Some people shape your life so deeply that you don’t fully realize it until years later.

This Mother’s Day message explores the kind of love that stays when life gets hard—the quiet sacrifices, loyalty, and strength that often hold families together. Through the story of Ruth and Naomi, we see what it looks like to love someone through grief, disappointment, uncertainty, and change.

But this message goes beyond motherhood. It’s about the people who carried us, believed in us, protected us, and helped redeem broken moments in our lives.

Dr. Gregg Marutzky reflects on personal stories, the lasting impact of spiritual mothers and mentors, and why honor, service, and steadfast love still matter in a culture that moves on quickly.

Whether you’re celebrating, grieving, remembering, or simply reflecting on the people who shaped you—this message is for you.

Scripture Focus: Ruth 1–4

Chapters

00:00 Mother’s Day Tribute

00:19 A Story About Mom

02:05 “Don’t Mess With Mom”

03:48 Famous Quotes About Mothers

05:48 Ruth and Naomi Introduction

06:12 Why Mothers Matter So Deeply

07:40 Love, Serve, Obey, Honor

08:11 Ruth’s Loyalty and Commitment

10:27 What Real Love Looks Like

13:36 Appreciate People While They’re Here

14:37 Naomi’s Grief and Bitterness

18:46 Serving and Sacrificing for Others

20:44 Faithfulness Rewarded

21:25 Voices That Mislead Us

24:17 What Honor Looks Like Practically

27:40 The Role of a Redeemer

29:08 Naomi’s Plan

32:21 Ruth’s Courage and Vulnerability

35:14 Legacy, Family, and Faith

35:46 The “Church Moms” Who Shape Us

40:32 Final Mother’s Day Dedication

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OC Church of Christ

Dr. Gregg Marutzky:

2

Happy Mother's Day.

3

Yeah.

4

We're celebrating moms today.

5

We're thankful for moms.

6

Without moms, we wouldn't be here.

7

Amen.

8

It's the start of our story.

9

Exactly.

10

Our mothers gave us life,

and we are so very grateful.

11

And I am one of the very blessed

people in all life to have an

12

amazing mother, a loving mother

that taught me secure attachment,

13

that was a tremendous caregiver

for me and my three older brothers.

14

And, uh, I adore my mother.

15

My wife thinks it's too much

sometimes, but, uh, there really...

16

I- Somebody had to be mama's

boy, and, uh, the other three

17

passed, so I took up the position.

18

My mom is 95 years old.

19

She's in a memory care facility

in Grand Junction, Colorado.

20

She no longer recognizes me.

21

It, uh, broke my heart the

first time that happened.

22

I walked in and said, "Hi, Mom,"

and she just gave me that blank

23

stare, and then she faked it.

24

And she's that kind of loving person.

25

She started s- telling me

hi and all these things.

26

She didn't say son.

27

And, uh, sometimes she would

call me Jody or Sam or Philip,

28

my other brothers' names.

29

But, uh, uh, eventually she

caught on and remembered.

30

But, uh, I'll call her

today, and she'll fake it.

31

And that will make me feel good.

32

Amen.

33

But we love you, Mom.

34

Yes.

35

Amen.

36

And we know you did the best

you could, and nobody's perfect.

37

And today, the sermon is to encourage

you, and it's really not as much

38

for you as for all the rest of us

to tell us how to love you- Yeah

39

how to honor you, how to obey

you, how to respect you, how

40

to give you our very best.

41

But I wanna start with a story.

42

We should never mess with moms.

43

You've heard about mama bear, right?

44

You've heard of different stories

about how you, uh, need to be careful

45

and not, uh, rile a mom while she's,

uh, taking care of her chicks.

46

And, and, uh, a mother came out of

the store, uh, she'd been shopping.

47

She was going to the car with her

small child, and she got to the car,

48

and there were four men in her car.

49

Wow.

50

And it really upset her.

51

And she dropped the bag and,

and she put her daughter behind

52

her, and she pulled out her gun.

53

Whoa.

54

Not in the state of California, all right?

55

And she turned her gun on the four men

and said, "Get out of my car right now."

56

And they did, and they went running

off, and she got in the car, put her

57

child in the car, and she tried to

turn the car on and it wouldn't start.

