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Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1–6; Psalm 72:1–7, 10–14; Ephesians 3:1–12; Matthew 2:1–12/3:1–12 IV; Jacob 3:9–17; Doctrine and Covenants 3:14

Sharing Christ’s Peace

Prelude and/or Praise Songs:

“Shine, Jesus, Shine” NS 45
“Now Sing to Our God” NS 40

Welcome

Hymn:

“Jesus, Name above All Names” NS 25
OR “My Children, ‘Hear Ye Him,’ My Word” HS 205

Call to Worship

*Opening Hymn:

“As with Gladness Men of Old” HS 254
OR “Silvery Star, Precious Star” HS 239

*Invocation

*Response

Focus Moment: “A Story about Light” 

Congregational Hymn

“God, the Source of Light and Beauty” HS 406

Communion Message

Hymn of Preparation:

“Eat This Bread” Sing through three times. NS 8 (Use the instrumental descant if possible.)
Or “Let Us Break Bread Together” HS 342

Silent Prayers of Confession

Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

Disciples’ Generous Response

*Closing Hymn:

“Bring Forth the Kingdom” SP 9
OR “Here I Am, Lord” NS 12
OR “When Holy Ghost Shall Come in Power” HS 471

*Benediction

*Response

*Postlude

Once there was a man who lived in terrible darkness. He prayed and prayed for light for himself and for his family. One day as he rose from his praying, he looked out and saw a faint glimmer of light far off in the darkness. Closer and closer came the light until at last it was at his doorway. His neighbor stood there holding the light in his hands, his face illuminated by a beautiful glow.

How the neighbor was welcomed into his home! What joy was there—and love and peace—as they talked, surrounded by the light. Finally it was time to go. With a warm embrace, the neighbor left him and walked out through the darkness, lighting the earth about him as he went.

“Oh!” cried the man in panic. “The light! He is taking the light! Come back! Come back!”

Then he felt his wife’s hand on his shoulder. “The light is here, beloved. See how the children warm themselves around it? See how it brightens their faces and fills the whole room?”

The man and his family cherished the light, and it grew until it filled the whole house. It reached out even to the barns, and to the fields beyond. His children grew strong. His cattle grew fat. And his fields were filled with abundance.

And so it was that one night he was surprised as he wakened to hear his wife sobbing there in the bed beside him. He took her in his arms and tried to comfort her. “What is it, my darling? Why do you weep? Is not life beautiful for us since the coming of the light?”

“I dreamed,” she whispered. “I dreamed I saw children groping in the dark…and it was cold. The dark came creeping…creeping to the edge of our fields…to our barns…to our house! The light! Our light was gone! When I wakened, I was weeping here in the darkness beside you.”

“Strange,” said her husband. “These last few days I’ve noticed a lessening of the light.”

“Oh, my husband, do you remember how the light came to us—how it glowed in the hands of our neighbor? And when he went away, although he took it with him, it also stayed with us? But now I cannot bear to have the light when I see children cold and crying in the dark. Could we not share the light as did our neighbor? Oh, we must share the light or it will die—Share the light or we will die!”

Then up from their bed they arose, calling their children. “Come…Let us go and share the light!”

Like the rays of a star they went out, carrying the light into the darkness to children, God’s children, waiting there. When they returned, the light that they carried was greater than before, and in their hearts greater peace, greater love, greater joy.

Never again did that man hold the light to be his…for his house, barns, and fields. Never again could he sit, full and fat, in the light, not caring, not sharing. His heart stirred him to go, that others might know of the light that was glowing within him. Wide as the world went the light, ’til all the lights shining together became bright as the sun. The darkness was gone…For at last the whole earth shared the light!

—Maxine C. Wight, A Story about Light (Independence, Missouri: Herald Publishing House, 1979).

Scriptures: Isaiah 60:1–6; Psalm 72:1–7, 10–14; Ephesians 3:1–2; Matthew 2:1–12/3:1–12 IV; Jacob 3:9–17; Doctrine and Covenants 3:14

The story of the wise men is unique to Matthew’s Gospel. While Matthew is generally very interested in how Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecy, this account was apparently included to demonstrate that Jesus came not only for the benefit of the Jews but also for the benefit of the whole world.

Matthew gives us no information about the origin of the wise men except that they came from the East and were quite clearly not Jewish. The most common assumption is that they came from Persia. They were apparently astrologers who studied the movements of heavenly bodies in an attempt to understand the actions of the gods. In that prescientific time, astrologers would have recorded detailed observations of the heavens, and their observations would later provide much historical data for the science of astronomy. The Jews would not have relied on astrology as a guide to daily life, but there are Old Testament examples of God using astronomical events as signs or portents.

The wise men apparently did not arrive on the night of Jesus’ birth. When the wise men returned home without notifying King Herod, the king ordered the death of all children in and around Bethlehem under the age of two (2:16). This suggests that some time may have passed since Jesus’ birth.

For Christians, the visit of the wise men is a sign that the gospel of Jesus Christ is intended for the benefit of the entire world. Having seen an unusual event in the heavens, the wise men undertook a long journey to find out what wondrous happening had caused the star to appear.

The church and its members undertake similar journeys as we follow the light. We may visit someone nearby who needs ministry, or we may travel a great distance to attend World Conference or to provide service or ministry in a distant place. We may also find that our journey of discipleship leads us to engage in forms of ministry that are beyond what we may have originally envisioned. Following God’s light leads us into new places.

As we approach the emblems of the Lord’s Supper, we may feel encompassed by darkness. However, the sacrament provides a path to reconciliation with the Divine if we will “Follow the Light.”

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