Lodgepole pinecones are very compact, and they will only open to disperse their seeds under intense heat, as in a forest fire.
We hear a similar idea today in our Gospel that fire means judgment, which results in separation, creating a crisis, but which also means opportunity.
So, fire, judgment, separation, crisis, – can bring a new opportunity for growth in faith.
That is why Jesus is speaking of the fire of judgment and division in the family which arises from the negative response of family members to the faith.1
It tells us that the good of the family is a relative good, a good that finds its place in the Church.2
The words of Jesus are clear: The commitment to God is even higher than family bonds. Mathew 10:37 says that a person who loves father or mother or a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Making a claim like this is equating Jesus to God, which he is, because family ties can only be put in second place for the sake of God or his moral law.3
Does your family all practice the Catholic Christian faith? Or your Christian Faith in the Baptist church? Great.
If not, for example, not attending a “gay marriage” of a son or daughter might cause division, for example, as when family members don’t approve of an otherwise conservative member of the family ministering to the needs of undocumented persons.
Another example, "Crossing the Tiber" is a metaphor used to describe someone converting to Roman Catholicism. The phrase refers to the Tiber River, which flows through Rome, the seat of the Catholic Church. Some have stopped halfway because to convert would mean family alienation.
Everyone has a different capacity for tolerating conflict. Some people are comfortable working through conflict, while most avoid it entirely. But surfacing the relevant conflicts is essential for Jesus in our Gospel today.4
“The world is not looking for a space heater with which to warm their toes, but rather a bonfire that warms their inner man. We must be God’s embers that restart the brushfire of revival. God has called us to burn for Him! Will you?” 5
e.g. William Lloyd Garrison was a great abolitionist to end slavery. One of his best friends, Samuel May, said that Garrison should calm down, that he was “all on fire,” Garrison replied, “Brother May, I have need to be all on fire, for I have mountains of ice to melt!”
Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us, “we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
Yet, fire easily burns low and fades out, and charity also can burn low and even fade out, unless it is being stoked all the time, says Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. 6
Living our baptisms and confirmations in the Holy Spirit is to fan that into flame. The phrase "fan into flame the gift of God" comes from 2 Timothy 1:6.
“As good as peace is, Jesus primary mission was not to establish social peace in this world and in this life…instead, he revealed the narrow gate for those who desire it, that leads to salvation. 7
Divine peace or the Peace of Christ is available in every conflict. Not as the world gives do I give peace, says the Lord.
For social peace or earthly peace, our Gospel today implies that division will precede it.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
1. Matthew Genug, S.S.D., Ite, inflammate omnia!, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, Teaching the Faith, pg. 2
2. Fr. Samuel Keyes, 'Family Values' is Not Enough,
Catholic Answers, August 14, 2025
3. John Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, who cites Jacob Neuner in Benedict XVI’s book, Jesus of Nazareth, pg. 103-123.
4. Orchestrate Conflict: Leading Adaptive Change by Surfacing and Managing Conflict
By: Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, Marty Linsky, Harvard Business Review, Publication Date: May 18, 2009, online.
5. Pat and Karen Schatzline, Keys to Lighting a Revival Fire in Your Heart That Won’t Go Out, Charisma Sep 21, 2018.
6. From the book, from Cause of Our Joy.
7. John Bergsma, pgs. 372-373
