The Israelites were defeated by the Philistines in battle, but they went to get the ark of the covenant, which they thought would bring them sure victory. Yet, rather than victory, they received instead a humiliating defeat, with the Philistines beating them easily. They also captured the ark of the covenant in the process. The Israelites would get the ark of the covenant back several chapters later in the book of Samuel. The unintended happens in life sometimes.
One of the saints we celebrate this week is Paul the Hermit. Being an introvert myself, I think of my introverted nature as something I need to deal with as I journey through life and as I serve the Church as a priest. Paul lived in Egypt in the 3rd century when he fled into the desert in the midst of a great persecution of Christians. Paul thought he would go back once things got better, but he decided to stay in the desert and live the life of a hermit, living out his faith in the silence and solitude that he encountered there. It is said that Paul lived until the age of 112. Anthony, one of the great Desert Fathers, went out to meet Paul, to honor him for his life of holiness. Anthony later returned to bury Paul when he died. May we see the ways that we can use the reality of our lives to honor the glory of God, even when something unintended happens or even when we do not see that reality as an advantage.
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