Why And When Do We Say Amen?
Good Morning Friends,
The Bible repeats words, phrases and themes for emphasis. I understand that the number one repeated phrase in the Bible is, “Do not be afraid.” It also says to be afraid of the Lord. But these are really not contradictory. These repetitions help us to understand what we are to focus on in the reading of the text and in our meditations on it. On some Sundays we sing a seven-fold amen for the benediction. We say amen with a long vowel after prayers and we sing
ah-men with a short vowel. We say and sing amen as a corporate sign of agreement. Sometimes it is an ending and sometimes a beginning. I am told it means so be it, but the tradition of this word must be more than a custom. We have a predicament. Why And When Do We Say Amen?
Scripture: Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, “If no man has lain with you, if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings the curse. But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had intercourse with you,” —let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse and say to the woman—”the Lord make you an execration and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your uterus drop, your womb discharge; now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen.”
Numbers 5:19-22 (NRSV)
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God’s creation:
Revelation 3:14 (NRSV)
Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:8-11 (NRSV)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
John 5:24 (KJV)
What should I do then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing praise with the spirit, but I will sing praise with the mind also. Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying?
1 Corinthians 14:15-16 (NRSV)
Then whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of faithfulness, and whoever takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of faithfulness; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my sight.
Isaiah 65:16 (NRSV)
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:14-21 (NRSV)
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Revelation 22:13 (NRSV)
Message: In the two Testaments the word “amen” appears at least seventy-eight times. The first time it is used is in Numbers 5, concerning the trial of jealousy. If a man suspected his wife of adultery, he took her to the priest to prove or disprove her innocence. The priest had her drink of the bitter water, and if she was innocent, nothing happened; but if she was guilty, her belly would swell and her body would rot. She was informed of this before she drank of the bitter water, and to prove she knew the consequences, we read in Numbers 5:22 that she said, “Amen, amen.” It was like taking an oath. The last time the word amen is used is at the end of the book of Revelation. The very last word in the Bible is amen, which means that everything that has been said before is true, trustworthy and reliable. It is interesting to me this morning, for some reason that I cannot fully explain, that the word amen is embedded in the words lament, sacrament, fundamental, temperament and ornament. When a prayer at services closes with the word amen, sometimes the congregation repeats it. Yet people sometimes don’t know whether or not to say amen—and some who do, do not know why they are saying it. Every book in the New Testament, with the exception of Acts and 3 John, closes with the word amen. The thought that everything that has gone before is true, trustworthy and reliable would be appropriate at the end of these books… in a word…amen. Another repeated word is verily and sometimes it starts a thought as if to announce what is coming. When Jesus says, verily, verily it is really a variation of the word amen. Christ used the word many times. Christ gave us an outline for prayer in Matthew 6:7-13, in which He concluded with the word amen. It is a call to action.
Pray we make amends for doing things wrong but also for not doing anything at all. Pray we are supportive, loyal and truthful. Pray we have a heart-searching experience that helps us to become aware of our predicament. Pray we praise God when we sing or say amen. Pray we praise God in his mighty firmament but also on earth as in heaven. Pray our praise be without ceasing. Pray our amen not be an ending but something that prepares us to affirm an action.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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