READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 17:1-7
1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5
- St. Matthew 20:1-16
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. (Phil 1)
Who speaks to you on this day from His Gospel heard, saying:
From today’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus’s grace. He is gracious to create His vineyard, to call workers from idleness, and to even reward them for it! He wants us to hear this so that we recognize that Grace is outside of us and in God alone. It is His grace alone that saves and since we have been shown grace, we too may gladly show grace to those around us.
First, an apology to all my actual Karens listening today. It is unfortunate that your namesake has become a pejorative in our days, but fortunate that your name sounds like the Greek word for Grace, which means “gift”. What do the two have to do with each other? Well, in today’s Gospel reading, the Lord of the Vineyard encounters a “karen” whilst handing out paychecks, yet what that “karen” had forgotten was that he didn’t deserve the paycheck or the work given to him, in the first place.
So let’s define a “Karen” quickly, in order to move on to Christ. “Karen” is typically used to refer to an upper middle-class white American woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding, however is not limited to them. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting anyone who "uses their class and privilege to demand their own way". This includes demanding to "speak to the manager", being an adult tattle-tale, or wearing a particular bob cut hairstyle.
This “entitled-ism” is considered grace and is taught by certain bodies of Christians who believe that grace is only for the elect of God. They join hands with another large group who confess that grace is a substance, something to be eaten or drunk, in order that you may gain more of it. Progressive grace, if you will, in both parties.
For the “churchian Karen”, she is part of the elect and others around her are not. She is also on her way to increase the grace given to her and she doesn’t see that same commitment in others, so she becomes entitled. Or we could use a Biblical word: boastful. Boasting in her commitment and dedication to her Lord and Savior and lording it over others.
In our Gospel reading today, we are told of the very first workers, hired to steward the Lord’s Vineyard. And they are no different from the rest of the workers hired throughout the day. Eager, grateful, and committed to being chosen to work. In fact, I bet they have more drive to being a more accomplished worker and happier to show their thanks by working harder than all the rest.
They were first and the others were not. They were given more time to increase and progress in their work, so all others are far behind. They were quick to point out slackers and report them, because it is a privilege to work and back in my day, we were thankful for the chance.
This is the “grace” within the First Workers. Fabricated on their own and held up as the highest standard, because they were chosen and we were not.
Repent! You believe the same, about grace. That you are being filled by God with His grace and you increase day by day. You shall increase and others shall decrease, because God favors you. You are the workers hired at the first hour. You demand your merits be worth something.
And when your request is not honored by Jesus, as you think it should be, then you proclaim that this cannot stand. We cannot have this Jesus. It’s not fair. It’s not right. I’m going to speak to the manager. And with that, you either turn your prayers to someone else or you make it so God has to honor the deal you made with Him. All very magical and contractual.
If grace were something exclusive to us or if it were some sort of “universe goo” that God uses, then maybe we could hold God liable for breach of contract. But that is not what Grace is. Grace is not inside us, it is outside us. This is shown by the vineyard the first-hour workers did not plant, the job they did not earn, and the universal pay they did not want.
When we speak of Grace, we do not want to make the mistake of talking about the lovingkindness Jesus shows to everyone. Where everyone gets their daily bread from Him regardless of whether they are good or evil, believer or unbeliever. We only want to concern ourselves with saving grace.
For it is only saving grace that produces the forgiveness of sins, found in Christ Jesus. Grace is more of an attribute that God has, as in, He is gracious and filled with grace. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”.
Grace is God’s, not to hand out, but to have towards us. In other words, grace is not an aid to do good and obtain forgiveness. Grace is God’s response of love to the fallen world on account of Christ. Grace is not shown or given to us in order that we would change our ways and start a relationship with God. Instead, Grace reflects a change in God’s relationship to the world.
Because, not only is God completely justified if He had decided to utterly destroy the First-hour workers for their insolence, but He would also be completely justified in leaving all the idle men to fend for themselves in the market. God is Almighty. He could do it if He wanted.
