Steve Troisi: Sit and Wait, Beloved
Some takeaways on basketball, being distracted, and learning to sit and wait
Art by: Ben Fenske
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. - Luke 2:1-20
This year I have taken on something new for Advent. I am helping to coach our youngest son’s basketball team. There are a few different rules when it comes to defense when 5-6-year-olds take the court. Specifically, they are not allowed to guard players from the other team until they are within the 3-point line. What this means is that if we score (which is exceedingly) or turn the ball over (which is much more common) all of the players have to run down to get on defense, and then, they have to wait.
Sometimes the ball is dribbled very quickly down the court, but, more-often-than-not, it takes a little while for the opposing team to finally get the ball into the defensive area. In the meantime, we coach our players to do two things — wait and watch. As simple as it sounds, it is much harder to actually do.
It is not uncommon to have our players huddled together talking about all sorts of random things. Sometimes they will tuck their arms inside their jerseys. Sometimes they will wave at parents or folks on the second level of the gym walking laps. And so from the bench, the other coaches and I will continually and often-times futilely yell things like: “Watch the Ball!”; “Stop touching the other players!”; or “Please don’t sit down!”
While we can chuckle at the sight of children who struggle to wait and watch, the truth is that we all struggle with just that, especially this time of the year. The season of Advent is all about waiting and watching. It is about keeping vigilant for the ways in which God draws near and comes alive in our midst. Our life of faith, living held in this promise of God drawing near to us, is designed to be one where we are constantly keeping our eyes peeled for God to show up. It is a life on our toes, ready not only to bear witness to God’s presence among us, but also to spring into action with our words and hands, to name that presence of God, and to try to use our hands and our voices to join into this love-come-alive in our lives and world.
And yet, there is much that distracts us. Christmas shopping is in full swing. The social calendars are filling up. The semesters are ending with tests and projects and papers. Meanwhile, the bills continue to roll in, alerts are popping up on our car dashboards, and grief is encircling in a particularly poignant way. We are a distractible bunch, much like kindergarteners trying to wait and watch for the ball to come into play.
And so, maybe this Advent what we need more than anything else is a little less — little less busyness and shiny objects to distract us. Instead, maybe the antidote to our distractibility is a bit more silence. There is a history in the church that Advent would be a time set apart for contemplation and reflection — waiting and watching.
This is my invitation, for maybe myself more than others, that I might take a little more time to rest my hoarse voice, so that I might be able to better listen. So, that I might discover more deeply the shape of what our lives were always designed to be — waiting and watching for God’s advent among us.
Happy Holidays,
Friends
Things I’m into rn:
Braxley Apple Watch Bands
Link: https://braxleybands.com/collections/apple-watch-bands-for-men
I’ve had an Apple watch now for the better part of four years, and in that time have run through so many different watch bands that have either been some combination of worn out, smell after a good workout, are aesthetically challenging to try and pair with any outfits of mine, or are simply uncomfortable. I’m not kidding when I say that I have probably run through about seven or eight different watch bands by now, and that’s without even getting into the typical Apple tax you find yourself having to pay too. That’s where Braxley comes in. With a machine-washable design, you can easily toss these guys in with any regular load of laundry, and forget about the sweat you otherwise might’ve worked up on the treadmill or from just being on your feet all day. And with all sorts of different materials, designs, and looks, there’s definitely going to be at least one or two watch bands that catch your eye, and are super comfortable to wear. Braxley likes to brag that these watch bands are like “sweatpants for your Apple Watch” in all the ads they run online, and honestly as an avid sweatpant guy myself, they aren’t wrong.
Byanavrin Art Sets
Okay so this is a pretty niche sort of thing to even share but I thought they looked super cute, and couldn’t resist. As someone with many friends who are all avid readers (they know who they are), I feel like I’ve sort of hit the jackpot as far as holiday shopping goes, and to be honest they’re just super cool. These little miniature time-capsules come in both DIY boxes or as pre-sets that are already constructed for you, so if you have any friends who are bookworms and definitely aren’t the sort of artsy people you think they might be, it’s probably a smart idea to just get the pre-made version instead.
What I’m listening to rn:
Northern Attitude - Noah Kahan ft. Hozier
Man, what a year Noah has had. I say this all the time to anyone who mentions Noah’s name to me, but I am so proud I was one of the original fans of his, way before Stick Season sent him comfortably into the main stream, and rightly so. And as much as I love listening to his older stuff, particularly Busyhead, I must admit I also love the new sort of persona Noah has taken on artistically, and have been loving these slow burn remakes from the album with other equally talented artists. The Lizzy McAlpine feature was great, and who could forget the work that Post Malone put in too. But out of all of the different features we’ve gotten thus far, Northern Attitude takes the cake for me with Hozier. Anyone with even a remote understanding of the indie/alternative scene will undoubtedly recognize the name, as Hozier is very much the Beyonce of the indie world, with such an iconic voice and style that I feel has inspired so many other newer artists like Noah. So imagine my surprise when Noah first started teasing this online awhile back, and I was scrolling through hundreds of different comments from fans begging him to release it. And alas, here we are.
for the hell of it - Zac Greer
I only just recently discovered Zac’s music, and he has such a nostalgic sort of style. Mixing between artists like The Chainsmokers, Post Malone, and the Kid Laroi, Zac is uniquely positioned and poses a lot of intrigue for fans of all three artists with his latest offering, “for the hell of it.” I was really impressed with the instrumentals in this album and just how well polished it is given Zac’s relative inexperience. I think this album is a strong showing for an artist to keep an eye on in the future, and can only imagine that he’ll continue to get better and better as time goes on, but don’t be surprised if Zac, in the near future, has his big break, just like Noah.