20 September 2026, Matthew 20:1-16 Space for Grace
As I mentioned in the newsletter a few weeks ago, Dana and I recently went to the movies to see ‘Odyssey’. The three-hour running time and epic scale of the film are just incredible. Has anyone here seen it? With its spectacular action, fast pace, and wondrous storyline... it was truly a feast for the eyes. I just enjoyed it. But as the movie ended and we were walking out of the Hoyts, Dana suddenly said something I didn’t expect: “Ah, I’m so disappointed.” I was surprised and asked, “Wait, why? I thought it was great!” And she replied, “If I had picked up more of the dialogue, I would’ve enjoyed it… a lot more. How much did you actually catch?” That question made me pause and think about it. How much did I understand? Maybe.. about 50%? But the really fascinating thing is, for those entire three hours, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, not even once. Why was that?
On the way home, Dana and I were talking about the movie, and then I realised why. It was my imagination. I wasn’t trying to catch every single word. I was simply filling in the gaps with my imagination. Of course, I can’t guarantee I was 100% right. I might have got it completely wrong. But I could still feel their emotion, hear what was behind their words, and follow the story. This is what can happen when we don’t have all the pieces. I would say “The beauty of not knowing.”
How was that possible? It’s simple. I already knew the big picture of the movie before I watched it. I had done my homework. I looked up the background and history, learned about the director’s intentions and the cast, and read countless reviews. I even recalled old memories from my high school history classes. All of that gave me a bigger picture of the story. So when I missed some of the words. I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. I had enough space to follow the story and imagine the dialogue in my own head. I had that extra space, that little margin, inside me. And because I wasn’t desperately trying to catch every single word, I could notice something more: the actors’ emotions, the look in their eyes, the subtle expressions, even the slight trembling of their fingertips.
For those of you who are fluent in English, you might be thinking, “What on earth is he talking about?” But for someone like me, living with a language barrier, God has given me a special gift for survival. I like to call it “the grace of imagination.” It’s the grace that allows me to fill in those daunting, empty spaces between words and sentences with my heart. I truly believe God gave me that empty space, the space beyond language, as a precious gift.
For example, when you and I talk, or when we have a meeting together, why do you think I don’t get frustrated even when I don’t pick up all the conversation? It’s because I know we love each other. I know we have good hearts. So rather than chasing every single word, I trust your heart toward me. I naturally try to understand what you mean in the best possible way. And that experience gave me a deeper insight into our faith. As we go through life, there are so many moments when we simply can’t understand God’s plans or all the details of what is happening to us. We are left with so many “Why?” questions. Sometimes, all we have is a long, heavy silence. But what if we trust the Author of our story? Then, even when we don’t understand everything, we can still say with confidence: “It’s all good.”
With this in mind, let’s look at the parable of the workers in the vineyard that Jesus shared with us today. At first, I tried to analyse it from every single sentence. “Does this make sense? Is this really right? How did the workers who had worked all day feel? I know it’s a story that is genuinely hard to understand.
So, for a moment, let’s put aside our instinct to analyse every detail of this story using our own logic and common sense. Instead, let’s focus on the One telling the story. Let’s trust the heart and intentions of the One guiding the whole story. Let’s imagine the dialogue, the emotions, and the background of the vineyard workers. And then, let’s try filling in the gaps ourselves. If we open our hearts to who God is, what does this story say to us? I’m talking about this simple truth: God is good, and He loves us to the very end.
When we look at the story this way, the master’s actions no longer seem unfair. They begin to look completely different. What felt unfair - becomes grace. What made no sense reveals God’s love. Think about it. The workers who came first had high expectations. They were thinking, “If those people got this much for only one hour, we should get much more! This is our lucky day!” That makes perfect sense. But when they received exactly the same amount, they complained, “This is unfair!”
Now, if the master didn’t want his true intentions to be noticed, what could he have done? He could simply have paid the first workers what he had promised, sent them home, and then paid the rest in order. If he had done that, there would have been no problem. Just another ordinary day in the vineyard. But the master didn’t do that. He deliberately paid the last workers first. And that changed everything. Now the first workers had to see with their own eyes what the last workers received. That was the moment the real story began to unfold. Their reaction is completely understandable.
Why does the master take such a foolish loss? Because when he looks, he doesn’t see a balance sheet. He sees people. He sees the man who cannot leave the marketplace as the sun is setting. He sees the family that will go hungry if that man goes home empty-handed today.
He sees their absolute desperation, / standing on the edge of a cliff.
So, I have to say the master created a “Space for Grace”, a space for those who were last. Without the lens of God’s grace, this parable just ends as an unfair and strange story. But if we trust the unconditional love of God, the Author of this story, His “loss” reads completely differently. It becomes “grace.” Because in the end, it wasn’t the first workers who took the loss; it was the master. Just like I could enjoy the movie despite missing some dialogue because I trusted the beautiful story, the confusing gaps in our own lives can also be beautifully filled with this “Space for Grace” when we hold firmly to one premise: “God is good.”
