Today’s first reading is from Paul’s letter to Philemon. Most Christians wouldn’t even be able to name Philemon as one of the books of the New Testament. Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s letters, not even organized in chapters and only 355 words longs, written originally in Greek. While Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison, he was not concerned with his own well-being, but rather the well-being of the runaway slave Onesimus,who was returning to his owner. Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back not as a slave or a servant, but rather as a brother in Christ, to practice God’s justice and mercy in his life.
It is interesting how the message of Philemon interacts with the life of the Saint we celebrate today - Leo the Great. He was elected Pope in 440 at a time when the Church was battling several heresies. One of these heresies - Nestorianism - held that Christ had two natures - both human and divine - but that because of these two natures, Christ was two separate persons. Another heresy was Monophysitism, which held that Jesus only had one nature, his divine nature, which had replaced his human nature. For the eloquent defense he wrote against these heresies and his other writings, Leo was named Doctor of the Church. Although a lot of heresies were put to rest in the Early Church, we have new heresies today, or the old ones creep up on us again in different disguises. One such heresy is Pelagianism, the belief that original sin did not taint human nature and that mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without the help of God’s divine grace working in our lives. This heresy was named about Pelagius, an English born monk who died in the early 5th century. Pelagianism was condemned as a heresy at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Pope Francis and many Protestant leaders have condemned what they see as a modern-day version of Pelagianism, of so many in pur world today who think that by their own efforts they make everything right in their lives, as we look for the self-help course that will magically solve everything, as we try to achieve salvation on our own, in our own way. Pope Francis called this a “spiritual worldliness.” Leo the Great saw our salvation and our journey through life intrinsically tied to the salvation we have in Christ: “No one, however weak, is denied a share in the victory of the cross. No one is beyond the help of the prayer of Christ.” Pope Leo the Great, we pray for your intercession and we unite our prayers to yours.
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