,	31:42
	Paul seems to be calling for the full equality	31:47
	of the two Christian men.	31:51
	And consequently, the freedom of Onesimus.	31:54
	Clearly the phrases no longer a slave,	32:00
	and as a beloved brother imply freedom.	32:04
	But these two phrases are made ambiguous	32:09
	by the segment that connects them.	32:14
	But more than a slave.	32:18
	Philemon was to welcome Onesimus back as no longer a slave,	32:22
	but more than a slave, as a beloved brother.	32:26
	There's some difficulty here.	32:31
	Some difficulty.	32:34
	How?	32:36
	How can Onesimus be more than a slave	32:38
	without still being a slave?	32:43
	For example, if a person were no longer a human being,	32:46
	but were more than a human being,	32:52
	then this person would be a super human being.	32:56
	Which implies the continued existence of human qualities.	33:00
	Therefore, Paul may have meant that Onesimus	33:05
	should be received back as no longer just a slave,	33:08
	but also as a beloved brother.	33:14
	Other Biblical translations present	33:18
	basically the same problem	33:21
	as the foregoing Revised Standard Version of the Bible.	33:23
	The King James Version reads, not now as a slave,	33:27
	but above a slave, as a beloved brother.	33:31
	And the Jerusalem Bible says, not as a slave anymore,	33:36
	but something much better than a slave, a dear brother.	33:42
	In these instances, the average reader might assume	33:48
	that Onesimus only could be above,	33:54
	or much better than a slave	33:58
	if he were actually no longer a slave.	34:01
	But even these translations are not problem free.	34:07
	If in Christ there is no slave or free,	34:12
	then how can one be above a slave	34:16
	or something much better than a slave	34:18
	unless slavery of one kind or another	34:20
	were still permitted to exist,	34:23
	or still an accepted reality.	34:27
	The idea of Onesimus returning to his master	34:31
	as no longer just a slave, but also a brother,	34:35
	is identical to the problem	34:40
	in the epistle to the Colossians.	34:42
	Here we read that in Christ there is neither slave nor free.	34:46
	While 11 verses later, a mere 11 verses later,	34:51
	they are also to obey their earthly masters.	34:55
	If in Christ there is neither slave nor free,	35:00
	then how and why are slaves to obey their masters?	35:06
	The only way to resolve this tension	35:14
	is to understand the Apostle as speaking	35:17
	of a sustained state of spontaneous mutuality.	35:21
	Which would make the superior inferior hierarchy	35:28
	of the master/slave relation meaningless.	35:31
	Spontaneous mutuality is	35:36
	a heightened form of community	35:40
	where hierarchical structures of rank and status and class	35:44
	are obliterated in the passion of the transcendent moment.	35:49
	Spontaneous mutuality might be, for instance,	35:54
	where during worship congregants are lifted up	35:58
	by the Holy Spirit into a momentary	36:01
	religious ecstasy and equality.	36:05
	A timeless moment where human distinctions	36:07
	are fully forgotten.	36:10
	There is neither pew nor pulpit, female nor male,	36:12
	black nor white, neither slave nor free.	36:17
	It is perhaps the moment when the kingdom of God	36:22
	is truly at hand.	36:26
	But, but, but, spontaneous	36:30
	mutuality is spontaneous,	36:35
	momentary, hardly sedimentary.	36:37
	The kingdom can be repeatedly experienced, yes,	36:42
	but we can never say, it is here.	36:45
	Only periodically, only periodically	36:50
	does spontaneous mutuality rise up within	36:53
	the betwixt and between of hierarchical structure.	36:56
	Only spontaneously, periodically, momentarily.	36:59
	The reality is that the magical power	37:05
	of spontaneous mutuality cannot fully be transformed	37:09
	into our daily, structured, social existence.	37:14
	To think that it can is wistful thinking.	37:18
	A high hope, with no empirical proof of plausibility.	37:22
	The best we can hope for, then,	37:27
	is that this experience of spontaneous mutuality in Christ,	37:30
	during worship, would soften the edge	37:33
	of our everyday relations.	37:36
	Perhaps, perhaps this is what Paul was getting at.	37:41
