God, Aliens, and Other Stuff

  Image created by the author using ChatGPT A Monday church Bible study on Matthew 26, led by our church deacon Tom Craig, inspired this post. Two issues in particular caught my attention. We discussed a meal in which a woman anointed Jesus’ feet with a costly perfume called nard, used for burials. Some claim that it was Mary of Bethany, others that it was Mary Magdalene. I wondered why the woman’s identity is still in doubt, so I launched my own investigation. Another central theme was the Passover meal and the institution of an important sacrament. The average church attender doesn’t know the significance of “new covenant.” It has an important Old Testament connection. Although four versions of the former meal leave us with questions about the woman, combining the accounts of all four gospel writers gives us a clearer picture of the Passover meal, the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples. That night, Jesus showed his followers and all of us how much that communal fello...

Image captured from facebook.com/ppnea  https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1435059125318178&set=pcb.1435059541984803 Early this morning, June 10, 2026, before I woke up, I had a series of chaotic dreams full of scraps that don’t mean anything. Inserted into the weirdness was a scene that felt strangely compelling. I was standing on a city sidewalk with two men, one of whom I supposedly knew. Since in reality, I was sleeping in a light robe with snaps, that was what I was wearing in the dream. But I wasn’t embarrassed about what I wore because concern about attire wasn’t in the script. The two men were talking about something in the news. I don’t recall what, but one man said to me, Janet, do you have any questions for this man? I said, Nope. Are you sure? I replied no again. The questioner was someone familiar in the dream. It kind of felt like my husband, although I’m not sure, but he was clearly hinting that the other man was someone famous, and I should be impressed that w...