15 November 2018
Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Amy Chua, who is John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School, writes in her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, what she once said to her daughters: “Never ever make fun of foreign accents,” I’ve exhorted them on many occasions. “Do you know what a foreign accent is? It’s a sign of bravery. Those are people who crossed an ocean to come to this country. My parents had accents—I had an accent. I was thrown into nursery school not speaking a word of English. Even in third grade, classmates made fun of me. Do you know where those people are now? They’re janitors…”
Chua’s words to her daughters are the combination of wisdom, light-hearted humor, and tough love. The way Chua addresses her daughters reminds me of the scripture reading today in which St. Paul addresses his spiritual son, Philemon, to release Onesimus from slavery and any debt and then allow Onesimus to help Paul in the proclamation of the Gospel. Paul is trying to appeal to Philemon’s heart so that he will feel no compulsion to allow Onesimus to stay with Paul. Philemon might have ill feelings toward Onesimus as a slave, but Paul is hoping that he would give a voluntary consent to a new relationship. Paul is trying to convince Philemon as the master that he cannot simply treat Onesimu as a slave, but he must recognize that he and Onesimus are brothers and Philemon must welcome Onesimus as a fellow Christian. In short, Paul invites Philemon to become Christlike towards Onesimus.
In your prayers today, reflect on the Pauline theme that faith must express itself in deeds of love. In Christ all believers are brothers and sisters, no matter what their position or status in the church or in the world. Certainly, no one has a slave in 21stcentury America, but we might still have ambiguous feelings towards people that we consider “second class”, for instance, people who speak with foreign accents or people who come from certain social groups. Are you aware of unjust treatment and painful situations of certain groups of people around you and in the wider world? How do you want to respond to these situations? If you do not know how to respond, talk to Jesus about it.