Amen, Amen, I Say to You

In the Hebrew Bible, the word “Amen” means agreement, truth, faithfulness.  Many translate it to “I agree” or “So be it.”  “Amen, amen, I say to you,” Is Jesus telling us to pay attention.  Jesus is the only one who says “Amen” in the Gospels (except Mark’s shorter ending),  and He uses it as a point of emphasis.  There are important passages in the Gospels that He does this.  The phrase “Amen, Amen I say to you,” appears twenty five times in John’s Gospel, and “Amen, I say to you,” appears fifty times in the other three Gospels.  It is basically giant arrows pointing to the next sentence, telling you what He says next is super important.

In this week’s Gospel, it follows the line, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”  Jesus is telling us that the Eucharist, and His True Presence, is the sum and source of our salvation.  The Biblical evidence of Jesus True Presence is here in black and white, and it’s undeniable.  When we say, “Amen” when we receive the Body of Christ, we are saying, “So be it,” acknowledging the True Presence.

 

If it seems like Jesus is repeating Himself in these passages, well, He is.  He can’t stress these words enough to all His disciples, and some listening in are having a hard time accepting it.  In verse 52, people are getting a bit weirded-out. “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?'”  Again, Jesus is adamant – In verses 56-58, the Greek form of the word eat is “trogo”, which translates to “chew” or “gnaw.”  This language is very descriptive and direct. In next week’s Gospel, the aftermath of Jesus teaching about He being the Bread of Life is shown.  Stay Tuned!

For a reference of where Jesus says His Amen phrases, look here.  This article, by one of my favorite bible scholars Marcus Grodi, is an in-depth look at John 6:53 from a former Presbyterian turned Catholic.