	Perhaps this is what he was hoping for.	37:45
	That the occasional immersion of Philemon and Onesimus	37:47
	in spontaneous mutuality occurring during worship	37:52
	would at least soften their master/slave relation	37:56
	in the workaday world.	38:00
	Perhaps.	38:03
	The idea is certainly plausible.	38:04
	Hierarchical relations being softened in the world	38:07
	due to the experience of Christ in the church.	38:11
	However, lofty claims	38:15
	regarding true brotherhood	38:20
	when one really means	38:23
	continued slavery is empty fanfare.	38:24
	Mere sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.	38:30
	It is ideological mutuality.	38:35
	For instance, when the white abolitionists	38:41
	of the early nineteenth century	38:45
	and the white social gospelers	38:47
	of the early twentieth century	38:49
	preached and sang about the fraternity of the races	38:51
	and the equality of men,	38:55
	they were not thinking of the oneness	38:58
	of the white race and the black race.	39:00
	They were not even thinking of social integration.	39:03
	They were speaking of a defective kind of equality	39:07
	where the white race would be	39:13
	the head of the body of Christ,	39:15
	while the black race would be the foot	39:17
	that the head must guide.	39:19
	This is a defective equality, where,	39:23
	according to the mutuality of responsibility,	39:27
	one part of the body is responsible for being the master	39:30
	and the other responsible for being the slave.	39:34
	This social dynamic	39:41
	is the very thing	39:45
	I see typified in our world today.	39:47
	White Christians often speak of fraternity	39:55
	and equality between the races.	40:00
	But it is largely ideological mutuality.	40:04
	Empty, fanfare, sounding, brass tinkling, cymbals.	40:09
	Let me give you an example.	40:16
	An undeniable example you will agree.	40:17
	In the introduction to a book of essays	40:21
	by one of the leading Christian ethicists	40:25
	of the theological academy.	40:29
	The author states that when he became morally mature,	40:31
	he learned never to call	40:37
	a black person nigger.	40:40
	This Christian ethicist may have learned	40:45
	never to call a black person nigger,	40:49
	but this does not mean that he has learned	40:53
	always to call a black person sister, or brother.	40:56
	Just because he has learned	41:02
	never to call a black person nobody	41:04
	does not mean that he has learned	41:07
	always to call a black person somebody.	41:09
	This is the message I'm trying to share with you today.	41:14
	White Christians have learned	41:19
	never to call black persons out of their name.	41:22
	But rarely have they learned to call black people	41:26
	brother and sister and with the sincere recognition that we,	41:29
	we are somebody.	41:35
	We are somebody.	41:36
	But what's, what's a little slavery,	41:40
	a little racism between friends and brothers?	41:42
	Slavery and its progeny, racism,	41:47
	are ideological weapons of death.	41:51
	Tools of a killing religion.	41:54
	They are among the most difficult problems of Christianity.	41:58
	Problems which are the poverty of Christianity	42:03
	and have to do with the fate of Christianity.	42:06
	This fate not only includes the continued segregation	42:12
	of the body of Christ along racial lines,	42:17
	but also the Exodus of black Christians	42:21
	from what many still perceive	42:24
	to be the white man's religion.	42:26
	Do not be surprised.	42:30
	Do not be surprised when,	42:33
	when you hear some of these people say	42:34
	that the reason Christianity	42:36
	has become the great religion	42:40
	that it has is because the Bible says,	42:42
	wives be subject to your husband,	42:45
	and slaves go back to your masters.	42:47
	A little slavery, a little racism between friends	42:52
	is neither true fraternity, nor true friendship.	42:57
	Ideological mutuality is empty fanfare.	43:04
	A sophisticated means of ill fraternity	43:07
	and inequality being perpetuated	43:10
	by the advocates of white supremacy.	43:13
	It is fully inadequate,	43:17
	inadequate in light of what it truly means to be in Christ.	43:19
