Who is my Neighbor?

The Parable of the Good Samaritan:
A Modern Re-telling

“But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And, who is my neighbor?’ Then Jesus answered and said:”

A certain man went out to the coffee fields to earn a living so that he could feed his family. While he was working, an international corporation came and purchased the fields, adding the crops and the laborers to its plantation. The corporation grew rich off of the scheme and pushed coffee prices down so low that the other farmers had no choice but to sell their land to the plantation. Soon, the man found himself in debt to the corporation, and, even when his wife and children joined him in the fields, they could not earn enough money to buy food or clean water.

A missionary came and stood on a large stage, telling all the people about their sins, but the man was too tired from working to listen, so the missionary left.

Some rich Christians came and stayed in his country for a week, but they returned to their jobs in America and forgot about the man and his family on the plantation.

Then, a humanitarian, straight from one of America’s most liberal colleges came to the man’s country. He set up a co-op and taught the farmers about fair trade and a living wage. He put up a building and helped them to hire teachers, so that their children could go to school. Then, he left them in the hands of another farmer from a nearby community, who had been trained in all that they would need to know, and returned to America with their coffee. “I will sell this for you,” He promised, “and, if you need anything else, or if I learn new things to teach you, I will return to work with you again.”

“’So, which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

Luke 10:29-37