58

And she realized her car

was four spaces down.

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So she went right to the police

station to turn herself in.

60

She had such a good heart.

61

She went there to turn herself

in, and the, the sergeant on duty

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just started laughing and he said,

"Ma'am, look down the, the counter."

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And there were the four

men reporting a carjacking.

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No charges were filed.

65

No charges were filed.

66

I have no idea whether that

was a true story or not.

67

But don't mess with mama.

68

No.

69

Don't mess with her.

70

There's a, a few great quotes that I wanna

share with you by Abraham Lincoln and by

71

George Washington about, uh, Mother's Day.

72

And, uh, they talk about...

73

They say this, and never use your

phone for reference with my eyesight.

74

Abraham Lincoln said, "No man is

poor who has a godly miner- mother."

75

That's a great quote.

76

"I remember my mother's prayers,

and they have always followed me.

77

They have clung to me all of my life."

78

That resonates with me because one

of the great memories of my life is

79

my mother coming into m- my room and

getting on her knees beside my bed,

80

praying for me and our whole family.

81

Maybe that's why I'm a minister,

because I witnessed her faith and her

82

love for God and love for our family.

83

George Washington said, "My mother was

the most beautiful woman I ever saw.

84

All I, uh, am I owe to my mother.

85

I attribute my success in life to

the moral, intellectual, and physical

86

education I received from her."

87

My mother's cute.

88

She's short, little Hispanic lady.

89

She, uh...

90

I didn't put up a picture because,

uh, she wouldn't have wanted me to.

91

All her life her mother was a hairdresser,

so she'd always have fancy hair, and

92

now that she's older, she just puts

it back in a bun and she would refuse,

93

almost refuse, to have her picture taken.

94

And the most beautiful woman in my

life is my wife, so, uh, I can't say

95

that about my mom, but she's cute.

96

One last quote.

97

"Life doesn't come with a manual.

98

It comes with a mother."

99

Amen?

100

Amen.

101

Turn your Bibles over to the Book of Ruth.

102

We're gonna see how and a- A

daughter, an adopted daughter, an

103

in-law daughter, loved a mother.

104

And if she can love her mother,

then we can love our mothers.

105

Amen?

106

Amen.

107

But we love our moms why?

108

They bandaged our wounds.

109

I don't know about your mom, but my mom

would always pour antiseptic on our leg.

110

We'd scream a little bit,

and she'd blow on it.

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I don't know how, uh, healthy

that is, but it felt good.

112

She bandaged our wounds.

113

What else?

114

She changed our diaper.

115

Now if you remember that,

I don't believe you.

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She cooked our meals, and in our home the

staple was Mexican food, so amen to that.

117

Amen.

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She read us stories.

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She played games with us.

120

She held and hugged us.

121

And last of all, Mom loved us.

122

Amen?

123

Amen.

124

And if you didn't have a mom

that loved you, I'm sorry.

125

I wish you did.

126

There's some people that become moms

and don't mean to, and become moms

127

before they should and before they're

able to mature, so give 'em some grace.

128

Extend them love.

129

They did the best they could,

but they tried to love us,

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and those that did, thank you,

thank you, thank you, thank you.

131

Here's our outline today.

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I always tell you where I'm going before

we go there in case I get lost on the way.

133

Amen?

134

Love your mom.

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That's what I'm gonna

challenge you to do today.

136

Serve your mom, obey your

mom, and honor your mom.

137

Just a few passages here.

138

And you know this story.

139

This is an incredible story.

140

All right?

141

It has tragedy in it, it has hardship

in it, it has love and romance in it.

142

It might have even a little

mature audience stuff in it.

143

We won't go there, though.

144

All right?

145

But Ruth 1:16 and 17 says, "But

Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to

146

leave you or to turn back from you.

147

Where you go I will go, and

where you stay I will stay.

148

Your people will be my

people and your God my God.

149

Where you die I will die,

and there I will be buried.

150

May the Lord deal with me, be it

ever so severely, if anything but

151

death separates you from me.'"

152

We know the story.

153

Naomi and her husband left the promised

land and went to a far-off country because

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of a famine in their land- And they

went there, and all the, the men died.

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The husband died, the sons died.

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And the sons had married some, some

foreign women, and one of them was Ruth.

