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Who are the people we consider our own — and who gets left outside our circle of concern?

In Episode 110 of Brother from Another Father, I reflect on a moving encounter from Sebastian Junger’s book Tribe: a struggling stranger who gives away his lunch to a young hitchhiker, despite having very little himself. What makes someone feel responsible for the well-being of a person they have never met?

Our readings challenge us to widen our circle of concern beyond family, friends and those who are like us. Jesus takes this even further, teaching us that our neighbour is anyone in need whom we encounter along our way.

Perhaps the key is learning to recognise Christ in the poor, the refugee, the foreigner, the prisoner and the outcast — those whom society so often leaves on the margins.

The question is not simply who belongs to our tribe, but whether we are willing to make room for someone new.

God bless and have a good Sunday.

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Can we live faithfully as Christians in a corrupt society without becoming part of the problem?

In Episode 109 of Brother from Another Father, I reflect on Jesus’ famous words: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God.” Beginning with the difficult question of paying taxes within a corrupt system, we explore what it means to remain faithful to God when the world around us operates by very different values.

But Jesus’ response goes deeper than taxes. It challenges us to examine the ways we participate in idolatry — giving our loyalty, attention and admiration to money, political power, consumerism and the images that dominate our culture.

As Christians, we are called to resist the temptation to worship anything other than God and to live in a way that draws others towards Him.

The question is not simply what we owe Caesar, but this: What belongs to God in our lives, and are we truly giving it to Him?

God bless and have a good week.

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Why do we sometimes say no to an invitation from God, only to say yes to the things the world offers us?

In Episode 108 of Brother from Another Father, I explore Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet and the surprising reason we sometimes turn down God’s invitation. Perhaps God, like coffee or wine, is an acquired taste. We need to spend time in prayer, Scripture and the Eucharist before we can truly appreciate the sweetness of God’s presence.

But this invitation goes beyond prayer and worship. Sometimes God invites us to do the difficult things: heal a relationship, reach out to someone we have hurt, or take the first step towards reconciliation.

The paradox is that when we think we are protecting our freedom by saying no to God, we may actually be limiting it.

What would it mean to become truly desperate for God — to hunger for His presence so deeply that, when He invites us to the banquet, our answer is an enthusiastic yes?

God bless and have a good week.