Margaret Johnston shares this story with us as a great illustration of Duncan's encouragement this morning to show kindness in all we do. (I have checked, and this story seems to be genuine.)He was a young refugee who had lost almost everything. She was one of Britain's most recognizable actresses. Somehow, they became family.

In 2003, a sixteen-year-old boy named Tindyebwa Agaba arrived at a Refugee Council event in London.

He was quiet.

He was alone.

And behind his silence was a story no teenager should ever have had to carry.

Years earlier, during the devastating conflict in Rwanda, Tindy had been separated from his family and forced into a life surrounded by violence.

Eventually, he escaped and made his way to the United Kingdom seeking safety.

London was supposed to be a new beginning.

Instead, it was frightening and unfamiliar.

He spoke very little English. He had no close relatives nearby and, at times, found himself sleeping on the streets, unsure where his next meal or safe place would come from.

Then, at that Refugee Council gathering, he met someone who would completely change the direction of his life.

British actress Emma Thompson was attending the event to support refugees.

She noticed Tindy sitting quietly by himself with a cup of tea.

Instead of simply walking past, she approached him.

She offered him something warm to drink, a piece of cake, and a friendly smile.

It was a small gesture.

But sometimes a small gesture is where an extraordinary story begins.

Emma and her husband, actor Greg Wise, soon began inviting Tindy to their home for family meals, particularly on Sundays.

At first, Tindy was understandably reserved.

He had experienced enormous upheaval and had little reason to immediately trust people he had only just met.

But slowly, the atmosphere changed.

He began feeling safe.

He began talking.

And the relationship between Tindy and the family became stronger.

Emma and Greg eventually realized that occasional dinners weren't enough.

Tindy needed something more fundamental.

Stability.

Security.

A family environment.

A place where he could begin rebuilding the future he had once thought was gone.

So they welcomed him into their home permanently and became his family in every way that mattered.

They gave him a room of his own.

They helped him improve his English.

They supported his education.

And, perhaps most importantly, they gave him the feeling that he belonged somewhere again.

Emma later spoke warmly about how much Tindy had brought into their lives, describing him as an extraordinary person whose resilience and spirit had taught the family important lessons.

With that support behind him, Tindy began rebuilding his life step by step.

He focused intensely on his education.

He completed secondary school.

He worked hard to master English.

And eventually, he earned a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Exeter.

His academic journey didn't stop there.

He later completed a master's degree in Human Rights.

But education was never simply about collecting qualifications.

For Tindy, it became part of a larger purpose.

He wanted to help people who had experienced the same uncertainty and displacement he had known.

Today, Tindyebwa Agaba has worked as a human rights advocate and campaigner, supporting refugees and speaking about issues affecting people displaced by conflict and persecution.

The teenager who once struggled to find a safe place to sleep eventually became someone dedicated to helping others find safety and dignity.

And the connection that began with a cup of tea and a piece of cake became one of the most meaningful relationships of his life.

Looking back, Tindy has expressed deep gratitude toward Emma and Greg for the support they gave him during a defining period of his life.

Their contribution wasn't simply providing somewhere for him to stay.

They helped create the stability that allowed him to imagine a future again.

His story carries a powerful reminder:

Family isn't always defined by biology.

Sometimes family is the person who notices that you're alone.

The person who opens a door.

The person who invites you to dinner.

The person who sees your potential when you can barely see it yourself.

Tindy arrived in London carrying memories of a difficult past and almost no certainty about what came next.

He eventually found something he hadn't expected to find so far from home.

Belonging.

His journey doesn't erase the hardship he experienced.

But it shows what can happen when compassion becomes action.

One family opened its home to a young stranger.

That young stranger grew into an educated advocate who dedicated his life to helping others.

Sometimes the smallest act of kindness becomes the beginning of an entirely different future.

And sometimes, the family you find along the way becomes just as important as the family you were born into. ... See MoreSee Less

Here's a wee report of Duncan's sermon this morning. This is absolute dynamite if we can take it to heart.

Duncan’s subject today was the generosity of God, the extent of God’s grace – and our reaction to it. We looked at the final act of the story of Jonah. (Jonah 4) Here’s a man who is sent by God to preach to the great city of Nineveh, warning its inhabitants of coming judgement if they don’t repent. He’s a reluctant prophet, but in the end he goes, and the results of his preaching are greater than he could ever have imagined. The whole city turns to God and repents. But is Jonah happy? No – because he doesn’t think the city’s inhabitants deserve to be forgiven. He sulks. But God says ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ The lesson of the story, said Duncan, is that ‘God loves the people Jonah doesn’t love.’

And then we looked at Jesus’ story about the workers in the vineyard. (Matthew 20:1-16) The landowner went early in the morning, and selected a team from the folk waiting in the town for work. He promised them 1 denarius, a fair day’s wage. They set to work. But at four more times throughout the day the landowner went and recruited more workers from the dwindling pool of job-seekers, promising everyone selected a fair payment. And then at the end of the day, blow me down, if he didn’t give them all the same amount – the one denarius he had promised the first group. Even those who had just worked an hour received the same pay. ‘This is massively unfair!’ the men grumbled.

The landowner said ‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”, and Jesus concluded ‘So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’ In a sense the landowner’s treatment of the workers was unfair. But Duncan asked us to reflect on those were hired in the course of the day, those who had not been signed up first thing by any of the others farmers seeking workers for the day. What about the older people, who may not be so strong? What about those who may have been discriminated against because of disability, or because they didn’t know the ‘right people.’

But, says Duncan, ‘Jesus is hinting at a different kind of world. A world where generosity rather than just simple equality of fairness is the benchmark.’

‘Jesus’ story doesn't favour the best, the biggest or the brightest. It seems in Jesus’ story, the question of who deserves what isn't a relevant question. All that's important in the story is that every last person gets a place in the vineyard. The early bird and the late, the able bodied and the infirm, the young and the old, the popular and the forgotten. Jesus through his story is giving us a glimpse of his Kingdom, where it isn't a case of survival of the fittest, but a world where everyone ends the day with dignity and security. The landlord is not being fair but he is being generous to everyone.’

These stories are enormously challenging! First they remind us of the love and generosity of God who wants each person to have a place in the vineyard. And secondly they lay bare our own Jonah-heartedness as we discriminate in our thinking, and see some people as being beyond the pale of God’s love.

And so we seek to respond in sheer joy that the God who loves us so much also loves everyone in the world, and we seek to treat those we meet with a kindness and love which reflects the kindness and love of God.

And the stories also speak to any of us who, for whatever reason, feel that God does not love us, that we are unlovable, that what we have said or thought or done, or what was been done to us puts us forever beyond the reach of divine love. We are loved. There is nothing which can thwart the love of God towards us, if we orientate our hearts towards God and dare to hope, and make our way to the market place at five in the afternoon, and see, the landowner is standing, beckoning. Beckoning me! ... See MoreSee Less