By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
August 17, 2025
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Luke 12:49–56 (ESV)
49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“I came.”
I made an arrival.
I became present.
Today we are again looking at the message that Jesus gave to the people, many of which were religious leaders within the community. Much of these teachings resemble the teachings that were recorded in Matthew that we collectively know as the sermon on the Mount. Luke however does not mention a sermon on the mount, but a sermon on the plain and Luke does not place all of the teaching in one place as Matthew does. But some scholars believe that this might be part of that great collection of teaching.
It really does not matter where or even when the teaching occurred. The point is that Jesus taught. That Jesus came. He brought the wisdom, the teachings, the commands, or the word of God to live among us. He is the incarnate word. I am arrived.
There is something powerful with this thought.
In most religious concepts the deity, or God, is far off seemingly inaccessible. The practitioners would perform acts and rites with the hopes that just maybe they might attract the attention of this powerful being just enough for them to grant them favor. But often the favor was not found. Most performed the rites for a different reason, they hoped that they would appease the spirit or distract them enough that they would not cause them trouble. In the eyes of most religions humanity was lessor, they were corrupt, or at times minions that could be tormented or toyed with. Sadly this is the idea that we often still hold. When we say things like lightning will strike if I do something, this is the ideology we are professing. It is a pagan view of the cosmos where God does not come live among us, God is instead looking to cause us harm.
Yet Jesus says I came. God came to live among humanity. He clothed himself in human flesh, he lived a complete human life, from the moment of conception to his death. And then he showed us there is more. I came, Jesus says.
“I Came to cast fire on the earth…”
I want us to consider this for a moment. What feeling do you get when you hear those words?
Our initial response is dread. In our minds we see this wild, and uncontrollable inferno threatening our very existence. That is exactly the image that Jesus is portraying, because that is the image that most people have when it comes to our interaction with God. We are fearful. Not a respecting fear that we often proclaim, we are literally afraid. We think that God could harm us. But Jesus does not end with those words. He has a second phrase, “and would that it were already kindled!”
I grew up on a Kansas farm. And when I read these verses, I have grown into a different understanding of what Jesus might be saying because of my experiences.
Early in civilization the harnessing of fire was one of the tools that moved humanity toward civilization. The main instrument of civilization was agriculture, particularly when humans learned how to make beer out of grain. But before they could make beer, our prehistoric ancestors learned how to use fire.
Prior to harnessing the power of fire, this force of nature was seen as a dangerous almost divine force. Fire would sweep through the forests and the along the plains and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Our primitive ancestors would see the smoke in the distance and run. They ran away because the fire would consume everything: trees, the wildlife, the grasses that produced the grain. The wildfires left the people devastated.
Eventually our ancestors walked out into the devastated landscape and they saw a small ember. One brave soul walked over to that seed of destruction and was able to feed it, and domesticate it. This once destructive force was harnessed and soon it became a tool. They used this once feared phenomenon to heat their dwellings. The heat produced by this perceived element of nature changed what they ate and how they prepared their food. This thing that they once feared became an essential part of their life. They learned how to feed it so it would not die, they created methods to create it without waiting for nature to provide the mixed blessing from the heavens. And eventually they began to utilize it as a source of strength. They would unleash its destructive power on their enemies and their prey. Fire is just one of the many destructive tools that have been harnessed by humanity. We have control over fire, yet it remains a destructive force within our society. It remains one of the most feared forces of nature. Because like most things if we do not use a tool properly it can cause great destruction. Any tool can be used for good or evil.
As a Kansas farmer fire is an essential tool. We fear fire, and rightfully so, but fire is important. The picture on the slide today is a glimpse into fire being used as a tool. Every spring the managers of the range, or the tall grass prairies will systematically burn portions of the Kansas landscape. This is called a controlled burn. The fire will use its destructive nature to consume everything on the land. It will burn bright and hot, leaving destruction and ash behind it, but they do this for a reason.
Fire is an important part of the ecosystem. It removes what is dead and useless so that new life can emerge out of the ashes. For a plant to grow they need three basic things: the light from the sun, soil, and water. A healthy prairie is vital to the carbon cycle and ecosystem. In school we often hear about how important trees are to clean air, but we often do not hear about the importance of the prairies. A tree will remove the carbon dioxide from the air and it uses that carbon to produce massive trunks that we can then harvest and use to build our homes. We love trees for this reason and we have become mindful of the importance of replanting trees to replenish the ones we removed by harvest.
