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The short letter to Philemon comes to life in exciting ways when we can hear it told aloud. It\u2019s 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\u2019s rhetorical power and allows us to better understand how it might have impacted Philemon.<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike most of Paul\u2019s 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: \u201cWhen I remember <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> in my prayers,\u201d \u201cthe hearts of the saints have been refreshed through <\/span>you<\/span><\/i>, my brother,\u201d \u201cIf <\/span>you<\/span><\/i> consider my <\/span>your <\/span><\/i>partner,\u201d \u201cConfident of <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> obedience.\u201d 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 <\/span>to Philemon<\/span><\/i> to be read in front of Apphia, Archippus, and the whole church meeting in Philemon\u2019s 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\u2019s 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?<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2014to the exclusion of the rest of the audience\u2014the rhetorical dynamics of the letter come to life. \u201cPhilemon\u201d will likely feel very uncomfortable, the rest of the audience will feel discomfort on his behalf, and the pressure that Paul exerts on Philemon\u2014which we often miss when reading the letter silently\u2014will become obvious.<\/span><\/p>\n What Does Paul Want? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Although Paul clearly wants Philemon to \u201cobey\u201d 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\u201316, Paul starts using imperative verbs in 1:17. He implores Philemon to welcome (\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u1fe6) Onesimus and charge (\u1f10\u03bb\u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03b1) any debt that Onesimus has incurred to Paul\u2019s account. Near the end of the letter, Paul makes one final request that Philemon prepare (\u1f11\u03c4\u03bf\u03af\u03bc\u03b1\u03b6\u03b5) 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 \u201cthis benefit\u201d (\u1f40\u03bd\u03b1\u03af\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd) and that Philemon refresh (\u1f00\u03bd\u03ac\u03c0\u03b1\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd) his heart (1:20). What is he asking Philemon to do here? What \u201cbenefit\u201d can Philemon offer to refresh his heart? <\/span><\/p>\n 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\u201314). He\u2019s only sending Onesimus back to Philemon because he wants Philemon\u2019s 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 \u201cOnesimus\u201d (\u1f48\u03bd\u03ae\u03c3\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd) sounds very similar to \u201clet me have this benefit\u201d (\u1f40\u03bd\u03b1\u03af\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd), 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. <\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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 \u201cstage\u201d 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\u2019s presence in the audience\u2019s 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 \u201cthis benefit.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (I was also tempted to recreate the pun in English by altering Onesimus\u2019s name. However, in the end, it felt anachronistic to talk about \u201cBenny\u201d throughout the letter.)<\/span><\/p>\n Paul\u2019s Self-Description<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n 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\u201322) and Onesimus (1:10\u201313, 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\u2019s spiritual father, but he won\u2019t do so directly (1:19). <\/span><\/p>\n Many of these threads come together in 1:13\u201314. 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\u2019s 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.) <\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s rhetoric. His love for Philemon\u2014and his understanding of what power looks like for those who follow a crucified Messiah\u2014drives his rhetorical strategy. Therefore, adopting a pastoral, loving tone when performing the letter will best communicate the letter\u2019s spirit. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Performance Notes:\u00a0 The short letter to Philemon comes to life in exciting ways when we can hear it told aloud. It\u2019s 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\u2019s rhetorical power and allows us to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8023,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"[embed]https:\/\/youtu.be\/RI0rVXDVP-4[\/embed]\r\n<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n
Direct Address to Philemon<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/h2>\r\n
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