157

And the other two decided that they

would go back to their families

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because in the ancient world, a woman

was very, very, very vulnerable.

159

Very vulnerable, all right?

160

And they had to be protected, and they

needed to be taken care of, especially

161

by their father, and that was his charge.

162

And so the other girls went

home, but this is what Ruth said.

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And we use it at weddings sometimes.

164

It's a call of great love

and commitment and loyalty.

165

"Where you go, I will go.

166

Where you die, I will die."

167

And, and Naomi said, "No.

168

No.

169

No, you're not doing that."

170

She was trying to be

a good mother to Ruth.

171

She says, "You need to

go home to your people.

172

I can't take care of you.

173

That is not a good idea."

174

But there was something in Ruth

that wanted to take care of

175

Naomi, that wanted to take care of

this woman who had lost so much.

176

She saw her grief, she saw her pain.

177

She had her own grief and pain, but

she wanted to take care of Naomi.

178

And so what does it teach us?

179

Love.

180

Sacrificial love.

181

Love in our world is so misunderstood.

182

It's quid pro quo.

183

If you love me, I'll love you.

184

To the degree you love me, I'll love you.

185

I do a lot of marriage

counseling, and most of it's sad.

186

It's hard work.

187

I do it every Wednesday night

before church with a couple

188

that doesn't come to our church.

189

It's a long story, but

I, I, uh, like doing it.

190

I like just to, to, uh, you

know, keep my skills up.

191

And, uh, God always gives

me a complicated situation.

192

And I love these people.

193

I love them individually.

194

I wish they loved each other as much

as I love them, and sometimes they do.

195

And sometimes I think, "Wow, it's going

awesome," and then right before we

196

end our session, it's not so awesome.

197

And that's what happened

this week before midweek.

198

And it's good for me to, to wrestle

with people and to love people sometimes

199

that are easy to love and sometimes

people that aren't easy to love.

200

Yeah.

201

But all I have to do is remember

how much my mom loved me.

202

And I know all of you didn't have a mom

that was tireless, that worked day and

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night- That didn't need to be thanked,

that did the very best, cleaned our

204

clothes, and cleaned our house, and

tucked us in, and fed us great food.

205

Every morning, got up, she'd make

us toast and eggs, and we'd say,

206

"Mom, we don't want toast and eggs.

207

We just want cereal."

208

"No, honey, you need toast and eggs."

209

And half the time, the, the eggs

would stay on the table and the

210

brothers wouldn't eat them, but

I'd always eat them, you can tell.

211

'Cause I love my mama, and I

appreciated the work that she put in.

212

And I, I would get up when she'd tell me

to get up, and, oh, I didn't wanna get up.

213

What teenager wants to get up on time?

214

I mean, I was normal in that way, but

I'd still get up 'cause she wanted me

215

ready to go to school before she went off

to work, and I didn't need to be ready

216

when she left 'cause school wasn't for

another 45 minutes, but she just wanted

217

to make sure I was dressed, and cleaned,

and presentable, and up, and ready.

218

And so what would I do?

219

I had some time, so I would clear the

dishes and I'd put them in the dishwasher.

220

And our family had to buy, I think,

four dishwashers as I was growing up

221

because I didn't scrape the dishes.

222

And now supposedly that, that would,

will work for modern dishwashers,

223

but the old days, it burned them up.

224

But my mother never got on me as

she appreciated me trying at least.

225

I was a dumb kid.

226

Would've been easy to rinse them, right?

227

But

228

yeah, Greg, you're a dumb kid.

229

Love your mom.

230

Whether she loved you

or not, love her now.

231

Love her now, 'cause what goes

around comes around, right?

232

And love her before she's gone.

233

Yes.

234

Some of us, our moms have left.

235

Thankfully, mine hasn't.

236

My dad has, though, and

that's, that's tough.

237

It's tough if you've lost your mom.

238

And, and there's some

pains that never go away.

239

A child that passes before their time,

especially a stillborn, never goes away.

240

But a mom that leaves, too, even

though it's a natural course

241

of things, it still hurts.

242

You miss them.

243

They're a touchstone for your life.

244

When everything's spinning,

when everything's surreal

245

at times, you just want mom.

