Catastrophes or accidents which take people's lives constantly force people to ask, Why? or Why them? Today Jesus mentions two apparently recent incidents in which innocent lives were lost. Were they being punished by God? Jesus says, No. God does not work that way. Rather he points them out as a warning to the rest of us. If we had been the victims in those cases, would we have been ready to meet our God? Presumably some of them were ready and others not. Let's not think about them but rather look at our own lives. The sins of the victims were not the cause of their death but they are certainly warnings to the rest of us to see if we are ready for such an eventuality. And Jesus goes on to illustrate his meaning with a parable. A man had a fig tree in his garden which did not produce fruit. Eventually he told the gardener to cut the tree down because it had not given fruit for three years in a row. However, the gardener urged that the tree be left for one more year and be given one more chance. If, after those efforts, there was still no fruit, let it be cut down. We, too, are being given a chance - For a day? A month? Several years? We have no idea. What is clear is that there is no time to waste; we have to start today. For God, the past is not what counts or the future but only the present. As long as I am with him NOW I have nothing to worry about.