When they did, God had to reach out to them and find a way to get their attention. Sometimes, God reached out through a change in leaders among the people. Sometimes, it was a change in where the people lived. Other times, God sent a prophet or messenger to the people. Frequently, when God wanted to get the people s attention, it was to get the people to change their behavior and repent for their sins.
Life is about to change.
Jesus is traveling through the countryside in the portion of Luke s Gospel that we heard this morning. He had just been given word about a group of Galileans his own people who were executed by Pontius Pilate. He s asked to comment on this, and comes back with a question and answer to the people that wasn t expected. He asks if these Galileans were punished because they were worse sinners than those standing there. Then, he asks about a group of people who weren t killed by the authorities, but died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when a tower collapsed.