246

Like Charlie shared, sometimes

you just need to hear her voice.

247

Can I get an amen?

248

Amen.

249

Happy Mother's Day.

250

Second little snippet we wanna

look at is when N- Naomi, uh,

251

was having her pity party.

252

And she, you know, some people are

entitled when they've lost so much,

253

and they're hurting, they're grieving.

254

It's okay.

255

They've gotta process.

256

But in Ruth 1:20 and 21 it says,

"Don't call me Naomi," which means

257

pleasant, she told them, "Call me

Mara," which means bitter, "because the

258

Almighty has made my life very bitter.

259

I went away full, but the Lord..."

260

She blames God.

261

Why do we always blame God?

262

Don't blame God.

263

Blame the author of evil and death.

264

Blame the father of lies.

265

Blame Satan.

266

Well, God made Satan.

267

No, he didn't make Satan.

268

He made all of us with free will, and

Satan chose to take the evil course,

269

just like there are wicked people in

our world that take the evil course.

270

We all have free will.

271

All right?

272

But do not blame God.

273

She blamed God.

274

"But the Lord has brought me back empty.

275

Why call me pleasant?

276

Why call me Naomi?

277

The Lord has afflicted me.

278

The Almighty has brought

misfortune upon me."

279

You know, that was the ancient,

unfortunate, false theology that they

280

held to, that if you were blessed, you

were prosperous, you were rich, and if God

281

was against you, you were poor, and you

were impoverished, and you were enslaved.

282

It's...

283

Life's not that simple because

of Satan and wickedness in the

284

world because of free will.

285

Sometimes you try to simplify things.

286

You alway- we always want answers, but

sometimes we don't get the answers.

287

Please, please, God is good.

288

Don't blame God.

289

Naomi was hard to love at this

point, but Ruth still loved her.

290

Please, love your parents

if they're hard to love.

291

I had one that was easy

and one that was hard.

292

I had it pretty easy, I guess.

293

Some kids, and I've counseled some,

both parents were difficult to love.

294

Both were selfish and so full of their

own desires that they neglected their

295

kids, or they abused their kids, or

they let someone else abuse their kids.

296

It's heartbreaking, and I'm sorry.

297

I'm sorry if that was your life.

298

But please don't get bitter.

299

But God will love you out of your

bitterness, and that's what we

300

see in this story with Naomi.

301

Amen?

302

'Cause Naomi was destined, and

every one of us is destined.

303

She had a great destiny, a destiny

to be in the lineage of the

304

Messiah, the lineage of Christ.

305

She would go from widow, not Herb,

but Ruth, to wife, but she would help,

306

uh, Ruth to become that wife, and she

helped to find a kinsman redeemer.

307

This is such a noble thing

in the Jewish community.

308

Oh, if we just had it, if we had a rescuer

for our life, if we had that uncle that

309

could pay our bills and get us out of

debt, if we had that relative that was

310

a goel, that was what the, the Hebrew

word was, that provided this kind of

311

hesed, redeeming love for their relative.

312

But the Jewish community had a system

because they didn't have a government like

313

ours that has services, social services,

and welfare, and some other things to take

314

care of people relatives needed to, and

that's what they had in the ancient world.

315

Stay with me in Ruth 2:10-12.

316

Serve your mother.

317

I was a pretty rotten kid.

318

I told you the one thing I

did do, load the dishwasher.

319

I would tell my brothers to take off their

shoes, but they wouldn't take off the

320

shoes, so I didn't clean the floor that

often, and I didn't vacuum that often.

321

Now, I am a great house cleaner.

322

To...

323

Ask Cathy.

324

I'm a great house cleaner.

325

All right?

326

Now, I don't do all the things around

the house, 'cause she does them better

327

and she doesn't want me to do them.

328

Like, I don't wash clothes

because I don't separate them.

329

I didn't in college.

330

Why start now?

331

And so there's some things she

doesn't let me do, but the things

332

that I do do, I try to do them well.

333

And I love to vacuum, and I

love to get those, those, th-

334

those lines going, you know?

335

Oh.

336

And I hate it when I walk on those lines.

337

Oh, bums me out.

338

U- usually when we've bought houses,

because one daughter's allergic to cats

339

and one's, daughter's allergic to dogs,

we'd always have to buy new carpet.

