After two long years the hostages taken by Hamas have finally been returned. For the families left behind it has been two years of longing, waiting and hoping. No wonder there has been such an outpouring of joy and celebration as those who have survived have been reunited with their loved ones. The emotions have been raw and visceral and shared around the world.

Perhaps the strength of these family bonds and the joy we feel is the result of some evolutionary process. Or perhaps not. Could it be that the love that binds us together is more than just a matter of chemicals? Could it be that the emotion we feel points us to a love that has divine origin and eternal significance?

Writing two thousand years ago St Paul wrote, ‘Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love never fails.’ It was radical thinking in a world where life was cheap and acts of love more often than not seen as weakness. What had Paul seen to convince him that love could be so different? Simply the life of Jesus. A man whose love was so powerful and self-sacrificial that he gave up his life and made possible the greatest homecoming of them all.

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