Philemon 1:7Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He did not say, You are gentle, you are yielding. He speaks more forcefully and expressively: "the hearts of the saints," as though addressing a son dear and beloved to his parents.

Such love and attachment prove that Philemon was greatly loved by them.

He did not simply say, You give to the saints, but, You refresh "the hearts of the saints." This means that they receive your love for mankind with their whole soul, since it is offered to them generously and with consoling cordiality.

He rejoiced when all went well with them, grieved when sorrow and need oppressed anyone, and was consoled when someone relieved the lot of the sorrowful and needy.

So here also, he rejoiced over Philemon's goodness. In his sorrowful bonds, he had consolation because the hearts of the saints were refreshed by Philemon, as though his own heart were thereby given rest.

Such words suggested to Philemon: If the Apostle, so loved and honored, is consoled when I do something for others, how much greater consolation will he have if I do something for him?

If St. Paul addressed Philemon as a son, and Philemon loved and honored the Apostle as a father, precisely this compelling thought would naturally arise in Philemon.

Even before the request, it would dispose him to grant it. The Apostle speaks as if saying: From earlier examples I know that even if I command with great authority, I shall succeed.

Yet since I am concerned for this matter, for love's sake I entreat. 'Paul, an elder, a prisoner.' See how many instructive motives there are.

Paul, by the quality of the person. By age, because he is an elder. By what is most just, because he is also a prisoner of Jesus Christ, giving the greatest force to his request by his bonds.

For your sake, he says, I am bound with chains. If I had loved rest, I would not have gone throughout the world, and I would not have experienced this."

So here also, he rejoiced over Philemon's goodness. In his sorrowful bonds, he had consolation because the hearts of the saints had been refreshed by Philemon, as though his own heart were refreshed thereby.

"We not only rejoice for you, but are also consoled because of those who have been refreshed, since they are our members" (St. Chrysostom).

But why did St. Paul write about this? Because it greatly suited the purpose of the epistle. Such words suggested to Philemon: If the Apostle, so loved and honored, is consoled when I do something for others, how much more consolation will he have if I do something for him?

If St. Paul addressed Philemon as a son, and Philemon loved and honored the Apostle as a father, then precisely this compelling thought would naturally arise in Philemon.

Even before the request, it would dispose him to grant it. St. Chrysostom says: "If there must be such concord among us that those in afflictions should rejoice when they see others receiving rest, even though they themselves receive nothing, since one body has been benefited, then how much more shall we rejoice if you refresh us also."

"I have" means, we have. It may be allowed that St. Paul had in mind St. Timothy, whom he accepted as a companion in writing, or others who were with him.

Yet it is more probable that he speaks here of himself alone. Therefore the Slavonic translation correctly expresses the force of the Apostle's thought, although it does not keep to the letter.

"The hearts of the saints have been refreshed" does not point only to the refreshment of strangers and the poor by giving them what they need, though this seems chiefly intended.

It points generally to every benefaction, spiritual and material, toward all: one's own and strangers, those crushed by need and those with some smaller need.

Blessed Theodoret writes, speaking as if in the Apostle's person: "I am filled with every joy because you render services of every kind to the saints."

Yet perhaps it is better to see in this expression not the breadth of beneficence, but the strength and warmth of disposition with which every good deed was done.

Thus St. Chrysostom says: "He did not say, You are gentle, you are yielding. He speaks more forcefully and expressively: 'the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you.'"

Blessed Theophylact completes this thought: "He did not simply say, You give to the saints, but, You refresh the hearts of the saints.

This means that they receive your love for mankind with their whole soul, since it is offered to them generously and with consoling cordiality."

In this request the Apostle sets forth the most compelling motives to grant it, removing everything that could be presented against it.