340

And so I tried so hard, we'd take off

our shoes so we could keep those lines.

341

Amen.

342

And even when we sold our

house in Palmville, I put the

343

lines in before we moved out.

344

Oh, the simple pleasures of life.

345

See, sometimes you gotta

just make yourself happy.

346

Amen.

347

M&M's, lines in the carpet, amen.

348

Serve your mother.

349

Let's read together verses 10 and 12.

350

"Boaz replied," and Boaz was

the kinsman redeemer, the goel.

351

He wasn't the first in line, though.

352

We see in the story as we

read the book of Luth- Ruth.

353

He was second in line, but he

was a shrewd guy, and he figured

354

out a way, and we'll get to that.

355

"I've been told all about what you

have done for your mother-in-law since

356

the death of your husband, how you

have left your father and mother and

357

your homeland and come to live with

a people you did not know before.

358

May the Lord repay you

for what you have done.

359

May you be richly rewarded by the

Lord, the God of Israel, under whose

360

wings you have come to take refuge."

361

What's the point there?

362

Always do the right thing.

363

And in this world, guys, there

is so much evil propaganda.

364

The three terrible, evil

spokesmen for Satan.

365

Think about them for a minute.

366

Guess who they might be.

367

I'm gonna tell you who I think they are.

368

Freud, Marx, all right?

369

And I forgot the third one on

the way here this morning, too.

370

What's the matter with me?

371

But I know where to look.

372

Sometimes you just gotta know

how to do research, folks.

373

All right?

374

Just gotta know how to research.

375

Here it is right here.

376

Nietzsche.

377

Oh, yeah.

378

Those are the evil ones in my mind.

379

See, Nietzsche...

380

What are the three great temptations

according to 2 Timothy 3, and according to

381

Luke, where Jesus goes out and is tempted?

382

What are the three great temptations?

383

Money, power, and love.

384

Freud said it's all about sex.

385

It's all about sex, and he came up

with some really perverted thoughts

386

and philosophies about how young men

have these thoughts about their mother.

387

That's garbage.

388

I never had them.

389

You know?

390

He had them, and he

projected them on all of us.

391

He thought the world was about sex.

392

And Nietzsche thought it was all about

power, that leave people to themselves.

393

Some will rise to power, and those

will be the men that we should follow.

394

His philosophy helped create Hitler.

395

Helped create Hitler.

396

And then who?

397

Marx.

398

Says it's all about money.

399

It's all about money.

400

And that's- What's caused a couple of

overthrows of countries and of peoples

401

and enslavement of peoples and, and

genocide of peoples throughout the world.

402

I think those three false

prophets of Satan are wrong.

403

Amen.

404

And if you go after sex, love, uh,

I mean, sex, money, and power...

405

No, go after love, please.

406

It, I mean, isn't this at what

Hollywood and just up the road

407

is known for, those three things?

408

Yeah.

409

But let's always do the right thing,

folks, 'cause what was Jesus all about?

410

He- Love and sacrifice

and giving and serving.

411

Serve your mama.

412

Think of a way.

413

You know, my daughter brought Cathy

what she really wanted, a new suitcase.

414

Isn't that what all you moms want?

415

Amen.

416

She travels every once in a while

with me and travels to go help the

417

grandkids in Texas, and she get, uh,

a- and, and Love Field just takes

418

a long time to get your luggage.

419

I don't mean to be critical.

420

I'm sure those people are working hard.

421

All right?

422

And so she wanted just a big

enough suitcase where she can carry

423

it on, but have all her stuff,

and she got that this morning.

424

"Greg, what'd you get her?"

425

I got her the most thoughtful

card and the most fluorescent

426

flowers you have ever seen.

427

Amen.

428

She's not my mom, but I wanted

to encourage her, and I told

429

her what I really believe.

430

I think she's one of the most outstanding

mothers in all the world, and she always

431

tells me after Mother's Day service, "S-

I wish you would stop saying that, Greg.

432

I, I'm not all that."

433

And I s- "Yes, you are."

434

And we have these arguments, you know?

435

But I believe that.

436

And women, you're way

too hard on yourself.

437

You're like Cathy.

438

You're way too hard on yourself.

439

You are awesome.

