Four Hundred Years...

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

that mourns in lonely exile here

until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel

Four hundred years.

Four hundred years without a new word from God.

Four hundred years… of silence.

Israel waited.

Then it happened, in a way no one would expect. The first inkling of the surprise was given to an old priest and his aged wife, who were told they would soon give birth to a very special baby boy.

The next event would be even more bizarre… a virgin peasant girl gives birth to another baby boy in a stable far from home, surrounded only by her anxious husband and a few sleepy animals.

The Light of the World had stepped down into darkness.

It was utterly unbelievable…. and unimaginably wonderful.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!