Beautiful Words Blog | A Matter of Substance by John Moropoulos | Gateway Christian Fellowship

The Week of Mother’s Day

Ex 20.12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the LORD your God gives you."

So what could be more American than Mother’s Day, right?  A Google search tells us that the celebration, as we know it, dates to the early 20^th century.  Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Granfton, West Virginia, claims the distinction of holding the first official Mother’s Day Sunday Service.  It was celebrated in 1908 on the tenth of May.  There is a plaque outside the church recognizing the event.  The plaque also notes that the church is the official International Mother's Day Shrine. 

While the American tradition of Mother’s Day is absolutely worthy of our attention, it should be noted, though, that there is a much older notice of celebration, something that predates not only the church in Grafton but the very foundation of our nation.  It was cut into stone more than three thousand years ago.  It’s authenticity is established not by its listing as a National Historic Landmark, but by the simple fact that God wrote it.

Its creation is recorded in the Book of Exodus.  The Words on it were first spoken by God to Moses.  The record of that event is found in Exodus 20.12.  Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the LORD your God gives you.  Exodus also tells us that God Himself wrote the Words down, engraving Them on stone tablets.  Now the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commandment which I have written for their instruction.” Exodus 24.12 NASB.

Jesus quoted these Words.  Matthew records Him doing so on two occasions, Mark twice, and Luke once.  Paul the apostle also quoted them in his letter to the church of Ephesus.  These Words have substance.

In fact, “substance” is the essence of these Words.  The Hebrew Word found in Exodus means not only honor but also weight, significance, or importance.  The Greek Word that Jewish scribes used to translate it was τιμάω.  It means to attribute and to demonstrate respect.  It comes from the noun τιμή.

This word τιμή is a special word.  It has a unique place in my heart.  It was one of the first words that came to my attention in understanding and appreciating the living nature of God’s Word.  It happened in a very ordinary moment.  I was walking down a street in downtown Athens.  I passed a store that had some absolutely gorgeous men’s suits in the window.  Below each suit was a white card that had the price of the suit. Below the numbers that showed the price was the word τιμή.  I had studied enough Greek to know that was the word for “honor” so I was a bit surprised to see it used for such a base purpose as this. I was put off that a word representing something so important as honor should be used to mean just “price,” the amount of money one must give to purchase a piece of clothing.

Thinking on it more I realized what was really being expressed here.  The price we pay for something is really an objective, tangible expression of the regard we have for that thing.  Regardless of how much money I can pay for something, my willingness to pay it says something about how much I value the item.

Scripture speaks of this real world equation.  In three places, Matthew records the value that was placed on Jesus’ life.  Thirty pieces of silver.  It is important to note that the coins exchanged didn’t express Jesus’ worth, but rather their evaluation of His worth.  It was a clear, objective expression of just how much Judas valued Him, and of how much the chief priests valued Him.  They were all wrong.

So, back to our mothers.  Mother’s Day isn’t just a day to tell our Mothers how much we love them and appreciate them, though we should most certainly do that.  We should do it daily.  It is also an occasion for us to consider just how much we value them.  It is an occasion to consider the very real and practical impact they have had.  At the very least, we must acknowledge that most practical of all gifts, life itself.  It is something we were given.

That is a sobering, weighty thought.  We were all given life.

So whatever else you may thank your Mother for, even if she isn’t here to hear it, be sure to be thankful for life.