Honoring Your Mother
Pastor Tan Thai · May 9, 2021
This Mother's Day sermon from 2016 calls children to honor their mothers in accordance with the Fifth Commandment. The pastor uses stories, poetry, and biblical examples to remind the congregation of a mother's priceless love and the sacred duty of filial piety.
This sermon was delivered on Sunday, May 8, 2016, for Mother's Day, emphasizing that a mother is the most priceless gift God gives to every person. The pastor opens with vivid illustrative stories — from a humorous anecdote about a young man at a grocery store, to the moving account of a 15-year-old boy who stowed away in an airplane's wheel well to find his mother in Ethiopia — to portray the sacred power of the mother-child bond.
The theological core of the sermon is grounded in the Fifth Commandment from Exodus 20:12 and the Apostle Paul's explanation in Ephesians 6:2-3, affirming that honoring one's parents is the first commandment accompanied by a promise: that it may go well with you and that you may live long on the earth. The pastor also cites the example of King Solomon in 1 Kings 2:19 — who rose from his throne, bowed before his mother, and seated her at his right hand — as a shining model of honoring one's mother regardless of status or achievement. Jesus is likewise held up as an example, having submitted to his earthly parents as a child (Luke 2:51) and, even in his final moments on the cross, entrusting the care of his mother Mary to the disciple John.
The sermon draws deeply from Vietnamese cultural heritage through the etymology of the Chinese character for filial piety (Hiếu), the legend of bánh chưng and bánh dầy, the heroic examples of Nguyễn Trãi and King Lê Thánh Tôn, and beloved folk poetry and songs. The pastor emphasizes that filial piety is not exclusive to Christians but is a value God has written on the hearts of all people across every race, language, and religion.
The practical application section calls on children never to despise or be ashamed of their mothers in old age, weakness, or illness, drawing from Proverbs 23:22 and 30:17. The pastor quotes a moving letter from Edmond de Amicis's work 'Cuore' (translated into Vietnamese as 'Tâm Hồn Cao Thượng'), in which a father writes to his son warning that the saddest day of his life will be the day he loses his mother, and that anyone who tramples on filial piety has no true character.
The sermon concludes with the beloved Vietnamese song 'Bông Hồng Cài Áo' by Phạm Thế Mỹ, inviting those who still have their mothers to rejoice and cherish them while they can. The pastor also reminds the congregation that a mother's teaching — like the faith of Lois and Eunice in shaping Timothy — can define a child's entire life and spiritual journey.