A hole is blown open in the cargo area of a 747 jumbo jet, and nine people are sucked out and killed instantly. It is natural to ask, "Why?" A tornado rips through a small community in Kansas destroying buildings and businesses which took a lifetime to establish and we grieve with them. Those are just a couple of the more spectacular of a whole series of tragic and painful events which occur daily, which trouble our hearts and create questions in our minds.

Our text this morning tells of some people who approached Jesus and asked his opinion about two incidents which raised the same questions. One apparently took place at the temple in Jerusalem, when Pilate ordered some Galileans killed while they were in the act of making animal sacrifices to God; the blood of those devout worshipers be…