	To be in Christ makes it logically	43:26
	and sociologically impossible for Philemon	43:30
	to relate to Onesimus as both a brother and a slave.	43:34
	As simultaneously an equal and inferior.	43:38
	To be in Christ makes it logically	43:43
	and sociologically impossible for white Christians	43:47
	to relate to black people as simultaneous slaves	43:50
	and fellow human beings.	43:54
	To be in Christ makes it logically	43:56
	and sociologically impossible for white Christians	43:59
	to simultaneously discriminate against	44:02
	and treat equally black people.	44:04
	To simultaneously hate and love black people.	44:07
	This is hypocrisy.	44:10
	Philemon's only response,	44:14
	only appropriate response to Paul's letter	44:16
	would have been to set Onesimus free.	44:20
	And the only appropriate response	44:25
	for all masters today is to	44:27
	let my people go.	44:30
	The reason my people must be let go	44:35
	is because ideological mutuality fails to reconcile	44:40
	the tension between slavery	44:45
	and individual human potentiality.	44:48
	Slavery of any kind makes the oppressed relatively useless	44:52
	in light of their potential usefulness	44:58
	as fully liberated human beings.	45:01
	No matter what a slave's labor is worth, economically,	45:04
	it cannot match up to her or his potentiality	45:09
	as a liberated human being.	45:13
	For instance, about a half century after Paul's death,	45:16
	Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch,	45:22
	was taken to meet his death.	45:26
	During his transport to Rome he wrote letters	45:31
	to the Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, and Ephesians.	45:35
	The Bishop of Ephesus to whom he wrote	45:41
	was surprisingly a man named Onesimus.	45:45
	There is a strong belief among some Biblical scholars	45:51
	that this Onesimus is the same person	45:57
	to whom the Apostle wrote a letter to Philemon	46:01
	a half century earlier.	46:06
	This would have been the first time,	46:09
	this would not have been the first time	46:11
	that a man came up from slavery to become a bishop.	46:13
	Such was the plight of Callixtus	46:18
	who became Rome's Holy C in 217 A.D.	46:20
	It has also been argued that Onesimus,	46:26
	the Bishop of Ephesus,	46:29
	was responsible for the compilation of the Pauline Epistles.	46:31
	Which would explain the inclusion	46:36
	of the little letter Philemon.	46:37
	Even more profound, is that the compilation	46:41
	of the Pauline letters in Ephesus	46:44
	under Onesimus's administration	46:46
	would have marked the beginning	46:48
	of the canonization of the New Testament.	46:50
	This is a powerful witness to us.	46:55
	Onesimus the slave never could have made	47:00
	the important contribution to Christianity	47:03
	that Onesimus the free man did.	47:05
	Complete emancipation from all forms of slavery	47:08
	is the only way human beings	47:13
	can attain their God given potentiality.	47:15
	This is why you have had in the past,	47:18
	and continue to have today,	47:21
	black Christians separating themselves	47:23
	from white Christians.	47:25
	They have found it nearly impossible	47:28
	to fulfill their human potential	47:30
	under the yoke of slavery's offspring.	47:32
	Racism, and an ideology of white supremacy.	47:35
	We must reject,	47:39
	we must reject the notion	47:43
	that fellow human beings can be treated as	47:45
	no longer just slaves but also as sisters and brothers.	47:48
	Hence, if we are to find in Paul's little letter to Philemon	47:53
	some resolution to the incompatibility of slavery	47:58
	and Christianity,	48:02
	it must be something other than Onesimus	48:03
	being neither slave nor free.	48:07
	The tension can only be fully and unmistakably resolved	48:11
	when Philemon, by Philemon,	48:16
	doing the more that Paul speaks of	48:19
	at his letter's close.	48:23
	Confident of your obedience, says Paul,	48:26
	I write you knowing that you will do even more	48:30
	than I say.	48:35
	Listen to that phrase contextually.	48:37
	I am sending Onesimus back to you	48:41
	that you might have him back forever,	48:45
	no longer as a slave,	48:49
