Holy Things, Holy Order

The ark in Ashdod and the supper in Corinth teach one fear: God is not to be handled as a captive, nor His worship treated as common. The Philistines set the ark beside Dagon, as though the Lord could be placed among rival powers. But the Lord cast their idol down and struck their city, showing that His holiness does not bend to man’s arrangements. Justin recalls that after the plague “they resolved to place it on a cart… for the purpose of ascertaining by trial whether or not they had been plagued by God’s power on account of the ark.” Even pagans were forced to reckon with divine judgment.

In the church, the same lesson stands, not with idols of wood but with pride, disorder, and contempt for brethren. Paul speaks of coverings, headship, custom, and the Lord’s table because worship is not ours to refashion. To eat and drink without discerning the body, while shaming the poor and rushing ahead of one another, is to invite judgment from the same holy God. Therefore the apostle does not separate devotion from conduct: one must honor the order received, wait for the brethren, examine oneself, and come in peace.

Chrysostom says, “But if any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom.” The church does not live by private will, but by the common rule handed down. Let us then cast down our Dagons: vainglory, stubbornness, careless speech, and the habit of approaching holy things with an unclean life. God is merciful, since His chastening is meant to keep us from condemnation. But mercy is received by repentance, reverence, and amendment of life.