“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 you, O Israel!”

For us who are exiles from Home and wander through the wilderness of our shame and guilt, please come to us, Emmanuel.

For us who live in the land of Now-And-Not-Yet, where both Good Friday and Easter Sunday co-exist and joys and sorrows meet in a beautifully broken mess, come to us, Emmanuel.

For us who long to escape the trials and tribulations and temptations of the world we live in, who no longer are captive to the shallow philosphies of life around us, who yearn to see with our eyes the Promise fulfilled completely, come to us, Emmanuel.

Come, Lord Jesus, into our brokenness and make it whole. Come into our darkness and bring Your light. Come into our weariness and bring the fresh strength of eagles in flight.

Come, rescue us from ourselves and our weaknesses. Be our joy, our peace, our strength and our song through these evil days. Walk beside us through all our troubles and carry us when we can no longer walk. Sing to us in the valley of the deepest darkest shadows that we may hear Your voice and find our way through.

Come, O come, Emmanuel. God for us. God with us. God in us. Come.