But what He wants is something different from what we want and in Jesus, this is clear. In Jesus we see the unmerited favor of God towards men. Not only because He is God and it is Who He is, but also now that He is made man, God and man are united in Christ, by Grace.
Unmerited is the key word to counter the karen within, for Grace alone saves and that not of yourselves. It is universal. For all men. Though not all are saved, all have been purchased and won by Christ. Grace alone saves and “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” in Christ Jesus (Titus 2:11).
We also want to speak of Grace as active. Living and active. The Word Lives and we live in Him. for in this way only, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). So that when we speak of grace, we see again that it is part of Who God is and not just a prize to win.
Third, Grace is serious and sincere. That is, He does not create a super-secret group of those He is going to save and still turn around and say things like, He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Or stand in front of Jerusalem, the city that would crucify Him, and weep over it (Lk 19:41). The Lord means what He says and is no hypocrite.
Finally, God’s grace is efficacious. From 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”
Effective as in, it does what it says. The same omnipotent power that created all things now recreates you, by grace. Moved by His own grace, Jesus creates the power of salvation in the word of His cross. There is no other way He has chosen to pour out His grace in this world.
God does not wait for you to change your mind towards Him. Instead, grace is a change in God’s relationship to the world. What was once condemned in Adam is now accepted by God, in Christ (Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics VIII:110).
In His grace, we are free from sin, not free to sin. We are invited to live out our faith with thankful hearts, eager to share the Gospel with others. In His grace, there is no boasting. Grace is not inside us, but an outside action of God towards us. There is no room for being entitled, privileged, or unmerciful.
By grace we are the unwilling made willing. By grace we are the unmerited receiving merit. By grace we are the unworthy receiving the worth of Christ. Grace is not an “aid” to do good and obtain forgiveness. It is the heart of God opening towards us on account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. For even Karen is saved by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith alone.
And Jesus enjoys the privilege of paying for sinners to sit at His Table. His is a willing sacrifice a willing unconditional love that, although it is not and cannot be paid back, still calls out in invitation: receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning. By grace, all receive the same baptism, the same Supper, and the same Spirit.
Who speaks to you on this day from His Gospel heard, saying:
“I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you”
From today’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus’s grace. He is gracious to create His vineyard, to call workers from idleness, and to even reward them for it! He wants us to hear this so that we recognize that Grace is outside of us and in God alone. It is His grace alone that saves and since we have been shown grace, we too may gladly show grace to those around us.
First, an apology to all my actual Karens listening today. It is unfortunate that your namesake has become a pejorative in our days, but fortunate that your name sounds like the Greek word for Grace, which means “gift”. What do the two have to do with each other? Well, in today’s Gospel reading, the Lord of the Vineyard encounters a “karen” whilst handing out paychecks, yet what that “karen” had forgotten was that he didn’t deserve the paycheck or the work given to him, in the first place.
So let’s define a “Karen” quickly, in order to move on to Christ. “Karen” is typically used to refer to an upper middle-class white American woman who is perceived as entitled or excessively demanding, however is not limited to them. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting anyone who "uses their class and privilege to demand their own way". This includes demanding to "speak to the manager", being an adult tattle-tale, or wearing a particular bob cut hairstyle.
This “entitled-ism” is considered grace and is taught by certain bodies of Christians who believe that grace is only for the elect of God. They join hands with another large group who confess that grace is a substance, something to be eaten or drunk, in order that you may gain more of it. Progressive grace, if you will, in both parties.
For the “churchian Karen”, she is part of the elect and others around her are not. She is also on her way to increase the grace given to her and she doesn’t see that same commitment in others, so she becomes entitled. Or we could use a Biblical word: boastful. Boasting in her commitment and dedication to her Lord and Savior and lording it over others.
In our Gospel reading today, we are told of the very first workers, hired to steward the Lord’s Vineyard. And they are no different from the rest of the workers hired throughout the day. Eager, grateful, and committed to being chosen to work. In fact, I bet they have more drive to being a more accomplished worker and happier to show their thanks by working harder than all the rest.