So, in this story, which worker do you want to be? The first one? The last one? Or maybe someone in the middle? You may be wondering, “Then who am I supposed to be in this story?” Well I want to be the “manager.” The one who quietly obeys and carries out the master’s orders. “Pay the last ones first.” How do you think he felt? He probably had his own doubts. But even though he saw how everything unfolded, he quietly helped create that Space for Grace because he intimately knew his master’s character. And by doing so, the manager was becoming more like his master. I believe this is the kind of life we are all called to live, creating that Space for Grace together, just like our master. And that this is the true message of today’s story.
Sisters and brothers, as we come to the end of today’s message, I want to share a story that I really treasure. It happened when I was serving as a Sunday School youth worker in Sydney. The Sunday School team went away for a camp, and after dinner, we gathered to share our lives and pray for one another. The story that one of the teachers, Hee-jin, shared that night struck my heart so deeply that I will never forget it. The story goes back more than forty years. When Hee-jin was very young, she came to Sydney with her parents, holding their hands. Her uncle had already settled in Australia. He was so excited about this place that he kept telling them, “This place is heaven! Why don’t you stay and live here with us?” Her parents fell in love with Australia too.
They wanted to stay. They really wanted to build a life here. But there was no legal way for them to stay. Eventually, Hee-jin’s family and her uncle, the two brothers, overstayed their visas. And from that moment on, their lives changed. They had to live day by day, always carrying the fear that one day they might be deported. Then, one day, they heard some unexpected news. An amnesty!
In the early 1980s, the Australian government announced a final chance for people in their situation to apply to stay. Some of you may remember this. But people reacted in very different ways. Some said, “It’s a trap! They’re trying to catch us and deport us!”
Others said, “This is our last chance!” And Hee-jin’s father and uncle were divided too.
Two brothers. Same family. Same situation. But even as the December 31 deadline approached, the two brothers couldn’t agree. In the end, the uncle surrendered everything to God and submitted his application. On the other hand, Hee-jin’s father ultimately gave up and didn’t apply.
Many who applied with her uncle received legal status. But from that day on, Hee-jin’s father and his family officially became undocumented. Fortunately, because Hee-jin’s uncle was an immediate family member, they were able to stay in Australia through a combination of bridging visas and guardianship arrangements. But they had to endure that anxious, exhausting life for 15 long years.
When Hee-jin turned 18, their final bridging visa expired. Now, there was no legal way left for the family to stay. They were standing on the edge. So, they decided to risk everything one last time. “Let’s find the best lawyer we can. Even if he is the most expensive lawyer in Sydney.”
Young Hee-jin struggled to prepare the documents while translating for her dad. As they walked out of their first meeting, she carefully asked, “Excuse me... how much will this cost?” But instead of giving a price, the lawyer simply said, “Let’s talk about that later.”
All the way home, her father thought to himself, “If he’s saying that, the fee must be incredibly expensive.” But since he believed this was their very last chance, he decided to bear the cost.
After a few more meetings and about two years of waiting, the lawyer submitted a petition directly to the Minister for Immigration. “Ministerial Intervention.” And after another long period of waiting and providing additional documents, one day, they received their official visas! You can imagine how much joy they must have felt.
But even after that, there was no news from the law firm. Feeling uneasy, the father prepared a thoughtful gift and visited the lawyer’s office once again. “Thank you so much. You saved our family. Now please tell me how much I owe you.” But the lawyer’s answer was completely unexpected. They simply sat down, held each other, and wept. Was it because the fee was too high? No. The lawyer said, “I am a very expensive lawyer. However, for you, it is free. Please keep this a secret from others.” When asked why, the lawyer replied, “I am a Christian. A long time ago, I made a promise to God. I promised that, among the desperate people who came to my office, I decide to help tenth person unconditionally, completely free of charge.” You are that tenth person. It isn’t too difficult for me, so please don’t worry about the cost at all. Go and live in peace with your family.”
Through Jesus’ story today, we can clearly see one thing: God always leaves a space for grace. This is exactly what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. Let me ask you again.
Who took the biggest loss? That is why I want to describe God’s grace like this: Grace flows alongside God’s loss. At the very foundation of the grace the Bible talks about, there is always God’s loss. God gave up what was His for us. He stepped down from His own seat, just to make room for us to enter. So, how should we live our lives knowing this amazing grace? Yes, we too should become people who make room for others.
Like we heard about the Samaritan Boxes, making space in our lives is just like filling that box. It’s just one small box, and the space inside isn’t even that big. But that tiny space becomes “the late-afternoon blessing” for someone else. I am sure that the grace contained in that small space can lead to countless beautiful stories. This is God’s Space for Grace, and it is the precious message Jesus is sharing with us today.
So, what if I asked you, “Which worker are you in this story?” We would probably all say, “I’m the last one.” And I feel the exact same way. But if I’m being honest, it’s not so much that I want to be the last worker; rather, I want to live with the heart of the last worker.
Instead of complaining, “Why are they getting the same amount?” or, “Why is my life like this?” I want to live with gratitude and humility. I want to always remember,
“I, too, was someone who desperately needed that grace.”
Space for Grace.
Now, it’s our turn. What kind of space for grace is waiting for you in your homes and workplaces today? I encourage you to look out for it. I invite you to step into God’s space of grace, just like the worker who came last, and to receive the late-afternoon blessing, just like that tenth client. And I invite you to join in that beautiful, holy waste, letting the gifts we’ve received freely flow back out to others. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like.
Amen.
