Amen! Amen!
'And Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you..." Clearly Amen is more than just a final punctuation mark in a prayer.
Apparently amen originally came from the Hebrew word faith.
The Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) is understood in English to mean “faith” or “belief”. But it is often also translated as “faithfulness.”… Emunah is faith that results in faithfulness, implying action. It shouldn’t be a total surprise then that the word amen shares the root with Emunah. Amen means “so be it” or “may it be so,” and shares the root also with eman, meaning “to confirm”. Add to that haemeen, which means “to trust” or “confide in”… When we say “amen” at the end of a prayer, it is not just a closing statement or ritual word. It is an agreement to act upon what we have prayed!
emunah (אמונה… more accurately means “belief.” In Jewish thought, a belief is a conviction based on evidence, similar to how a decision is made in a court of law. When you say “Amen,” you’re affirming, based on the evidence you thought about and investigated, that you agree that whatever was said is true.
According to the Talmud,1 amen is also an acronym for El Melech Ne’eman, which means “God, the Trustworthy King.” Specifically, that means God, the all-powerful, omnipotent source of reality, who is also the source of mercy and kindness; King, who supervises and runs the world; and Trustworthy, who is fair, and who doesn’t give you any more or any less than you can handle.
Ok, so far so good.
So apparently there are 25 Amen, amen statements Jesus makes in the Gospels. What is the significance of him saying amen, amen first?
Well, on this random site a commenter says, ‘Amen, amen’ is a hint that what He’s saying is important (”Pay attention!”), and He is about the intensify his point - whether it’s to be understood literally or figuratively.
From the previous sites, though, especially the legal reference, it seems to me a better explanation is from this site: I solemnly tell you the truth.
From every courtroom scene from every movie or TV show, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
Now that the meaning of Amen is clear, why am I writing about it today? I am literally asking myself this question, because I haven’t figured it out yet.
Is it because it feels like something has ended, or something is beginning or both? Not in a sad way, or a final, cold way. In a close the chapter on this part of the journey and head off on this new exciting adventure way.
Is it letting the truth of what has been learned recently sink in and become embodied, lived experience?
I’m not sure. But it feels joyful, glorious, radiant, like the final Amens in Handel’s Messiah.