Ezekiel 1:16

As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl, and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel.

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. Otherwise known as UFOs. Some people actually claim this depiction in Ezekiel is of a UFO!!!

Wait! Don’t stop reading! You may be anything but a science fiction fan. You may giggle when you hear talk of little green men. You may have not thought about UFOs since you saw “Close Encounters” back in the 1970s.

When you hear the names Roswell, or Area 51, you may just plain roll your eyes, or shrug. However…

Something is really happening. This week the Oversight Committee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs is having a live televised hearing where they are going to be talking about, of all things, UAPS. (By the way, that’s the newfangled way we refer to UFO’s now.)

This is not to talk about some super-secret technology that China may have. It’s to discuss a large number of reports of fast-moving spheres that show up in areas of conflict. Or radar footage that shows objects moving at speeds that defy the laws of physics. There is even a high ranking official, named David Grusch, who is acting as a “whistleblower” talking about secret projects that are hiding recovered vehicles and even aliens!

There’s been pushback within the government, from the Pentagon and the Air Force — they don’t want congress to expose any secrets they may have. But congress, in an exceedingly rare bipartisan effort, is fighting back from both sides of the aisle saying people deserve to know everything.

It’s a bizarre turn of events, after decades of people whimsically staring at the sky and wondering if there’s anything up there. Our elected officials are beginning these hearings to try to answer that question once and for all. We may learn nothing from this, but the fact that this is even happening is out of this world.

Ask yourself this: If we ever were to discover there were little grey aliens visiting our planet, what would it do to your faith? Some people think that the human race couldn’t handle the truth — that the church would implode to discover some other more powerful intelligence is present.

I don’t think so. Sure, there may be Christians out there who question whether Jesus really came to save the universe when there are other types of beings out there. Did they have their own version of Jesus come to them? Are there threats from above that our firmly held beliefs can’t prepare us for?

Personally, I think if it ever became known that aliens visited planet earth, very little would change. Love is still love. The church still needs to be in service to the world. We may find out that God is a little bit bigger a creator than we previously imagined, or that we have a challenge ahead us, spreading Good News to a new missionary field. The truth is, religion at its best is a way of getting closer to the fringes, together.

If UFO’s/UAP’s land on the church lawn tomorrow, I plan to invite any occupants to a potluck. That seems one of our best ways of welcoming new people.

I have no idea what kind of strange food they’d bring, but it would be no stranger than cottage cheese and lime Jello.

-- Rev. Mitch Todd
Olathe Grace UMC
mtodd@greatplainsumc.org

Prayer for Reflection

Genesis 28:10-19a
Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19
Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43