What we often do not realize is that the grasslands are just as important as trees to the overall health of the planet. Unlike a tree, the grasslands take the carbon from the air and it places the vast majority of that carbon into its root system. When organic matter remains above the soil, as it decomposes that carbon is released back into the air. But the prairies move the carbon from the air and puts it into the ground. When the carbon is in the ground insects, worms, fungus, and microbes can convert the organic matter into usable materials encouraging the growth of plants. And as these organisms consume this organic matter it becomes a vital part of the soil called hummus which give good soil the dark brown to black color. The humus holds moisture in the ground, and the structure of this organic particle in the soil attracts nutrients that fertilize and promote healthy growth. Every year the prairies do this, because every year a grassy plant grows and dies. All the carbon that was taken from the air is already in the ground for the next generation to use.
Grass does grow above the ground also. And the material that grows above the ground shades the soil from the heat and light of the sun. This is where fire helps. The fire quickly removes this dead material from the soil surface and as it does this it provides heat to the ground. The soil is now longer in the shade, and there is black ash remaining that soaks up the heat from the sun. By burning the prairies range managers encourage spring growth sooner and the result is thicker and higher quality grass for livestock.
Jesus says, “I came to cast fire on the earth.” So often we see this as a negative statement, a statement of destructive force. But what if it is a prescription or treatment instead of judgment?
Fire in the grasslands is one thing, but the entire world is not covered with grass. Fire is just as important to the forests. Trees grow, the wind blows, and sometimes branches break. This falls from the heights of the canopy and accumulates on the ground. It dries out and we walk around looking for them so that we can use these dry branches in our campfires. Wood needs to dry before we can burn it.
How many of us know what a healthy forest look like? For most of us we think a forest is somewhat impenetrable. There are shrubs, vines, thorns, logs and everything else all over under the trees that hinder progress. But that is not a healthy forest. A healthy forest has all of these things but they are in balance. You should be able to find a path through a forest with little to no trouble. Fire assists in this too. The fire clears out the weeds and debris, it opens the ground for the life giving plants to grow. The soft grasses for the deer to eat, the berries we seek for jams. And it assists nature to break down the dry dead woody branches into a form that can return to the earth below.
We fear fire, so we prevent fire. Often when we see a fire we call the fire department to come put the fire out, and rightfully so because an uncontrolled fire is destructive. Year after year we do this and each year, more debris builds up increasing the amount of dead material all around. This then becomes fuel for destruction. The forestry department like the range managers will often systematically burn portions of a forest to clear out this debris. They need to do this, because wild fires will be less likely to occur when the forests have been kindled.
For healthy forests, and healthy grasslands we need fire. It removes death from the environment and converts it to something useful. But that is not all. Even farmers can use fire at times as a form of weed control. The heat from a fire can destroy the seeds of unwanted plants while leaving the desired seeds unhindered. This is often how farmers will remove grassy weeds from a field, before herbicides became common. When Jesus taught about the wheat and tares, the tares are a grassy weed that has a similar life cycle to that of wheat. It will grow along side it and steal the valuable water and soil nutrients, dramatically reducing the yield. But wheat has been breed for survival where tares have not. Part of that breeding is a resistance to heat. When a field has too many tares the farmer can burn the stubble removing everything from the surface and as it burns the seeds of the tares are destroyed. Then when the sower comes the next year the wheat will grow unhindered. That is prior to germination, what about after the plant emerged?
As more and more plants become resistant to herbicides, one of the tools that farmers are beginning to go back to is the use of fire. They will attach specialized flame throwers to their tractors that will shoot intense flames around the base of the plants. The crops are often protected because they have been breed for thicker cellular walls that can withstand wind and drought, but the weeds do not have this special breeding so the flame super heats the water within the plant bursting the cell walls, causing the weeds to wither while the hardier crops remain healthy.
We fear fire, yet we use fire in many aspects of life. Our environment needs fire, yet in our fear and ignorance we often prevent the natural rejuvenating qualities of this ferocious force. Fire can be a powerful tool of life, and it can be the source of traumatic death. What is Jesus meaning when he says, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled!”
Often when we read through these words we see it in a couple of ways, judgment or righteousness . For those that see judgment, we have in our minds the wrath of God just looking for a reason to pounce on the unsuspecting soul that found themselves within a seemingly innocent blunder. We read these words and we sit paralyzed in fear unable to approach God because we might be burned. Isaiah had this in mind when he gave his prophetic teachings. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” And what does the angle do when Isaiah utters these words? The angel takes fire from the altar and touches it to his mouth saying, “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah was paralyzed in fear, he thought that the sin of his people along with his own sin would cause him to burn, but the fires of God and not always what they seem.