440

Yep.

441

You are amazing, and we need to tell

you, and we need to thank you, and

442

we need to honor you, and we need to

serve you, and we need to love you.

443

And if we can't love our

mom, we can love you.

444

All right?

445

And we won't treat you like

Mama, but we'll love you.

446

All right?

447

Yeah.

448

Amen.

449

10 women lived with us over the

years, 10 younger girls, college grads

450

usually, before they went off to their

careers, and every one of them are

451

faithful to the Lord and great mothers.

452

And it isn't because of Greg.

453

It's because of, because of Cathy.

454

Aw.

455

And our daughters- They, uh, they,

they, they're not perfect people,

456

but they're great mothers Amen.

457

And I've gotten to live with my daughter,

my older daughter, for the last 10 months.

458

We just got a house,

praise the Lord, amen.

459

If you wanna help unpack,

just give me a text.

460

All right?

461

We're taking our time.

462

We're still living with our daughter.

463

But, you know, when you've moved as

much as us, you're not in a rush.

464

All right?

465

And we're weaning oursel- up off

slowly, getting into the new hou-

466

'cause we're having to downsize a

lot, but that's a good thing now.

467

But I've loved watching our daughter

with her kids, and the patience

468

and the kindness and the verbiage

and how she explains things and

469

how she says things and, and

470

Oh, I just think it's so amazing, and

I know she didn't learn it from me.

471

No.

472

But she learned it from Cathy.

473

Moms, thank you, and you're a gift

that's will be giving for generations

474

to come, so happy Mother's Day.

475

Can I get an amen?

476

Amen.

477

And then

478

I believe mothers are goels

today, kinsmen redeemers.

479

Says, "The name of the man I work

for today is Boaz," she said.

480

"The Lord bless him," Naomi

said to her daughter-in-law.

481

"He has stopped, sh- he, he has not

stopped showing his kindness to the

482

living and to the dead," she added.

483

"That man is our close relative.

484

He's one of our kinsmen redeemers."

485

And we know the story how he talked

the closest kinsman redeemer into

486

not choosing Boaz because he would,

h- that person would have to not

487

only take Ruth, which was the real

prize, but have to take Naomi as well.

488

And Naom- Naomi did not have quite

the same reputation that Ruth had.

489

All right?

490

So this is a little bit of good

thing that she was bitter and angry

491

and ornery for a little while.

492

All right?

493

Sorta worked out for Boaz that way.

494

Everything works together.

495

But I think, moms, you are

the goels of society today.

496

You're the ones that redeem

and, and save us so often.

497

You're the ones that rescue us.

498

You're the ones that,

that blow on our wounds.

499

All right?

500

And help heal us from the

different pains of life.

501

So thank you, Mama.

502

Thank you.

503

Ruth 3:1-5.

504

Let's read together.

505

"One day, Naom- Naomi, her mother-in-law,

said to her, 'My daughter, should

506

I not try to find a home for you

where you will be well provided for?

507

Is not Boaz- With whose servant girls

you have been a kinsman of ours.

508

Tonight he will be winnowing

barley on the threshing floor.

509

Wash and perfume yourself, put

on your best clothes, then go

510

down to the threshing floor.

511

But don't let him know you are there

until he has finished eating and drinking.

512

And when he lies down, note the

place where he is lying, then go

513

and uncover his feet and lie down.

514

He will tell you what to do.

515

I will do whatever you say, Ruth answered.

516

I will do whatever you say.

517

Obey your mom.

518

It all worked out 'cause

she obeyed her mom.

519

And what mother was asking, what

Naomi was asking Ruth to do,

520

was to be incredibly vulnerable.

521

Some commentators, I don't agree with

them, and you can decide for yourself,

522

they say this is a little bit risque.

523

That this eu- this is a

euphemism, uncover his feet.

524

This, this, he's saying

crawl into bed with him.

525

No, I don't believe that's what it

says, especially when I read you

526

the next verse I'm about to read.

527

'Cause Ruth always had a noble character,

always had a great reputation, and

528

even obeying Naomi didn't s- didn't

blemish that re- that reputation.

529

So what it was was going to him at,

at night and uncovering his feet.

530

What's gonna happen?

531

He's gonna wake up.

