A Separate Peace (a Lectionary reflection by Steve Orr)

There was this book; A Separate Peace. We read it in the ninth grade. There's a lot I don't recall about the book, but that's not due to memory lapse: I just didn't get it, even then. The story took place in the U.S. during World War II. I seem to recall some guy fell out of a tree and broke his leg, and the main character was named Finny (maybe).

That's about it.

I'm certain, because I remember the concerned look on my teacher's face, that I was supposed to get a lot more out of it than that. I'm pretty sure we were supposed to be profoundly affected by it.

That was not my experience. I just didn't find anything about the book to like. Everyone seemed kind of mean. Or at least that's how I remember it. For whatever reason, I never connected with it.

But I do recall one important thing.

The title had to do with treaties. It goes something like this: a group of allies agree to go to war together, as a unified force, or at least agree to all fight the same enemies. That's part of it. The other part 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."

A separate peace sounds like a nice thing, a way to walk away from the battle rather than face the terrible things that are assuredly coming; pain, separation, destruction, and death. But there is a problem with 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, and they would likely never be trusted by their former allies, ever again.

That's what's happening in this week's Lectionary selection from Luke 4:1-13. Satan, in the middle of his multi-millennia war with 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.

There are times and places for a separate peace. Truly, sometimes it is better to walk away from the war than to continue, 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.

Now is not the time for a separate peace.
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=118

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-14

Here's a link to all the readings for the season of Lent.
http://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 the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant for an hour like no other.

Blessings,
Steve