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iEs v. ' , INTRODUCTION
eJlurch ol Christ upon earth is essentially
constitutionally one,” wrote Thomas
IfiSSSS1 2* church consists of “all those in
S" ^ faith ln Chri8t and obedience
^ S2 thingB according to the Scriptures, and that
s!' ^vplhe - ?y their tempers and conduct. The
^®tgV25a”™tont soPPort to the idea of being one in
.? n®001^ Jesus’ prflyer ^ 11,086 wh0
y* *®U8V,e m Him all may be one.” (John 17:20 21)
PSi, LESSON BACKGROUND
4j£2EZl'nB f city *“ highlands of Asia, a Roman
tffWuce in western Asia Minor. Apparently most of the
'i r gg««,an Christians were among those who had not seen
e apostle Paul; but one Colossian Christian who had seen
P®rhaps he had once lived in Ephesus,
b!!ind,ere on a business trip or a vacation
£l5ad ^ gospel and had accepted it. Paul
, nails him'as our dearly beloved, and fellow laborer.”
(Philemon i).,
1 JK&Came to Rome perhaps about four years after he
left Ephesus. He was a prisoner, but was allowed to rent a
housewhere he lived. A soldier stayed there to guard him.
1 Visftmte were allowed, and many came to hear the
f teaching of Paul. Among those who came was Onesimus
f ~e runaway1 Slave. He heard the gospel and became a
1 sincere Christian.
^ ' onesimus had a problem. According to law, he was a
£hd .Christians are taught to obey the law. Paul
• no “underground railroad” to help slaves get
!' x_ay.' He advised Onesimus to go back to his slavery, and
Onesimus consented. That was dangerous. Back in
Colossae he would be only a piece of property. His owner
could punish him severely, and it was not customary to be
S merciful to runaway slaves. Still Onesimus could hope for
SE mercy because he carried a letter from his master’s good
I friend, Paul. This is the letter in our lesson today
-;v'^ "" ' " THE LESSON ,
“From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and
from our brother Timothy. To our friend and fellow worker
Philemon, and the church that meets in your house, and
our sister Apphai, and our fellow soldier Archippus: May
5 °ur Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace
S iah<l peace.” (Philemon 1-3).
fJ Sometimes Paul declared himself an apostle of Jesus
? That indicated his authority to teach the truth and issue
- orders as an official representative of Christ. But in this
i' be chose to plead rather than to command.
SBeqfal favor. Peace means well being in
! general dS* JejJ as freedom from conflict. Paul was
I praying that God and Jesus would grant these to Philemon
5 and household.
^ “For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother
in Christ, to order you to do what should be done. But
~ because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even
|though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at
rc Present also a prisoner for his sake. So I make a request to
ft.! you w* behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ:
£ forwMIe in prison I have become his spiritual father. At
f! one tin}e he wj*s of no use to you, but now he is useful both
gi to yog and to toe. I am sending him hack to you now, and
jTl with Wm goes my heart. I would like to keep him here with
prison for the gospel’s sake, so that be
“* in your Place However, I do not want to
Jwrcffjtou to help me; rather, I would like for you to do it on
! your own free will. So I will not do anything unless you
■ agree. ’” (Philemon 8-14).
Paul was an apostle, an authorized spokesman for
; Christ. He knew the Lord’s will. It would be quite proper
! for him to enjoin or command Philemon. Sometimes Paul
did not hesitate to give commands and to insist that they
were the Lord’s commands. But he did not want to
command this faithful fellow worker whom he loved so
L wel1 He made a request instead of an order - but reminded
Philemon that he deserved special consideration be
. cause he was getting old and because he was suf
: fering imprisonment as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.
Keeping up the pressure, Paul indicated that Onesi
mus was very dear to him personalty - not Just a friend or
convert or fellow worker. ,
■ “It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short
/. time so that you might have him back for all time. And now
i8 no* Just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a
: dear toother in Christ. How much be means to me! And
L how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave end as
r a toother in (he Lord. So if you think of me as your partner,
\ wttiddtoe him back Just as you would welcome mei If he
j. hafftyneybu any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to
my account. Here, I will write this with my own hand: I,
1 Paul, will pay you back. (I should not have to remind you!
of course, that you owe your very jielf to me.) So my
| toother please do me this favor for the Lord’s sake; as a
' brother in Christ, cheer me up.” (Philemon 15-201.
Wtot .happened when Onesimus gave this letter to
| Phi^wiK**? Did Philemon send him back to help Paul in
l Rome? Probably not. Paul was expecting to come to
Colossae before long (v. 22). Did Philemon set his slave
i, free? Probably not. Slavery was an accepted practice in
t ^ society, and Philemon may have had other Christian
i "stover m* Oneaimus remain a slave, but a happy one?
jf^mk ktmm tube the most probably outcome.
Wenraise democracy, but an absolute monarchy would
frMtfihded if the monarch were aU-wise, all-powerful,
£ and all-good. The Kingdom of Heaven is such a monarchy,
and its- whaknes* is fh4 Weakness of Us people, not the
& Monarch or the system. ~ - .
C) Capitalism is not evil. It would work well if every one
(» involved would follow the teaching of Jesus. It is beset with
evil when greedy owners oppose workers, or when greedy \
workers make exorbitant demands backed up by strikes
r) and violence. Even Communism would work beautifully if
«, all the people in the system were what Christiana ought to
0 be? Its monstrous abuses arise because power is seised by
; people wh<^ are selfish and cruel *
-) Philemon, had, * problem when a runaway slave came
be punish the runaway so severely that no
1 (tAsr slave would dare to run? Paul advised a different
-receive him as "a brother beloved."
