There are, as we already knew, unidentified flying objects. These objects are unidentified and fly. That is all we know and we already knew that there were such things.
Probably these objects will soon be identified and the explanations will be disappointing.
One thought: the more complex our machinery, the greater the chance that we begin to see inexplicable artifacts through our technology, a more complex form of the light leaks in early cameras that gave us ghostly images when the film was developed. The more complicated the glasses we use to see, the greater the chance we are not seeing what we think.
Probably.
Given a rich metaphysics, these unidentified flying objects could be the physical manifestation of angels, demons, or other beings that fill our cosmos. Go read Ezekiel. Wilder still, read Faerie Queene. Where did faerie go? Are they flitting about our planes?
Maybe so, but probably not.
Grant, for the moment, that these unidentified objects are from another world full of beings that can travel through space at speeds we cannot imagine. They are here, but silent.
Why?
We do not know. We have no data. Any speculation that is based on a sensible worldview is as good as any other.
A secular speculation is no better than a religious one. Given that the arguments for God and a metaphysical reality are better than those against, we should ponder the possibility that these other beings are here on pilgrimage. We are, after all, the planet where God became a creature. That is a pivot point of cosmic history and so going to Bethlehem to see what God has done is a sensible thing for everyone to do. The wise always have done so.
Given our brokenness, our fall from grace, our lack of love, the visitors would have good reason to be silent. The powerful parts of Earth grow decadent and the rest of us face moral colonialism from the worst. What would the faithful from other planets say to us?
Repent? The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand?
If we do not listen to Moses and the prophets why would we listen to the Vulcans?
They would come, see what is good, and then go home. Our flying weapons, swords not yet plowshares, are disappointing and best ignored.
That fits the data, but then many ideas would.
If we have visitors to this planet, this broken world, they might come in pity to see what God is doing here. We are the broken world that keeps choosing badly: filling our oceans with plastic, forcing folk to jump Jim Crow, killing the unborn. These pilgrims must look at us in horror. We have even made a horror of Bethlehem with our killing and hate. If they come, they see what Jesus did and is doing and are silent out of pity.
If they spoke, we might not be able to bear the truth they would tell. They come from worlds not fallen, or that found their own redemption. They are here to worship, but we are very loud.
So if the faithful from another planet are here on pilgrimage, I am sorry. I can only speak for myself, but the Lord Jesus Christ has had mercy on me, a sinner, and I would love to learn what God has done for you through the Blessed Trinity.
Of course, all of this is speculation, but reasonable speculation need not be limited to the dull repetition of materialist assumptions about life on other planets.
Anyone smart enough to have gotten here would be wise enough to have abandoned the dubious notion that consciousness is material. They would be more advanced in physics and metaphysics. If they are here, Christianity easily explains why they are silent.
Welcome to Earth: the place God was born. Welcome to Earth: the place where we killed the God-man. Have mercy as Christ had mercy. Keep watching: God is about to do great things here. . . as always. We are sorry about the mess, but you might join us at mass tomorrow as we celebrate Holy Constantine and Helen. Now there is a story. . .
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