That's about it.
I'm pretty sure we were supposed to be profoundly affected by it. I’m certain my teacher thought so. But that was not my experience.
I do recall one important thing from reading John Knowles’ novel, A Separate Peace: the title had to do with treaties. It goes something like this: a group of allies agree to go to war together, to all fight the same enemies. That’s the front end.
The back end is this: each country making up the allies also agrees to not make "a separate peace" with the enemy forces. In other words, "we're all in it together, and none of us quits until we all agree to quit."
But, what if we no longer want to fight that war? What if we’ve grown weary of battle? Peace is a nice thing. Would that be so bad? Maybe we wish we could walk away from the battle rather than face the terrible things that are assuredly coming; pain, separation, destruction ... death.
But there is a problem with making a separate peace that may not be readily apparent. If one of the allied countries decided to make a separate peace with the enemy forces, that would be a betrayal of the other countries in the allied forces. The original commitment made by the betraying country would now be without meaning. They would never be trusted by their former allies, ever again.
That is exactly the scenario in this week's Matthew selection. Satan, in the middle of his multi-millennia war against God, has come to Jesus to entice Him into a separate peace.
They both know that some hard times are ahead for Jesus; pain, separation, destruction ... and death. Satan's "temptations" are all inducements for Jesus to abandon his allegiance to God. To step out of the war ... to make a separate peace.
There are times and places for a separate peace. Truly, sometimes it is better to walk away than to continue fighting, even if we can't convince our allies to do so. But for the "war in heaven" that spilled over onto Earth, our oath of fealty must stand firm. Like Jesus, we must resist whatever draws us away from our commitment to God.
Jesus recognized what Satan was up to; knew the power of scripture to counter those enticements. He resisted for our benefit; stayed faithful to His commitment to God; ensured the long-planned strategy would come to fruition.
Do you grow tired of the battle? Do you fear what the future may bring because of your commitment? Turn to prayer and scripture for what you need to carry on.
Stay the course. Now is not the time for any of us to make a separate peace.
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PHOTO: https://www.amazon.com/Separate-Peace-John-Knowles/dp/0553280414
A different version of this reflection, A Separate Peace, appeared in February 2016.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
First Sunday in Lent (March 1, 2020)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=24
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
Here's a link to a table of all the Bible readings for the season of Lent: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//lections.php?year=C&season=Lent
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We enter the season of Lent preparing for some time of personal reflection. Where do we stand? With God? Are we faithful? Or have we sidelined ourselves from the conflict? Is there something of which we need to repent?
The next six weeks are especially significant in our journey with Jesus through this life. Spend the Friday mornings with us at Lectionary Breakfast. You'll be glad of the fellowship and time in the scriptures. We gather at 8:00 a.m. at Our Breakfast Place (the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant) for an hour like no other.
Blessings,
Steve
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