Shriners Launch
Help A Child Smile” Fundraiser^
By Jalyne Strong
Post SUIT Writer
The “Help A Child To Smile’’
fundraiser sponsored by the
Shriners of Raineses Temple No. 51
will kick-off on Saturday, November
SO. On that date and in the
succeeding weeks until Just before
Christmas, Shriners will appear
throughout the city of Charlotte
collecting donations for the needy
children of this area.
“This will be the fifth annual drive
for the children,” comments Shriner
Eugene Marsh. He initiated this
program four years ago. Proceeds
each year have been used to host a
December 21st Christmas party for
the children, most of whom live in
public housing projects. The
children are treated to lunch,
entertainment and they receive gifts
of clothes and new and used toys.
“Their needs are important,”
stresses Marsh. “Many of these
children would not have a Christmas
if not for the Shriners. The look on
their faces show me that this
program is valuable to the
community.”
Eugene Marsh
.Project director
Marsh will appear on WBTV's
“Top of the Day” program on
Friday, November 29, and Mayor
Harvey Gantt will give a
proclamation on Saturday,
CFUJ Winter Schedule Pubfehed
High school completion, business
and career training, and liberal arts
all will be taught at Central Pied
mont Community College (CPCC)
when winter quarter begins
The complete schedule of classes
will be published in the Sunday,
November 24, edition of The Char
lotte Observer, and in the November
28 edition of The Charlotte Post. Or a
schedule can be picked up after that
date on campus or at CPCC’s
Christmas Toys
The Junior League Wearhouse is
having its annual Christmas toy sale
on Friday, December 6, and Satur
day, December 7. A variety of both
used toys in good condition and some
new toys will be on sale. The Wear
house is located behind Bush
Stationers at Park Road Shopping
Center.
Store hours are Tuesday-Friday, 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. Proceeds help support
the Junior League community pro
jects.
For more information, call
523-8159.
learning centers in PineviUe, Mat
thews, Cornelius, and Freedom
Mall.
Tuition for most classes is less
than $20. Registration for new stu
dents will be December 9-12. Winter
quarter classes begin in January
and continue for ll weeks. For more
information, caU 373-6687.
Of the 1,219 community colleges in
the U.S., CPCC recently won re
cognition as one of the top five
community colleges in the nation for
teaching excellence and student suc
cess.
Counseling Session
The counselors of South Mecklen
burg High School Student Services
Department in cooperation with
United FamUy Services will be of
fering a group counseling session on
“Family Stress,” December 3 at the
high school’s media center. The
session, entitled “Family Stress,”
will be conducted by Irv Eddlestein
and Terry Healey. They wUl focus on
stress caused by separation,
divorce, the blended family and loss
of parent through death.
November 30, to officially announce
the beginning of the fundraiser.
"Our goal this year is to raise
$10,000,” Marsh points out.
Specifically, the Shriners, says
Marsh, are looking for monetary
assistance from the black churches
of Charlotte to help supplement this
program. Besides financing the
children’s Christmas party, the
money collected will be used to help
families with payments of rents,
utilities and purchases of food
during the holiday season.
Businesses, non-profit
organizations and individual* are
also urged to do their part in
donating clothes, food, toys and
dollars to "Help A Child To Smile”
this Christmas.
"The Shriners are expecting to
welcome a little over 200 children to
the party this year.” predicts
Marsh. ‘‘They’ll come trom Dalton
Village, Piedmont Courts,
Southside, Fairview Homes and
other areas. William Simmons, the
housing director, provides the
names.”
Make your checks out to “Help A
Child To Smile" and mail the tax
deductible donations to Rameses
Temple, 119 E. 8th St., Charlotte,
N.C. 28202.
In another important matter,
Marsh was recently elevated to the
33rd degree in Shrinedom, in
Washington, D.C. There were 318
Scottish Rite brothers, candidates
from 22 states and three foreign
countries, elevated to the 33rd
degree at that time and Marsh was
elected their class president. The
class is named in honor of the late
Henry A. Dove, past grand master of
Washington, D C.
J>ew Mercy Foundation
Directors Announced
Seven new directors have been
elected to the Board of Directors for
the Mercy Hospital Foundation, Inc.
The new members are: Dr. Robert
L. Albright, president, Johnson C.
Smith University; David Scott
Andrews, M.D.; Cy N. Bahakel,
president, Bahakel Broadcasting
Company; Jeanne Z. Bohn, direc
tor of community affairs, Carolina
Broadcasting Company; Paul R.
Leonard, executive vice president,
The Crosland Company; Robert E.
Shirley, M.D.; and Stephen R.
Walsh, president, The Walsh Cor
poration.
The Mercy Foundation’s primary
goal is to improve the skills of staff
members through the foundation’s
professional development program.
It’s administered through the hospi
tal staff and has as its goal im
proving patient care by helping staff
members - from the most experi
enced medical person to the main
tenance staff members - learn the
latest in medical technology.
The foundation also helps Mercy
Hospital purchase important diag
nostic and therapeutic equipment,
keeping the hospital up-to-date with
constantly changing technology.
The Foundation’s other Board of
Dr. Robert Albright
. Receives new honors
Directors members are: Harry j.
Grim, John B. Stedman, James G.
Babb Jr., E. Reed Gaskin, M.D.,
Charles L. Grace, Jack B. Hobson,
M.D., Larry H. Patterson, Richard
G. Robb, Donald Schumacher,
M.D., Theodore B. Sumner Jr., and
William K. Van Allen.
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