Worship - 20 September 2026

Summary Of This Week's Theme

“It's not fair!” That seems to have been something of a mantra in my childhood. I was the oldest of three children, straddling four years — later increased by my brother, but that was totally different. It wasn't fair that, as the oldest, I was allowed to do things before my younger sisters. Nor was it fair that they were sometimes allowed things at an age earlier than I had been. Wonderful sibling stuff. We have mostly grown out of it now.

But “It's not fair” remains a very human complaint. And as siblings in the family of God, we tend to bring that same attitude into our life together.

The parable of the vineyard workers is a wonderful example. If Jesus hadn't told it, we might be tempted to dismiss it as economic radicalism. Workers who arrive at the end of the day receive the same wage as those who have worked since morning. No wonder the early workers complain.

But notice what the landowner actually does. Five times he goes out looking for workers. He doesn't wait for them to come to him. And at the end, everyone receives enough for their needs: the full day's wage.

The story isn't really about equality. It is about abundance. It is about an economy in which nobody is left without enough.

And that challenges us, because our instinct is so often to ask, “Is it fair?” — usually meaning, “Am I getting what I deserve?” We measure, compare and compete. We read ourselves into the story as the people who worked all day. But what if we are actually the ones who arrived at the eleventh hour, dependent not upon what we deserve, but upon God's generosity?

And the vineyard is about more than money. There are people who are spiritually hungry and thirsty: people who need to know that they matter, that they are loved, that their lives have meaning. If we leave people hungry in those ways, then we have failed in the harvest.

Paul tells the Philippians to “strive side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.” His language would have evoked Roman soldiers standing together, shields interlocked. No soldier stood alone. The strength of the formation lay in their mutual commitment.

That is what the Christian community is called to be: people standing together, looking not simply at what we deserve, but at what others need.

Because when we ask whether the kingdom of God is fair, perhaps we are asking the wrong question.

Is it fair that some have more than enough while others have so little? Is it fair that some live in safety while others endure famine, war and displacement?

Jesus turns our understanding of fairness upside down. The question is not, “How much can I claim?” but, “Does everyone have enough?”

And perhaps the deepest question is this: Am I sustained by what I deserve, or by the grace of God?

In the end, we are all recipients of more than we deserve.

God is not fair. God is merciful. And for that, we should be relentlessly thankful.