	but more than a slave, as a beloved brother.	48:51
	And knowing that you will do even more than I say.	48:55
	This is the key	49:03
	to all forms of Christian emancipation.	49:07
	The key that unlocks the door to redemption.	49:12
	Unleashes the potentiality of salvation.	49:16
	The Bible does not delineate the details	49:21
	of how Christians are to relate to modernity's myriad forms	49:25
	of slavery perpetuated against the oppressed.	49:29
	Economic exploitation.	49:33
	Unjust criminal imprisonment.	49:36
	Covert government harassment.	49:38
	Police brutality.	49:40
	And these, as well as personal forms of slavocracy.	49:42
	The Bible speaks only indirectly to these.	49:47
	Therefore, we must do the more	49:50
	of which the Apostle speaks.	49:55
	More than what the Bible makes explicit.	49:57
	More.	50:01
	You must do the more.	50:02
	The more.	50:04
	The more.	50:05
	Walk the extra mile.	50:06
	Set your captives free.	50:08
	Do the more and set them free.	50:11
	Let my people go.	50:13
	The more.	50:15
	Walk the extra mile.	50:16
	Do the more, you must walk the extra mile,	50:19
	set your captives free, do the more, and set them free.	50:21
	Let my people go.	50:25
	(slow organ music)	50:36
	♪ In Christ there is no east or west ♪	50:58
	♪ In Him no south or north ♪	51:04
	♪ But one great fellowship of love ♪	51:09
	♪ Throughout the whole wide earth ♪	51:15
	♪ In Christ shall true hearts everywhere ♪	51:22
	♪ Their high communion find ♪	51:28
	♪ His service is the golden cord ♪	51:33
	♪ Close-binding humankind ♪	51:39
	♪ In Christ is neither Jew nor Greek ♪	51:46
	♪ And neither slave nor free ♪	51:52
	♪ Who serves my Father as a son ♪	51:58
	♪ And all are kin to me ♪	52:03
	♪ In Christ now meet both east and west ♪	52:11
	♪ In Him meet south and north ♪	52:16
	♪ All Christly souls are one in Him ♪	52:22
	♪ Throughout the whole wide earth ♪	52:28
Nancy	The Lord be with you.	52:37
Congregation	And also with you.	52:39
-	Let us pray.	52:40
	Oh eternal God, who hast created a world beautiful,	52:54
	yet complex beyond our understanding of it,	53:00
	open our eyes to behold Your gracious and loving hand	53:04
	in all Your work.	53:08
	Empower us to rejoice in Your whole creation.	53:10
	That in celebrating Your goodness,	53:14
	we may learn to serve You with gladness.	53:17
	Lord, in Your mercy hear our prayer.	53:20
	Almighty and most merciful God,	53:25
	You made the universe with its marvelous order	53:28
	and complexity to live in harmony with itself.	53:31
	Teach us the lessons of interdependent living	53:34
	that as we probe the mysteries of Your world	53:38
	we may understand more fully Your purpose	53:41
	for our lives here on earth.	53:43
	Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.	53:47
	Gracious God, in giving us dominion over things on earth	53:52
	You made us fellow creators in Your creation.	53:55
	Give us wisdom and reverence so to use the resources	53:59
	of nature that no one may suffer from our abuse of them.	54:03
	And that generations yet to come may continue	54:07
	to praise You for Your bounty.	54:10
	Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.	54:13
	Grant, O God, that Your holy and life giving Spirit	54:17
	may so move every human heart in every land	54:22
	that barriers of race, creed, and color which divide us	54:26
	may fall, suspicions vanish, and hatred cease.	54:29
	And that our divisions being healed	54:35
	all may dwell in peace and unity in You.	54:37
	Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.	54:41
	Everlasting God, we remember before You	54:45
	all poor and neglected persons	54:48
	whom it would be easy for us to forget.	54:51
	The homeless and the refugee, the sick,	54:54
	the destitute, the dying.	54:57
	And all who have none to care for them.	55:00
	Help us to heal those who are broken in body or spirit,	55:02
	and to lighten their burdens by acts of mercy.	55:07
	Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.	55:11
	Oh God of Mercy, as we face the daily doubts	55:16
	and uncertainties in our lives,	55:19
	grant us the grace and the courage	55:22
