Anticipation
by Shayna Kusumoto, Graphics and Communications
Straddling my board, squinting out at the horizon, I’m hungry for the next set. Waiting, waiting—I see a bump…it’s coming…get into position, swing my board around, paddle for it….
This is the feeling of anticipation I had in mind when putting together the latest drone sequence in our opening prelude, “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” You’ll see at the start of every service now until Christmas eve. If you haven’t seen it yet, get to Sunday’s worship service a few minutes early and you will.
I never used to like that song. I didn’t know what it was about and it just seemed to go on and on one verse after another. But doing this video edit made me fall in love with it and it’s been on repeat in my head ever since. It got me thinking about all the ways our lives lie in wait just like the Israelites as they anticipated the promised Messiah coming to rescue them.
The opening shot peers down on a solitary boat, swimming in loneliness. Waiting. Wondering. It’s at once magnificent and sad as the Armenian duduk instrument plays. Later in the sequence you see an affluent oceanfront neighborhood—asleep as the stealthy drone flies overhead. We may not often see ourselves as “mourning in lonely exile here,” but we are held captive in different ways—captive to our screens, captive to the rat race, captive to pleasing people. Exiled to anxiety and depression, exiled in wealth, exiled in selfishness.
For me personally, I know God’s given me victory in many areas—loss, trauma, illness, sin, addiction. And yet there are many struggles I’m still stuck in—waiting for God to pull me out or do a miracle.
Even so, the prophecy holds true: “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Emmanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
Emmanuel means God with us. And truly, He came 2,000 years ago and He is WITH us today! The slow moving shots of still waters, reef, Chinaman’s Hat in the distance… show we aren’t always cognizant of His presence.
But the song calls us to REJOICE! REJOICE! EMMANUEL! The Son of God has already come to the people of God—that’s you and that’s me. We have every reason to rejoice right now!
Before that perfect set comes. When it comes but it’s not our turn, when the wave closes out or we don’t make the section. Even during the long lull. All we need to do is awaken our consciousness with the realization that God is with us HERE and NOW!
And so, heading back to the lineup or during the long wait, I can take a deep breath and thank Him for this gorgeous day. I can look around and go “WOW, God, You are so good!” You created all this! You are here!
“The Christian life oscillates between these two poles: the overflowing joy of the ‘already’ redeemed (Eph 1:7) and the tearful yearning of the ‘not-yet’ redeemed (Eph 4:30). Not that we ever leave the one or the other in this life. We are ‘sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’ (2 Cor 6:10).” –John Piper
This Advent season, as you come early to Sunday worship so that you can see the video prelude I’m talking about, I pray you will not just notice the nice scenery and masterful musical arrangement or even the AMAZING voice of Christina Souza. My deep prayer is that you identify with the anticipation of your Savior and the realization of Emmanuel God with us, and REJOICE in how He has come to free YOU.
So feel free to paddle between the waiting and riding, waiting and riding. Enjoy the company of friends around you. Maximize the range of emotion and experience that God intended. It’s not just about the wave, it’s also about the wait. And that is, by definition, Advent.
Advent: “a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming.” - vocabulary.com
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