As Christmas approaches each year, a familiar carol finds its way playing through the speakers of my car on repeat. “O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appears. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

These are well-known lyrics that have been sung for ages, and the ache that is captured in these words brings to mind hope. I can only imagine how long the waiting must have seemed for God’s people ...