They were first and the others were not. They were given more time to increase and progress in their work, so all others are far behind. They were quick to point out slackers and report them, because it is a privilege to work and back in my day, we were thankful for the chance.
This is the “grace” within the First Workers. Fabricated on their own and held up as the highest standard, because they were chosen and we were not.
Repent! You believe the same, about grace. That you are being filled by God with His grace and you increase day by day. You shall increase and others shall decrease, because God favors you. You are the workers hired at the first hour. You demand your merits be worth something.
And when your request is not honored by Jesus, as you think it should be, then you proclaim that this cannot stand. We cannot have this Jesus. It’s not fair. It’s not right. I’m going to speak to the manager. And with that, you either turn your prayers to someone else or you make it so God has to honor the deal you made with Him. All very magical and contractual.
If grace were something exclusive to us or if it were some sort of “universe goo” that God uses, then maybe we could hold God liable for breach of contract. But that is not what Grace is. Grace is not inside us, it is outside us. This is shown by the vineyard the first-hour workers did not plant, the job they did not earn, and the universal pay they did not want.
When we speak of Grace, we do not want to make the mistake of talking about the lovingkindness Jesus shows to everyone. Where everyone gets their daily bread from Him regardless of whether they are good or evil, believer or unbeliever. We only want to concern ourselves with saving grace.
For it is only saving grace that produces the forgiveness of sins, found in Christ Jesus. Grace is more of an attribute that God has, as in, He is gracious and filled with grace. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”.
Grace is God’s, not to hand out, but to have towards us. In other words, grace is not an aid to do good and obtain forgiveness. Grace is God’s response of love to the fallen world on account of Christ. Grace is not shown or given to us in order that we would change our ways and start a relationship with God. Instead, Grace reflects a change in God’s relationship to the world.
Because, not only is God completely justified if He had decided to utterly destroy the First-hour workers for their insolence, but He would also be completely justified in leaving all the idle men to fend for themselves in the market. God is Almighty. He could do it if He wanted.
But what He wants is something different from what we want and in Jesus, this is clear. In Jesus we see the unmerited favor of God towards men. Not only because He is God and it is Who He is, but also now that He is made man, God and man are united in Christ, by Grace.
Unmerited is the key word to counter the karen within, for Grace alone saves and that not of yourselves. It is universal. For all men. Though not all are saved, all have been purchased and won by Christ. Grace alone saves and “the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” in Christ Jesus (Titus 2:11).
We also want to speak of Grace as active. Living and active. The Word Lives and we live in Him. for in this way only, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). So that when we speak of grace, we see again that it is part of Who God is and not just a prize to win.
Third, Grace is serious and sincere. That is, He does not create a super-secret group of those He is going to save and still turn around and say things like, He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Or stand in front of Jerusalem, the city that would crucify Him, and weep over it (Lk 19:41). The Lord means what He says and is no hypocrite.
Finally, God’s grace is efficacious. From 1 Thessalonians 2:13, “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”
Effective as in, it does what it says. The same omnipotent power that created all things now recreates you, by grace. Moved by His own grace, Jesus creates the power of salvation in the word of His cross. There is no other way He has chosen to pour out His grace in this world.
God does not wait for you to change your mind towards Him. Instead, grace is a change in God’s relationship to the world. What was once condemned in Adam is now accepted by God, in Christ (Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics VIII:110).
In His grace, we are free from sin, not free to sin. We are invited to live out our faith with thankful hearts, eager to share the Gospel with others. In His grace, there is no boasting. Grace is not inside us, but an outside action of God towards us. There is no room for being entitled, privileged, or unmerciful.
By grace we are the unwilling made willing. By grace we are the unmerited receiving merit. By grace we are the unworthy receiving the worth of Christ. Grace is not an “aid” to do good and obtain forgiveness. It is the heart of God opening towards us on account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. For even Karen is saved by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith alone.
And Jesus enjoys the privilege of paying for sinners to sit at His Table. His is a willing sacrifice a willing unconditional love that, although it is not and cannot be paid back, still calls out in invitation: receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning. By grace, all receive the same baptism, the same Supper, and the same Spirit.
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