532

I, I just read recently the

way to get back to sleep at

533

night is to warm your feet.

534

I get hot at night, so I throw

off all the covers, and then my

535

feet get cold, and about 2:00 or

3:00 in the morning, I wake up.

536

And I look at my Apple, you

know, phone, and I see it's only

537

2:00 or 3:00, I'm like, "Oh."

538

And then I start trying to fall

asleep, and I can't fall asleep.

539

And then I put my feet under the covers.

540

I don't put the rest of my body,

'cause like I said, I get hot.

541

I'm a warm-blooded, you know, big man.

542

All right?

543

Don't laugh.

544

Some of you started to.

545

I heard that.

546

No, it's all right.

547

And I go back to sleep.

548

And so when she uncovered

his feet, what happened?

549

He woke up.

550

And here's this younger, beautiful,

awesome character, noble woman,

551

and he's a little surprised.

552

And let's go to the next verse,

because it's truly a great story.

553

Again, happy Mother's Day.

554

"Who are you?"

555

he asked.

556

You wake up any guy in the middle of

the night, he's not gonna see clearly,

557

and he's gonna ask this question.

558

All right?

559

There's even times, if you're like me,

you've looked at the light on the TV

560

and as you're waking up, you think it's

the eyes of the devil looking at you.

561

You know.

562

But I don't ask the devil who he is.

563

He, I just stay quiet and sneak it away.

564

"I am your servant, Ruth," she said.

565

"Spread the corner of your garment over

me, since you are a kinsman redeemer."

566

So she's asking him,

"Is it okay if I stay?

567

Is it okay if I'm here?"

568

"The Lord bless you, my daughter."

569

He's recognizing the

difference of their age.

570

"This kindness is greater than

that which you have showed earlier.

571

You have not run after younger

men, whether rich or poor.

572

And now, my daughter, don't be afraid.

573

I will do for you all you ask.

574

All m- my fellow townsmen know that

you are a woman of noble character."

575

She basically asks, "Is

it okay if I'm here?

576

I'm putting myself out there.

577

I want it, you to marry me.

578

I want you to take care of me."

579

He's asking her.

580

She's asking him.

581

And you know, you see these

dances between young couples.

582

They're, they're, they're afraid

to say how m- how they feel about

583

each other, and they make movies

about it all the time, and they just

584

keep passing in the dark, you know?

585

They just, they keep missing each other.

586

They ke- quit...

587

They don't admit their

love for each other.

588

Neither one chooses to be

vulnerable to the other one.

589

But here's Naomi telling Ruth,

"Ruth, go be vulnerable to this man."

590

And you know, Boaz is

like, he is fired up.

591

He wants to say, "Yeah!

592

I'll marry you.

593

I've been wanting to

marry you since I met you.

594

It was love at first sight, but I

thought you would reject me, 'cause,

595

you know, and I didn't want you

to marry me just for my money."

596

All right?

597

But he knows, and he's done the research.

598

This is how we know.

599

It's what's in between the lines.

600

He has checked out whether he was the

first goel or not, and he knows he's not.

601

He's bummed out.

602

When he found out that day he wasn't, he's

like, "Oh, I could be married to Ruth,

603

but oh, what's-his-name's gonna get her."

604

But then he schemed.

605

He figured out a way to get Ruth.

606

And so we know the rest of the story.

607

He does, and they marry,

and then what happens?

608

Ruth honors Naomi with a child.

609

Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.

610

Then he went to her, and the

Lord enabled her to conceive,

611

and she gave birth to a son.

612

And the women said to Naomi, "Praise

be to the Lord, who this day has not

613

left you without a kinsman redeemer.

614

May he become famous throughout Israel.

615

He will renew your life and

sustain you in your old age.

616

For your daughter-in-law, who loves

you and who is better to you than

617

seven sons, has given birth to him."

618

You know, there's a lot of moms

in this audience, and you don't

619

have to be related to be a mom.

620

I got a little choked up driving

here as I remembered a lot

621

of moms in the church to me.

622

I got choked up about, uh, Mrs.

623

Ryan in Boulder.

624

Mrs.

625

Ryan would pass me a note after

my sermons on Sunday night.

626

The main preacher would preach in

the morning, I'd preach at night, and

627

she'd pass me a note after my sermon,

and it had all my grammatical errors.