	to do what You would have us to do.	55:24
	May Your spirit of wisdom save us from foolhardy choices	55:27
	and direct us in the way of truth.	55:31
	Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.	55:34
	These things we pray in the name of Jesus Christ	55:39
	our redeemer and our Lord.	55:42
	Amen.	55:45
	As women and men called to live in freedom and mutuality	55:49
	in Christ, let us offer our gifts and ourselves to God.	55:52
	(slow organ music)	56:01
	(choir singing)	57:21
	(joyful organ music)	1:01:10
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	1:01:30
	♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪	1:01:36
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:01:42
	♪ Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host ♪	1:01:50
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	1:01:57
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:02:02
	♪ Allelujah, allelujah ♪	1:02:09
	♪ Allelujah ♪	1:02:15
-	Our kind and gracious God, that we are alive,	1:02:28
	that the sun rises to greet us each day,	1:02:32
	that rest can restore our weary selves to newness of life,	1:02:36
	Thy name be praised.	1:02:40
	We thank Thee for friends old and new,	1:02:42
	and for communities which will always be home to us.	1:02:45
	For the generosity of men and women	1:02:48
	who give of themselves to aid others.	1:02:50
	And for the courage to carry on in the darkest hour.	1:02:53
	Most of all we thank Thee for Thyself,	1:02:57
	ground and source of every good,	1:03:00
	and for the bounty of Thy love.	1:03:02
	With all Thy people in every corner of creation,	1:03:04
	we count it joy to praise Thy name.	1:03:07
	This we pray in the name of the One	1:03:10
	who taught us to pray.	1:03:12
	(with congregation) Our Father, Who art in Heaven,	1:03:13
	hallowed be Thy name.	1:03:16
	Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,	1:03:18
	on earth as it is in Heaven.	1:03:21
	Give us this day our daily bread,	1:03:23
	and forgive us our trespasses	1:03:26
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:03:27
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:03:31
	For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	1:03:35
	Amen.	1:03:40
	And now go forth in peace and be of good courage.	1:03:43
	Hold fast to that which is good.	1:03:47
	Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.	1:03:49
	And may the blessings of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit	1:03:53
	be with you all now and forever more.	1:03:56
	(choir singing "Amen")	1:04:03
	(joyful organ music)	1:04:48
	(congregational singing)	1:05:21
-	Let us go forth in the name of the Lord.	1:07:39
	(with congregation) Thanks be to God.	1:07:43
	(slow organ music)	1:07:48

Item Info

Title:

Jon Michael Spencer - "Neither Slave Nor Freeman" (July 29, 1990)

Description:

Paul's message to Philemon is an appeal to set his slave Onesimus free--one that must go beyond the ideological into practice. White Christians are called to do the same by not only recognizing but treating their black siblings as fully equal. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 23:39. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 50:29.
Key quotation: "To be in Christ makes it logically and sociologically impossible for Philemon to relate to Onesimus as both a brother and a slave, as simultaneously an equal and inferior. To be in Christ makes it logically and sociologically impossible for white Christians to relate to black people as simultaneously slaves and fellow human beings."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r40g3hc9h

Date:

July 29, 1990

Speaker:

Spencer, Jon Michael

Liturgical Calendar:

Pentecost

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0192
ref8817_n3y
uachapelsermaud
duke:321619
dcrmv001184
ark:/87924/r40g3hc9h
674738a0-7907-4bb7-9a4e-6cbdde3a747a

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

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Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Jon Michael Spencer - "Neither Slave Nor Freeman" (July 29, 1990)

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