I’ve worked for several farmers during my growing up years on Eastern Long Island, moving irrigation pipes in the mud, picking cucumbers and strawberries. I stood on potato combines for hours sorting the good spuds from the bad. The worse job I had was hoeing the weeds around brussels sprouts. I was overjoyed at the end of the day when the boss’ truck pulled up to pick up us laborers.

My younger brother sometimes worked with me and we would often compare our pay. Believe me. If I found that my brother made more than me I would have been furious.

One day I began work at 6 a.m. Hard work it was. At 4:30 that afternoon the boss comes to me and says, ‘Hey, think your brother could work from 5 to 6 this afternoon. ‘Sure’, I replied and thought to myself, why the heck you want him at five? We’re done by six. Anyway, my brother comes and works till the boss’s truck shows up and he calls us over for our wages. I get $12. Yeah, farm work, when I was a kid didn’t pay all that much, but it was a job. And my brother comes over to the boss’ truck and, say what? He also gets $12!!

I’m stunned. So are some of the others and quite rightly. But there it was. I saw it with my own eyes. A ten dollar bill and two ones in my brother’s hand. My shock turned to a righteous indignation or self-righteous indignation.

The boss notices my red face and says, ‘George, you have a problem?’ Ah, but he knew and before I responded the boss said, ‘George, it’s my money and I am a gracious guy. Don’t worry. It all works out.’

I was going to report him but I got paid off the books. So my brother and I walked away. He was smiling and I was perplexed. Grace can do that.

For the Biblical parable of this story read Matthew 20:1-16.