Onesimus

I remember Fr Alan telling us about Onesimus. Fr Alan said, "Onesimus means useful."

Onesimus was a slave of Philemon, and he was accused of stealing from Philemon, and Onesimus ran away, went to Rome, met St Paul, heard the preaching of Christ, repented, became a Christian, and St Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with a letter, asking Philemon to forgive Onesimus and accept him as a brother in Christ.

WOW!

Only Christians can do this! And all three - Paul, Onesimus and Philemon all became saints.

This is really a story about repentance and during Lent, we are all called to repent.

Some people are averse to hearing, "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Why? I suppose this type of people think they are living a Christian life and do not have any sins and what is there to repent and believe in the Gospel, when this type of people already believe in the Gospel.

Well, all I can say is that it is not easy to repent and believe in the Gospel. Let us take this Sunday's Gospel from Luke 14: 25 - 33.

Jesus asks us to hate our mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, brothers, sisters and ourselves and be his disciple. Can you really do this? Many people are scandalised by this!

Then on verse 33, Jesus says, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions. Can you really give up ALL of your possessions and be a follower of Christ. 

Fr Alan said, "Christians are not called to be poor."  So what does this mean? Fr Alan taught us that we must not be attached to our possessions and money, and be free with these.

Fr Alan told us a story about himself. He wanted to go to the seminary and he was the only son. His grandmother called him to her room and showed him all her money in a trunk and told Fr Alan that if he were to give up the idea of going to the seminary, he could have all of his grandmother's money. At that point, Fr Alan said he had to hate his grandmother. WHY? He had to hate the idea of his grandmother tempting him not to go to the seminary. Of course he went to the seminary and left all his possessions and followed Jesus.

When his parents visited him after a year or two later when he was in the seminary, Fr ALan's mother was so upset when she saw his room. Fr Alan's room, which is called a cell, was bare, like Pope Benedict's room in the Vatican when he was the reigning Pope.

Why? This is because both Fr Alan and Pope Benedict have given up their possessions and turned to God. 

Fr Alan said one Lent, "To repent means to have a metanoia." Metanoia means to change one's way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion.  And for those people who find the concept of sin difficult to contemplate and to "repent and believe in the Gospel" does not apply to them, then perhaps they could think about repentance means to have a metanoia - to change one's way of life, turn to Jesus and have a deeper relationship with Him. 

Almighty Father, remove our pride and the lie of the Devil, making us think we are perfect Christians, who do not sin or do not have any need of repentance. Teach us the real meaning of metanoia, turn to you and look only at you, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Amen.