628

And the first time she did that,

Mary Ryan, I was, I was just crushed.

629

I didn't ever wanna speak again.

630

It's a true story.

631

See, I had a speech

impediment when I was a kid.

632

I couldn't speak very well.

633

Some of the things I couldn't pronounce.

634

All through grade school,

I got taken out of class.

635

Yeah, I was one of those.

636

No wonder I stayed in school

my whole life, you know?

637

I had to go to Peggy Saxton, who was

a mom to me and taught me how to talk.

638

But Mary Ryan made me work harder

at speaking so I wouldn't sound

639

like Jethro on Beverly Hillbillies.

640

And then Raylene Walker, my

secretary, first secretary

641

when I was a campus minister.

642

She told me, "Greg, just read more books.

643

It will help you to, to learn better

grammar just by reading more books."

644

And that's why I've read

so many books in my life.

645

So I would s- not sound

ignorant when I speak, you know?

646

And praise God for Raylene.

647

I remember the first time on a Wednesday

afternoon, I handed her my notes.

648

I said, "Would you type this up and

run off copies for my midweek tonight?"

649

She said, "Nope."

650

I said, "What?"

651

Said, "No sir, I'm not doing that.

652

You need to give me these notes on

Monday, and I'll type them up, and I'll

653

run them off on the mimeograph, uh,

machine, but it takes a while, and I'm

654

not gonna r- you know, stay late and

just because you're undisciplined."

655

And boy did that sting.

656

And boy did I want to claim to

be the boss, which I knew I would

657

never be the boss of Raylene.

658

But I started getting my papers in on

Mondays- ... 'cause of Raylene, and

659

I've always got my papers on in time.

660

It's cool.

661

Maybe because of Raylene.

662

And then they don't even have

to say much, some of you moms.

663

After a sermon one Sunday up in Antelope

Valley, I was walking down the aisle after

664

the sermon, and one of the older Black

women came up to me, and she did this.

665

And I thought, "Uh-oh, I'm in trouble."

666

And when Alma tells you to

come on over, you go on over.

667

And she's this shorter lady, and

she goes, "Greg, look at me."

668

I must've been looking down or...

669

I was scared.

670

A- and she says, "Look at me."

671

She goes, "I'm proud of you."

672

And then she walks away.

673

And to this day, I don't

know what she's proud about.

674

But this morning as I'm driving here,

and I'm thinking about the mothers

675

in the church, I think about her and

what she said, and oh, it feels good.

676

I've just decided I...

677

She c- she's proud about,

about a lot of things.

678

All right?

679

And she probably isn't, but I've

decided that's the end of this

680

or the rest of the story, amen?

681

Amen.

682

Be a mom, moms, to as many

as you can, 'cause it'll make

683

a whole lot of difference.

684

And I could go on and on with

people and stories like this,

685

because moms make a difference.

686

Amen.

687

They make a difference.

688

So we love you, Mom.

689

We love you deeply from the heart.

690

We wanna love you more, and

we wanna love you better.

691

And moms, we wanna serve you.

692

You serve so much, and

you should be served back.

693

And so we honor and celebrate

you this morning, and we

694

wanna obey you the first time.

695

We don't want you to have to nag

us and to continue to prod us.

696

We wanna listen.

697

We don't wanna turn you off.

698

We wanna do the right thing,

'cause just like Naomi helped Ruth,

699

you're just saying it for our good.

700

And then we want our lives to honor you.

701

My first, uh, doctorate degree,

I g- asked for two copies.

702

Paid some extra money

and got a second copy.

703

Went down to the frame shop

and got a frame, and then got

704

a plaque for my mom and dad.

705

I said, "You know, I'm a doctor now,

doctor of the church, but I'd never have

706

gotten here without the both of you."

707

And I now have that frame.

708

My brother left it at our house for

the estate sale, and I know no one

709

would buy it, and I knew my mother

wouldn't know what it was about anymore.

710

So I have it, and it's behind my

bookshelf up there in my office because

711

I am what I am because of my parents,

and especially because of my mama.

712

And so this, this sermon this morning

is dedicated to all of you moms.

713

We celebrate you, we love you, and

we thank you, and God bless you.