Performance Notes: 

The short letter to Philemon comes to life in exciting ways when we can hear it told aloud. It’s easy to miss the subtle ways that Paul applies pressure to Philemon when we read the letter silently to ourselves. Hearing it told aloud, however, reinvigorates the letter’s rhetorical power and allows us to better understand how it might have impacted Philemon.

Direct Address to Philemon

Unlike most of Paul’s letters, the letter to Philemon is addressed to an individual rather than an entire community. Throughout the letter, Paul uses the second person singular pronoun to speak directly to Philemon: “When I remember you in my prayers,” “the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother,” “If you consider my your partner,” “Confident of your obedience.” In an interesting twist, however, Paul intends for this direct speech to happen in a corporate setting. The opening address reveals that Paul expects the letter to Philemon to be read in front of Apphia, Archippus, and the whole church meeting in Philemon’s home (1:2). This dynamic allows Paul to exert substantial rhetorical pressure on Philemon. In front of everyone, he praises Philemon for his love and faithfulness, setting the public expectation that he would continue to act in these ways. In front of everyone, Paul makes his request to Philemon and expresses his utmost confidence in Philemon’s obedience, making it difficult for Philemon to refuse. In front of everyone, Paul promises that he would never remind Philemon about the great debt he owes Paul. How can he not comply?

To highlight this feature of the letter in performance, I made regular eye contact with the camera to establish the direct address. This can be especially effective in a group setting. If the performer chooses someone in the audience to be Philemon and then makes regular eye contact with that person throughout the performance—to the exclusion of the rest of the audience—the rhetorical dynamics of the letter come to life. “Philemon” will likely feel very uncomfortable, the rest of the audience will feel discomfort on his behalf, and the pressure that Paul exerts on Philemon—which we often miss when reading the letter silently—will become obvious.

What Does Paul Want?

Although Paul clearly wants Philemon to “obey” his request (1:21), interpreters have often noted that precisely what he wants Philemon to do is less clear. After announcing that he is writing to make an appeal for Onesimus in 1:8–16, Paul starts using imperative verbs in 1:17. He implores Philemon to welcome (προσλαβοῦ) Onesimus and charge (ἐλλόγα) any debt that Onesimus has incurred to Paul’s account. Near the end of the letter, Paul makes one final request that Philemon prepare (ἑτοίμαζε) the guest room for his impending visit (1:22). Between these two imperatives, however, Paul makes another, more opaque request that implies he wants Philemon to do more than receive Onesimus warmly and prepare to receive Paul himself in the near future. He requests that Philemon let him have “this benefit” (ὀναίμην) and that Philemon refresh (ἀνάπαυσον) his heart (1:20). What is he asking Philemon to do here? What “benefit” can Philemon offer to refresh his heart?

Two clues guide my own interpretation of this question. First, Paul makes clear that he wanted to keep Onesimus with him to continue to help him during his imprisonment (1:13–14). He’s only sending Onesimus back to Philemon because he wants Philemon’s good deed to be a voluntary rather than forced gift. The gift he wants, however, seems clear. Second, Paul uses a clever pun to make his request. The name “Onesimus” (Ὀνήσιμον) sounds very similar to “let me have this benefit” (ὀναίμην), the optative verb that Paul uses in 1:20. With this pun, Paul makes his request: Refresh my heart, Philemon, by sending Onesimus back to me.

Because of the way that Paul makes his request, the person who performs this letter faces a challenge. If he states his request with a pun in Greek, how can a performer communicate that in English? I chose to clarify Paul’s request through gesture and imagined space. When performing the letter, I imagine Onesimus sitting next to me facing the audience. (When performing live, I often ask a volunteer to play the role of Onesimus so and sit on “stage” with me.) Then, when Paul refers directly to Onesimus throughout the letter, I gesture and look to the imagined Onesimus. The repeated gestures establish Onesimus’s presence in the audience’s imagination and then allow me to communicate the pun visually by gesturing and looking to the same place when Paul asks Philemon to refresh his heart by letting him have “this benefit.”  

(I was also tempted to recreate the pun in English by altering Onesimus’s name. However, in the end, it felt anachronistic to talk about “Benny” throughout the letter.)

Paul’s Self-Description

Paul also exerts rhetorical pressure through his self-descriptions in Philemon. He regularly reminds Philemon that he is currently in prison (1:1, 9, 13, 23). He also appeals to his advanced age (1:9) and his deep affection for Philemon (1:1, 4, 7, 21–22) and Onesimus (1:10–13, 16). Occasionally, he reminds Philemon of his authority, but in those cases he quickly qualifies the assertion: he has the authority in Christ to command, but he chooses not to do so (1:8); he could make demands as Philemon’s spiritual father, but he won’t do so directly (1:19).

Many of these threads come together in 1:13–14. In those verses Paul reminds Philemon of his imprisonment, implying that Philemon should have come personally to help Paul. He expresses his affection and need for Onesimus, while implying that he has the authority to keep Onesimus with him without asking for Philemon’s consent. But he will not exert his authority in that way. Instead, acting on the basis of love, he will appeal to Philemon and trust that he will voluntarily do the right thing. (Though, as already noted, the public nature of this appeal makes it very hard for Philemon to deny the request.)

These self-descriptions establish the tone that the performer should use when delivering the letter. Paul applies significant pressure on Philemon, but he does so indirectly through hint and suggestion. It might be tempting to conclude that Paul is being manipulative with this indirect approach (and it would be easy to give an audience this impression with an exaggerated performance); however, I think such a reading misses the beauty of Paul’s rhetoric. His love for Philemon—and his understanding of what power looks like for those who follow a crucified Messiah—drives his rhetorical strategy. Therefore, adopting a pastoral, loving tone when performing the letter will best communicate the letter’s spirit.