Philemon 7-20 / Luke 17:20-25
Letter-writing can take many forms, from the legal and the formal to the casual and the personal.
In whatever form it takes, letter-writing requires some skill as it is an art to convey ideas and feelings through carefully chosen words and constructed sentences.
And the written word can remain for a long time as in the case of St. Paul's letter to Philemon.
It is a very short letter, just verses and no chapter even, and yet it is a skillfully written letter.
St. Paul began by affirming the goodness of Philemon and how he had put new heart into the members of the Christian community.
Then St. Paul steered the focus on Onesimus, who was a slave of Philemon. The name "Onesimus" means useful, and St. Paul told Philemon that he was sending Onesimus back to Philemon.
Onesimus was useful to him and he hoped that Onesimus will be useful to Philemon too, and urged him to take Onesimus back as a brother-in-Christ, and he pleaded with Philemon to forgive Onesimus for whatever wrong he had done before.
If we were Philemon, how could we not be moved by the plea of St. Paul and accept Onesimus back?
And if Philemon was moved to accepting Onesimus back, then we can indeed see how the kingdom of God was made present by that letter of St. Paul.
Indeed, the kingdom of God is right among us and in us, and it is our mission to make it present.
So before we put anything into writing, be it a card, or a letter, or an email, let us ask ourselves if we are making the kingdom of God present with our written word.
Just like St. Paul's letter to Philemon was useful for making the kingdom of God present, our written word also has to power to build the kingdom of God.