“The Gift of Empty Hands”
Philemon 1,7-21
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Pastor Nate Walther
When you think of a good gift, what comes to mind? Maybe there’s that person in your life who is a gift-giving maestro – they always have the right thing picked out, and you just can’t wait to open their gifts! Or, maybe you feel like nobody understands what you want – they never have the right thing picked out, and you always wish they got you something else instead.
Regardless of what we think of as a good gift, I bet none of us pictures this: “the gift of empty hands”, of lacking something! But that’s the gift God describes today in our sermon text from Philemon. Here the Apostle Paul is writing to a man named Philemon about his servant, Onesmius, who had run away from him and come to Paul. I’ll read the whole text since we didn’t hear it earlier with our readings, and I’ll add some commentary along the way.
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, which was literally the case. Paul wrote this from house arrest in Rome, he was imprisoned for sharing the Gospel. And (also) Timothy, our brother, who was with Paul at the time. To Philemon, our dear friend and coworker… That makes it sound like Philemon was a faithful man and a good Christian… and he was! 7 For I have received great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. To put it in another way, Philemon was very much the last kind of person from whom you’d expect God to withhold a gift… but God had. He had taken his servant from him, leaving him with empty hands! Given how Paul describes Philemon, there’s no reason to think he had warranted that by mistreating Onesimus. Being a slave or servant back in those days wasn’t necessarily what we may think of. Still, Onesimus had run away. So listen to what Paul says to Philemon:
8 For that reason, even though I have plenty of boldness in Christ to order you to do what is proper, 9 I am appealing to you, instead, on the basis of love, just as I, Paul, am an old man and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ…With these words, Paul hints at what a blessing Onesimus must have been to him while he was imprisoned. He wouldn’t have wanted to give up Onesimus’s company! And, if anything, Paul could have ordered Philemon what to do, including letting Onesimus stay! As he will hint in a few verses, God had used Paul to bring Philemon to faith, which meant Philemon really owed Paul his soul! However, 10 I am appealing to you on behalf of my child Onesimus. I became his father while I was in chains. 11 There was a time when he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I have sent him (who is my very heart) back to you. Welcome him. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might serve me in your place while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your kindness would not be the result of compulsion, but of willingness…
Notice that, as Paul talks about all these things he wants Philemon to do, he models them himself. Paul willingly lets go of Onesimus himself. Paul models genuinely, Christian love himself. Later, Paul will even offer to take on Onesimus’s debts… Why? 15 Perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a while: so that you would have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave, but as more than a slave, as a dear brother. He certainly is dear to me, but he is even more of a dear brother to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord… Isn’t that interesting? Before, it seems Onesimus had not been a believer, or a “brother”, as they called each other back then… now he was. And that’s why Paul did this. Paul was all about making more believers.
17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, have written this with my own hand: I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 Yes, brother, I am asking for a favor from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask… The Word of the Lord.
The lesson in our sermon text is a simple one. By losing Onesimus, Philemon would get more back – not just a servant, but a brother in Christ & a willing servant. Likewise, by willingly letting go of Onesimus, Paul would get more back – he would be able to preach the Gospel message of Christ’s love in a more effective and powerful way. Finally, could it be that God does the same thing when our hands are empty? He’s freeing them up so we may receive even more back from him?
It’s hard to see it like that. Take the question we started with: did any one of us picture the gift of empty hands? No, we picture gifts only in terms of what we possess or what others can give us. Conversely, when we don’t have those things or they are taken away from us, it only seems bad. That classic question of, “why Lord, why did you let this happen?” It almost always involves loss or lacking something. But do we need such loss? Since we cling to whatever is in our hands – “you’d have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!” – is that why God must sometimes force the issue? Not “killing” us, mind you, but gently prying back our fingers from whatever thing, whatever possession, whatever relationship we think we cannot live without – but which will only exist for this life? Is that why God does this – not because he hates us, but because he loves us, and he wants to fill our hands with something better?
It’s kind of like a small child clutching something tightly in their hand with white-knuckles! To them it’s the most valuable thing in the world: maybe it’s stone they found on the ground with specks of their favorite color, or it’s a candy wrapper from their favorite candy, or It’s a really cool and interesting (but, also dead) bug. Of course, as their parent or grandparent you see something entirely different: a dumb rock that will just add to the clutter in their room, a worthless scrap of paper, an unsanitary bug – and you know that you have something better for them: a toy they’d much prefer, or their favorite treat, or a gentle hug and a safe nap… so firmly you peel back your child’s fingers from their prized possession – despite their cries, despite protests, despite inevitable explosion that occurs! – and you replace their loss with something that quickly lights up their face, something they could not have received without empty hands.
The lesson for us is simple, but before we apply it to ourselves, do we realize this is exactly what God the Father experienced on a cosmic scale… and, willingly. He loosened his grip on the most precious thing he had, without anyone forcing his fingers. And in his case, it was no worthless trinket. God experienced the pain of the loss of the closest family – his only begotten Son, with whom he had a relationship for all eternity; Jesus was more a part of the Father than you and I are one even with our spouses in marriage! – yet the Father forsook his Son & let him go on the cross, leaving him with empty hands… He did this so that his hands may be filled with something more. Not just receiving his own Son back in the resurrection, but you and me now as Jesus’ dear brothers and sisters – as God’s dearly loved children, bought back with the blood of Christ from our sins of whatever we desperately cling to (but which can never save us), claimed by the Holy Spirit through the washing waters of baptism!
That’s why God also asks us to accept empty hands: maybe it’s that we let go of some time, or talent or treasure; maybe it’s even that we would let go of the close relationship of a friend or family member, but one which is leading us away from Christ. It’s all so that he can fill them with more: things that last, relationships that last, a relationship with him that lasts. That will lead to blessing for you, personally. But it’s not just for you. When we start owning this truth in our faith life, it impacts others as well. Take Paul. Onesimus (evidently not a believer!) went to Paul (clearly a believer), perhaps only because of how well Paul had lived out his faith (after all, that was Onesimus’s point of contact with Paul through his master Philemon)… and after spending time with Paul, Onesimus is ready and willing to return to his master (as a believer!). That’s stunning. When we model the gift of empty hands, it leaves a strong impression on others. It might even be the way God places something in their hands for all eternity.
So what’s a good gift? That may look different for each of us. I’m sure that in a few months when Christmas approaches, you kids will have tons of ideas & long lists!… In all of this, don’t forget about the gift of empty hands. When you let go of everything else you might grab, and you simply receive what God puts there, he’ll give you even more back. Amen.
