1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV)
Good morning boys and girls, Still remember me? I am chef Yendis, cooking happy meals for the special occasions to make people happy. Your pastor Sidney invited me to give you a special talk for the celebration of the special Sunday. Who can tell me what the special day today is? What! Mother’s Day? Now I remember I came over here last Mother’s Day and talk about a secret of how to live a happy life. Remember it? At least you should have remembered the verse Ephesians 6:1-3 I gave you:
“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV)
First all, I would like to ask you a question: How much do you love your mom’s cooking? What is the favorite dish you love from your mom’s cooking? Someone said she loves her mom’s curry rice, and a boy said he loves his mom’s roast beef, another girl said her mom’s fried noodle is soooo yummy!
My mom has passed away, but I still remember how yummy the roast fish she cooked and it remains a good memory of my mom in my heart and she made man-tou by herself and I cannot but miss how tasty it was!
Do you know why I missed so much the dishes my mom cooked? Because they contained my mom’s love, sacrifice, skills, patience and caring to me. However, when I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate it. A lot of time, I was tired of my mom’s cooking, why everyday same old dishes, there was no meat, no chicken,… Many time, I grumbled and I was envy that my friends they were rich to go eating out often. I had never considered that my mom would have felt so sad when I show no interest to her cooking. When I cooled down in my room, I felt regretful for my complaint and started thinking how many efforts my mom had put to prepare a meal and how much she sacrificed for the family. Carefully observing, I found every dish my mom cooked had some ingredients in common: they are 1. Love, 2. Patience, 3. Joy, 4. Sacrifice, 5. Hope. Today I would like to show you how to make a dish called tomato tofu and shrimp, which is a dish my mom cooked very often and is one of my favorites. Every dish my mom cooked I saw her love – just because her love, she was willing to spend so much time cooking three meals everyday without any complaints and getting tired. And I saw her patience – Steaming man-tou takes a lot of time and she would always patiently wait for the man-tou to get well-done by carefully checking it from time to time without haste or being impatient. When she washed the vegetables before cooking I could see her patience washing them piece by piece carefully. And chopping meat, she did it repetitively for a long time until the meat became like paste. She cooked joyfully without any complaints. From making a fire (when I was a kid there was no natural gas nor electrical range, do you know how hard to make a fire?), then preparing the raw material, and then started cooking and when the meal was over, everyone went away, she cleaned up the table and the leftover,.. it seemed that she never knew “how to complain” and what is “being unfair.” She always showed her joy and willingness of serving us, the family members. She has nothing regarding the entertainment for herself. I could say that her entertainment is cooking and doing the chores for the family everyday – The focus of her life was to make a happy home and everyone was fed satisfactorily, and healthily. That is her sacrifice with her time and her life to the children and the whole family. And when she cooked she always had her hope in us. She was hoping that through the dishes she cooked, we ate and grew up strong and healthy and would have a good grade in our schooling. She added the ingredient “hope” in every dish she cooked. And I fanally realized that this hope helped her cook day after day, year after year without complaining or getting tired.
God made your mom special just right for you. I believe that your mom’s cooking dishes also put the same ingredients: 1. Love, 2. Patience, 3. Joy, 4. Sacrifice, 5. Hope. How great our moms are! Now boys and girls, what I want you to do to your mom is “appreciate and give thanks.” Don’t complaint, show that you love her cooking dishes truthfully. After meal, remember to say “thank you, mom. The dishes you cook is so yummy and tasty!” And don’t forget for every dish your mom cooks, there are ingredient of “hope:” she has hope and expectation in you.
Today you see me, a chef, cooking meal to show love and encourage to people, your mom does the same things to provide your physical need as well as the spiritual need. Honor her and respect her and encourage her by saying your appreciation all the time!
Remember the verse Ephesians 6:1-3? Let’s read it together:
“1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV)
Boys and girls, let’s bow our head and pray: “Heavenly Father, thank you for giving our children a loving and faithful mom to love them, provide their daily needs physically and spiritually. Our mom always make dishes with Love, Patience, Joy, Sacrifice, and Hope. Dear God please help our children know how to appreciate it always. Honor their moms by showing honor, respect and encouragement and love to them. This is your promise: whoever honor parents may live a happy and long life on earth. Bless their moms with your love, protection and grace from above. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!” Boys and girls, remember to celebrate your mother’s day with your honor, respect and encouragement and love to your mom! Goodbye see you sometime in the future!