Hummelstown UCC Podcast

Matthew 14:22-33

OPENING MEDITATION Rev. Curt Weber “Many times we have missed opportunities because of fear of what might happen ifwe try. But when we trust that God is with us and step out in faith, we overcome fearand realize our full potential.”

Judges 9 7-15: The Parable of the Trees; Numbers 24:5-7; Isaiah 55:12-13

OPENING MEDITATIONJesus Christ, teach us to empathize with Earth. Make our spirits sensitive to the cries ofcreation, cries for justice from the hills and the trees. Jesus Christ, make our faithsensitive to the groans of the Spirit, groans from the deserts, the plains, and the winds.Jesus Christ, make our souls sensitive to the call of our kin, species in pain calling fromland, sea, and air. Jesus Christ, teach us to care. Amen

Genesis 9:7-17; Jeremiah 17:5-8

PRAYER OF INVOCATION 
One: Holy and Liberating God, You gather us in all our colors, all our names, all our 
bodies, all our beauty. You gather the loud and the quiet, the certain and the 
questioning, the joyful and the grieving, the healed and the healing. This Sunday, we 
gather in your rainbow of commitment and covenant to seek our way forward to 
heal the planet, to heal our hearts, to speak affirmation into places of pain. Today 
we offer a rainbow of care: red for the fire of God's holy presence, orange for the 
clay we share with our partner Earth, yellow, like gold, for the great of worth of all 
that is, blue for the groaning and cries deep in creation, indigo for the dangers our 
environment faces, and violet for the healing presence of our divine partner. 
Many: The colors of the rainbow are distinct, but they all shine together to make one 
light. Hybrid God, you are our crown. Rainbow Christ, you are the light of the world. 
May the rainbow lead us to experience the whole spectrum of life! Amen.

Psalm 96:1-4; Genesis 1:1-13

OPENING MEDITATION Norman Habel“Born of this planet, I'm an Earth child. One with all beings, born of this planet, onewith the wild. Born of this planet, baptized with moisture, rising from oceans, flowingthrough rivers, Earth's sacred waters pulse through my veins. Born of this planet,flowing with breezes, children inhale Earth's infinite breath; Earth's holy breathingenters my body, creating a presence deeper than death. Born of this planet, onespeck of stardust, we feel the pulsing deep in our soul, mystery like music throbs in thelandscape, Earth like a mother, makes our lives whole.”

Matthew 21: 28-32; Philippians 2:1-13

OPENING MEDITATION Dr. Marcia McFeeToday we conclude our worship series, “Come to the Table,” There is great joy to befound at God’s table: joy in the vibrant relationships that nurture and sustain thiscommunity, joy in the sharing of our gifts and resources, joy in the journey as we worktowards a more just and equitable world.

Matthew 20:1-16; Philippians 1:21-30

OPENING MEDITATION Dr. Marcia McFeeAt the table of grace, there is always more than enough to go around. Everybodymakes mistakes, and we have all needed forgiveness at some point and gentleguidance to adjust and make amends. Grace doesn’t keep track of how manytimes we’ve messed up, and it doesn’t hinge on the condition that next time, we’lldo better. Grace exists outside of time and says we are enough, right now andalways, no matter what!

Matthew 18:21-35; Romans 14:1-12

OPENING MEDITATION Dr. Marcia McFeeThe Table of Peace can take almost any shape. Our table this week is a conferencetable, perhaps depicting where two or more parties meet to negotiate the terms ofa contract, a settlement, or a ceasefire. For Jesus, peacemaking was often found inthe act of sharing a meal with people who would have been considered “outsiders.”We like to imagine Jesus in perfect harmony with everyone who gathered with himat the table — but perhaps sometimes even he held his breath when he broughtpeople together with opposing viewpoints. Today we come to the Table of Peace,ready to practice patience and compassion, even when we disagree.

Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 13:8-14

OPENING MEDITATION Dr. Marcia McFeeThis week, we explore how love is baked into the bread we break each time wegather in Jesus’ name, around God’s table. But we don’t need to save this love onlyfor the times when we partake in the ritual of communion. We invoke love every daywhen we sit down at our kitchen tables for home-cooked meals or takeout, forgame nights, or even for difficult conversations with our loved ones. Love is present inthe sweetest, the spiciest, the bitterest, and the blandest moments of our everydaylives, because love is God, and God is love.

Romans 12:9-21; Romans 12:9-21

OPENING MEDITATION Dr. Marcia McFee“Jesus’ lesson at the last supper was clear: the meal of the kin-dom of God is for ALL.Saints, strangers, those who persecute and betray you, those who are joyful andthose who weep. The author of the epistle letter to the Romans reminds us andinvites us to do as Jesus did. This requires that we follow God’s way in offering a goodmeal at God’s table for all of God’s guests.”

Psalm 8: Divine Majesty and Human Dignity; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20

OPENING MEDITATION Living Psalm 8 by Sam HouserHoly MysteryCreator, Christ, and Spirit- how wondrous your presence is in all the earth.You echo through expanding galaxies, through oceans breathing against the shore,through every living thing still learning how to belong to one another.You speakThrough children and prophets, Through those the world calls small, Revealing awisdom stronger than empire.When I look at the heavens- The scattered stars, The steady moon, The infinite danceof creation - I cannot help but ask: What are we that you continue to draw near tous?Dust and breath. Fragile and finite. And still, you call us beloved.You made us to live in relationship - With the earth, With each other, With everycreature That shares this sacred home. The forests and rivers, The winged and thewild, The creatures beneath the sea— All of us carried together inside the rhythm ofyour love.Creator, Christ, and Spirit - Holy communion without end - How wondrous yourpresence is In all the earth.