chosen this text not quite at random. I trust that my reason for settling on this text will in the end become clear to you. I will reflect critically in my two final lectures upon my exposition of the Ark narrative with attention to the question, what the church does and is to do when it stands before a biblical text. The first sweeping move of this narrative in 1 Samuel 4 is Israel’s descent into loss. The purported reportage invites the listening community gathered around the text into deep loss.