We might look at this from a different perspective. Fire is a tool, we as humans can wield this tool for our own desires. For some they might use the fire to smoke the best meats in Kansas City, yet for others they might start a fire and watch it burn across the land in an attempt to starve and dishearten their enemies, as Sherman did in Georgia during the Civil War. Fire is a tool for good and evil. We see the fire as judgment because the domain of the evil one is said to be a place where the fire is not quenched. Those that see the fire as a tool for righteous judgment often want to brandish it. They will quote scripture and utter judgmental words from their mouths like they are carrying a flame thrower into society. They whip it to and fro with little regard to what is happening on the other end, because if you were right with God you would be behind them not in front of them.
I have been burned by the religious flame throwers. I know how it feels to be on the wrong side of their words. And the problem with a flame thrower is when used carelessly the one holding the devise can often become engulfed. Jesus once taught that we should take the plank out of our eye before we remove the speck from someone else.
This is not what Jesus is saying. He does cast fire on the earth, He does judge, he does often allow pain to enter our lives. This is part of the human experience. But where does this pain come from?
This is where kindled comes in. The term for kindled is to be in that state of burning, and in some cases already burned. Most would say that this means already burning. This is most likely the most accurate interpretation. With this interpretation the idea of fire is not judgment but spiritual passion, like a candle burning and sharing the light. This is the righteousness view of this passage. We are already burning with the light of Christ.
I want us to think about this for a moment. Jesus did not speak of a candle burning, if that was his meaning he would have said I came to light a flame. Instead he said cast fire on the earth. This implies something greater. But when he said it he pulls back, and would that it were already kindled.
I believe, and this is my own belief not something that I can prove in scripture. Jesus is wanting to start a controlled burn. There is much death in this world. Jesus highlights this later in the passage, “For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three…father against son and son against father.” He is telling us that there is death within our relationships. Instead of being life giving we are broken and dying, our desires are for our own well being instead of what is best for the community.
We see this all around us. There are portions of the church even that will say that empathy, or the ability to recognize and relate to the emotional state of others is toxic. We are promoting self indulgence and death. What do we get with self indulgence? We get a lot of trash, and a ton of baggage. If our relationships were a forest how would they look? Thorny, broken limbs littering the ground, weeds growing without a purpose. We are disasters waiting to happen, time bombs so to speak. And one little spark will light it all up into a raging inferno. This is what Jesus is speaking of. And he says, “would that it were already kindled!”
He is encouraging us to examine our lives. To take the time to remove that which is dead now and replant with something living. Jesus is encouraging us to look at our relationships, how are we interacting with those around us? Has the prairies of our community become overgrown and withered as we have aged, are the things of the past overshadowing and delaying the new growth? Jesus is with us here and now, he comes with the spirit’s fire and is wanting to rejuvenate our lives. Would that it were already kindled, he says. Would that we were already prepared so that as he comes to visit on our day of visitation we are ready and will not be consumed and destroyed, but instead we had already been at work, pruning out the dead branches that are holding us back and hindering our growth. That we had mowed and trimmed the grass so that when it catches fire it can be managed and used for good instead of causing destruction.
“You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky,” Jesus says, “but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
Brokenness is abounds in our society. Loneliness is said to be an epidemic in our culture. We are fighting a culture war wanting the people of our society to come back to God. But I want to ask a simple question, what are they coming back to? They do not know God, all they know are the people who are called by God’s name. We are the ones that are bearing that name. And how do we carry ourselves? Would that it were already kindled. Would that we were already active in our lives examining how we interact with others, how we encourage one another and promote life together. Would that we had already been active in the lives of the youth so that when they become teenagers they know what a proper relationship should look like. Would that we stop hiding our own brokenness and pain and let people see how faith can carry us forward. So often the world only see flame throwers, because we have not taken the time to relate, to encourage and prepare and they get caught in the wild fire instead of experiencing the life giving flames of discipleship.
As we enter into this time of open worship and communion in the manner of Friends. I encourage you to consider the implications of the flame of Christ. Is it a wildfire of destruction or the controlled burn to bring life. And I encourage you to examine your own experiences and consider what you want and need in the future. And as we sit in Holy expectancy with God, let us allow him to burn away the death that hinders our future, and let us walk forward into this world around us Loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit, and living the love of Christ with others.
Previous Messages:
The Mind of Christ
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
Walk as Children of Light
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
Your Kingdom Come
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 22, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Romans 5:12–19 (ESV) 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all…
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