"Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Shoul you be jealous because I am kind to others?"

Matthew 20:15

The heat of the day was over. One more hour and the working day would end. As Abraham dragged his feet home, he looked at the few as in his hand and sighed. He had been contracted to work a day, but after slaving for most of the day, was dismissed abruptly without the promised denarius. He supposed that the few as he held was better than nothing, but it would barely feed his family tonight, let alone buy medicine for his Sarah.

His Sarah. His throat constricted at the thought of his little girl lying on the straw in a corner of their house. They had spent their savings calling for a doctor, only to discover that the medicine to buy her time would cost more than they had.

Abraham, father of many. He snorted. If only his parents could see him now. He had just two children, and one of them was close to death. If only he had earned a bit more, to buy Sarah a bit more time.

Walking through the square to get home, Abraham noted a few stragglers standing around. A few familiar faces were there.

Libertus. He had not seen him during the morning. He must have awoken from his stupor too late to be hired. After the death of his son Junio, he had taken to drinking his sorrows away. He was probably still here in order to escape the wrath of Cilla.

Jesse stood leaning against a wall. Ever since the accident a few months ago, he had walked with a noticeable limp, leaving him without work most of the time. His wife and daughter had to take in washing from the community just to make enough to get by.

Suddenly, a Roman wearing a pure white toga walked confidently in. Another rich man, leaving his house now that the blistering afternoon sun was almost gone. But, why was he here? The markets were closed, and anyway, they had nothing to offer for a Roman of his wealth.

Raising his head, the Roman called out. "Why are you all still idling here? Didn't you get work?"

Jesse spit on the ground. "Do you not have eyes, Roman? We couldn't get work. Do you think we choose to stay idle" Under his breath, he muttered "stinking privileged Romans."

Abraham hoped that the Roman didn't hear what Jesse said. The last thing he wanted was to have to go to Jesse's house and explain to his family why Jesse got arrested. The community wouldn't be able to get him out of trouble, let alone help his family.

Unexpectedly, the Roman smiled. Apparently, Jesse's defiance pleased him. "In that case, what about coming to work in my vineyard?" Raising his voice, he continued, "In fact, any man who wishes to work in my vineyard is welcome. I'll make sure you get a fair wage."

At this time of the day, a fair wage couldn't be more than the few as that Abraham had just received. But for Sarah, every as counted. Who knew, they might be able to buy her some medicine to tide her over for the night. And Abraham could not go back so early. Not to face death.

"I will work" Libertus stepped forward. Abraham looked at him in surprise. The man had not volunteered for anything since Junio died. Well, he had not volunteered for anything other than to drink.

Joining the small crowd of rejects, Abraham followed the Roman as they walked back to the vineyard. Entering the vineyard, he was surprised to see many workers there. There were far more workers than needed.

Unsure of what to do, but wanting to make himself useful, Abraham grabbed the nearest basket and headed over to a spot that did not seem to have been harvested yet. The others followed in his footsteps and started drifting off to find work to do.

As he worked, Abraham accidentally bumped into someone. "My apologies."

The worker looked at him bemusedly. "No problems. You're working really hard, you must be one of the new workers."

"Uh, yes. This must be a big farm, to need so many workers."

The worker laughed. "Trust me, there were already more than enough workers when I came here in the sixth hour. Yet the guy still goes out to hire people. It's his money, so who am I to complain?"

"How many times has he gone out to hire people?" Abraham was puzzled. Most landlords would have hired all they needed at the start of the day. If the work proved to be too much, the latest they would hire people would be at the third hour. Yet he was hired at the eleventh hour, and this guy was hired in the sixth.

"I'm not sure" the guy shrugged. "I know he went out again at the ninth hour, and I heard some people say they were hired at the third hour. Maybe he's just exceptionally lousy and hiring workers - most of those hired at the start of the day have already stopped working." He gestured to a group of hired hands sitting under the shade of a nearby tree. They were sunburnt from working in the heat of the day, but now, they were talking and laughing as though they had already collected their wages.

"Those guys over there, they stopped working at the ninth hour, when more workers came. Can't say I blame them." Evidently deciding that he had talked enough, the worker moved on.

Mechanically, Abraham continued harvesting the grapes. He did not understand why this Roman would continually hire workers. There was no logical explanation. This would not increase his profits and looking at the number of workers lazing about, he should have just stopped hiring after the third hour.

Soon, the day had ended.

"Line-up!" The foreman shouted. The Roman stood next to him and murmured something. "Those who came last are to come to the head of the queue. Those hired this morning at the back. The rest, arrange yourselves in the order you came!" Finished, the foreman impatiently waited for everyone to arrange themselves.

Taking his place near the front of the line, Abraham could feel the glares coming from the back of the queue. No doubt, they did not think that he and those with him did any work. Libertus was at the head of the queue and was the first to receive his wages. Abraham could not see how much his wages were, but he heard him gasp.

"Thank you. Sir." Cradling his wages, Libertus looked up at the Roman with tears in his eyes. "Thank you." The Roman simply smiled. His foreman looked irritated.

"Next!"

One by one, they shuffled forward to receive their wages. When Abraham received his, he couldn't help but gasp as well. For his hour of work, he received a denarius. It was too much. He glanced up at the foreman. "Is this, is this really for me?"

He received an exasperated sigh. "This is what the master ordered, now take your wages and go." Abraham stared at the precious denarius. Coupled with the as he had earned this morning, they had just enough to buy food and medicine. His Sarah could be saved!

"Abraham, wait" Jesse called. He walked as quickly as he could. "Did you, did you-"

"I got a denarius as well." Abraham could see tears in Jesse's eyes.

"For once, I can give something to my family." The man said gruffly. Abraham knew the loss of income had hurt Jesse's pride, and he was grateful that tonight, Jesse could go back with a day's wages.

Behind, they could hear shouting, and both men turned to see what was going on. Abraham recognised those workers. They were the ones lazing under the tree, the ones who had been hired first.

"If those who worked for only an hour get a denarius, then we deserved more!" They shouted. They were joined by a few workers from the third hour, who obviously thought that they deserved a higher wage.

The foreman started to reply, but before he could say anything, the Roman cut in. "My friend, what wrong am I doing you?"

"We deserve more!" They grumbled at him.

"Did we not agree on a denarius for a day's work this morning? Have your forgotten our agreement?" He said sharply. There were a few mumbles now, certainly nothing like the vehement protests a few minutes before. "It is none of your business as to how much I pay my workers. You have received your wages, now go."

The incensed foreman added, "And do not think that I did not see how hard you worked in the last few hours. Leave before the master decides to truly give you what you deserve." He would have continued had the Roman not put his hand on the foreman's shoulder to stop him.

Wordlessly, the grumblers left. None of them had earned their denarius, and they knew it. As for Abraham, he clutched the wages he did not deserve, and hurried home, anxious to see his family.