Recently, our family watched a movie called The Mercy. It is the harrowing story of the British amateur yachtsman who decides to enter a round-world non-stop yacht race. Under pressure from sponsors and a local newspaper, he reluctantly sets out, completely unprepared for such an epic voyage.
He soon finds himself unequal to the task. But the pressure to not let his "team" down compels him to falsify his reports about where he is and how is progressing. Things escalate from bad to very bad and he then becomes desperate to speak confidentially to his wife to share his deception and his dilemma. Unfortunately he is unable to contact her.
At this point, he notes to himself that the only sin is the sin of deception. He can neither finish the race honourably nor admit to his deception. He sees no way to redemption and commits himself to the sea, leaving his logbooks in full view of those who later find the abandoned yacht.
I was thinking about this story in relation to the letter written by the apostle Paul to his friend Philemon about Philemon's run-away slave Onesimus. It appears that Onesimus was guilty of stealing something belonging to his master. According to Roman law, this crime probably entailed a death sentence.
But Onesimus appealed to Paul for assistance. Had he learned something of Christianity? Had he participated in church services in Philemon's home? Had he heard that Paul preached Christ's gospel of forgiveness and redemption?
Paul asks Philemon to "love him [Onesimus] as a man and as a brother in the Lord" (Phil. 1: 16 International Children's Bible).
Complete restoration. Sins forgiven. What a deep lesson in seeing a fellow-traveller in a new light.
Julie Swannell
The Christian Science Sentinel article extract below sets the scene perfectly:
Onesimus goes home
Originally appeared on spirituality.com
Onesimus must have been quite a guy. He showed up on Paul’s doorstep as a runaway slave who had apparently stolen some of his master’s goods. In ancient Rome around AD 60, this was a capital offence, and Onesimus could have been crucified. Yet he sought out Paul, who was under house arrest at the time.
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