Our reaction, when confronted with the sin or holiness of others, can be contradictory. Seeing someone’s sin may make us feel better than them, but it can also help us to look inward and realize that we are not better than them at all.

In the northern European tradition, which has been carried over into the American Book of Common Prayer, the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost commemorates the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Jesus foretold this event in today’s Gospel: «For the days will come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another.»

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts us to make a choice between life and death, heavenly glory, and eternal damnation. Jesus says: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The story of the feeding of the four thousand shows us, on the one hand, that the Lord not only takes care of our spiritual needs, but also our physical needs. On the other hand, this story shows us that there is often a deep spiritual message hidden in external signs.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus had compassion on the people gathered around Him because He saw that they had nothing to eat, and He knew that not all of them might have enough strength to return home.

Jesus said unto his disciples, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” How can our righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees?