Sometimes life can seem unfair, because we are unable to see the big picture. But God always sees the big picture and always does what is right for us. In our worship today, let us consider a story which Jesus told and which at first glance seems unfair.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, I get angry when I think I've been treated unfairly.
Lord, have mercy.Jesus, I get resentful when I think I've been treated unfairly.
Christ, have mercy.Jesus, I'm not always aware when I treat other people unfairly.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Matthew 20.1-16
Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the market-place doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 'Because no-one has hired us,' they answered. He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Story:
In this parable, we tend to feel sympathy for the early workers and agree with them that it was unfair for the late workers to be paid the same as them since they hadn't worked for anything like as long. But Jesus is telling us that we can't judge God by our own mean standards, for God is overwhelmingly generous and loves to give his gifts to all his children. And nobody earns or deserves God's gifts, they are simply free for all.
In this story, Henry learned that what seemed unfair to someone else was the one thing that changed Henry's life.
Henry's Hurdle
Henry was the best swimmer in his class at school. His mother laughingly said that he was like a fish as soon as he got into water. Henry only knew that he loved swimming, for the water made his body feel as though it worked perfectly. He was never clumsy in water, as he was on land. And he was fast in water, but so slow on land. For some reason, although Henry was useless at running, he was terrific at swimming.
Henry had no sooner joined the local swimming club than he was picked for the team. They were to compete against a club from the next town and they were driven in a coach to the swimming pool in the next town. It was all very exciting.
By the time Henry was undressed and in his swimming trunks, he was feeling a little nervous. By the time he was standing at the head of the pool, glancing at his opponents, he was feeling very nervous. There were only six in the race, one for each lane of the swimming pool, but the other five were all much bigger than Henry. He reckoned that he was the youngest and he feared that the others were all much stronger than him.
But he shrugged and determined to do his best, even if it meant he came last. When the starter gun sounded, Henry was in the water in a flash and soon swimming for all he was worth. He swam faster than he had ever swum before. He put his whole self into the race. He gave it everything he had. He was concentrating so hard that he had no time to see how he was faring. He just kept his head down and swam.
Henry only looked up when he felt his fingers touch the rail at the end of the pool. Then he discovered to his shame that he was last. Everyone else had finished long before and they were all looking at him and grinning. Even though the spectators clapped (especially his mother) Henry felt that he never wanted to swim again. He was hopeless. He'd never be fast enough to swim in competitions. He felt a complete failure.
But when the medals were given out, to his surprise, Henry heard his name called. He was presented with a medal just for competing and finishing the race. Henry heard the winner mutter, "It's not fair! It's stupid when everyone gets a medal. What's the point in winning if everyone gets a medal? I should be the only one with a medal!"
But Henry didn't care. He was very proud of his medal and suddenly realised that he did want to go on swimming after all. He was so encouraged that he decided to train and train until he could be a winner. And when he did become a winner, he vowed that he would always be glad if everyone received a medal, because Henry's medal had changed his life that day.
Activity:
You need:
A large bag of assorted sweets
Ask who would like some sweets? Probably all the children will want some. Choose a tenth of the children (i.e. if there are twenty children, choose two) and invite them to come out. Make a show of giving these two children nearly all the sweets, but make sure you have enough left for at least one sweet for each child. Then divide out the remainder of the sweets equally between the rest of the children.
Ask the children whether they think you have been fair. Hopefully they'll say "no!" with varying degrees of outrage. Ask them why your actions weren't fair? Ask them if there are any circumstances under which those actions might have been seen as fair (perhaps if the two children had won a big competition.) Ask the children with most of the sweets how they could make things fairer. Hopefully they'll divide out their sweets equally, in which case you could point out that they still have lots of sweets, but that now everyone else has lots of sweets too.Then tell the children that nearly all the wealth and food in the world is divided amongst just a few people (Western nations) while the majority of the world are very poor and have insufficient food. Ask them whether they think this is fair and discuss their responses.
Ask them whether they think that God would want his gifts to go to just a few people? Point out that there is plenty for all in the world and that we in the West would still have a great deal of wealth even if we shared it better.
Intercession:
Generous God, as we in the church acknowledge and enjoy your gifts, give us the determination to share them equally. May we too be generous with all that we receive from you and understanding in our assessment of what is fair.
Generous God, enable us to continually work towards fair shares for all and the abolition of poverty. May those in positions of authority look always towards the greater good for all humanity, even when it means that we must pay a little more or earn a little less.
Generous God, give me your wisdom so that I become less judgemental towards other people. May I cease to see everything in black and white terms of "fair" or "unfair" and instead concentrate on your overwhelming generosity towards me in all that I am. May I become giving and forgiving as I follow Jesus Christ.
Generous God, we pray for those who sick or sad or hurting in any way. Help us to see life through their eyes, so that we begin to understand how they feel. We ask your healing power for
Blessing:
May you be so overwhelmed
With gratitude for God's gifts to you
That you cannot help but reflect
God's generosity in the whole of your life.
And the blessing of God almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you now,
be in your homes and in your families
and with all those whom you love
and for whom you pray,
now and always.
Amen.
